Unity Park (New 160 Acre West End Park)

[Gville29601]

Apparently there is a pent-up demand for a much larger dog park in the city.

 

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20130322/DOWNTOWN/303220032/Greenville-outgrowing-half-acre-Canine-Corner

 

I don't understand why the county or city thinks people will want to put the dog in a car and drive just to a stand-alone dog park outside the city. A larger dog park in the West End park would certainly ease the congestion at the existing dog park, and would likely be more utilized by urban residents who have dogs but do not have yards. Building a dog park in a suburb, were people have large yards and do not need a park, just doesn't make sense to me. 

[GvilleSC]

Apparently there is a pent-up demand for a much larger dog park in the city.

 

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20130322/DOWNTOWN/303220032/Greenville-outgrowing-half-acre-Canine-Corner

 

I don't understand why the county or city thinks people will want to put the dog in a car and drive just to a stand-alone dog park outside the city. A larger dog park in the West End park would certainly ease the congestion at the existing dog park, and would likely be more utilized by urban residents who have dogs but do not have yards. Building a dog park in a suburb, were people have large yards and do not need a park, just doesn't make sense to me. 

 

Your logic makes sense to me.

[johnpro318]

Apparently there is a pent-up demand for a much larger dog park in the city.

 

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20130322/DOWNTOWN/303220032/Greenville-outgrowing-half-acre-Canine-Corner

 

I don't understand why the county or city thinks people will want to put the dog in a car and drive just to a stand-alone dog park outside the city. A larger dog park in the West End park would certainly ease the congestion at the existing dog park, and would likely be more utilized by urban residents who have dogs but do not have yards. Building a dog park in a suburb, were people have large yards and do not need a park, just doesn't make sense to me. 

 

While you're logic makes sense, there is a reason to build dog parks in the city and the suburbs. One of the main points of taking your pet to a dog park is socialization which doesn't occur if you just use your own yard all the time. It is good for dogs to experience new environments, people and animals. Also, there are a lot of garden apartments in the suburbs that do not have dog parks where dog parks may be utilized. There is one near the old Bloom off 14 but that one is a wreck because it isn't really kept up. I did go once with my dog though and there were several other people there. Why can't we have dog parks throughout the city? The same argument applies for normal parks. It is good for the community to have open public places where people can meet and gather.

[transplant08]

Apparently there is a pent-up demand for a much larger dog park in the city.

 

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20130322/DOWNTOWN/303220032/Greenville-outgrowing-half-acre-Canine-Corner

 

I don't understand why the county or city thinks people will want to put the dog in a car and drive just to a stand-alone dog park outside the city. A larger dog park in the West End park would certainly ease the congestion at the existing dog park, and would likely be more utilized by urban residents who have dogs but do not have yards. Building a dog park in a suburb, were people have large yards and do not need a park, just doesn't make sense to me. 

 

I agree.  But much of the funding for this park is coming from a development grant designed to assist "special emphasis" westside neighborhoods.  Thus, much of the planning for the park revolved around what people in the immediate neighborhoods wanted.  During our planning meetings, there was no evidence that folks in Southernside, Sterling, etc. expressed a similar pent-up demand as expressed in the Greenville News article.

[vicupstate]

I haven't read the article, but at the park meetings, designs showed a dog park.

[transplant08]

I haven't read the article, but at the park meetings, designs showed a dog park.

Yes, that is correct.  I'm referring to the planning meetings that occurred before the charrettes.  

[YachtRock5000]

http://www.greenvillesc.gov/PlanningZoning/PlanningApplications/Applications/2012/DECEMBER/PlanningCommission/12-13-2012/Z-25-2012-WestsideRezoning.pdf

City is proposing to rezone a large area in and around the vicinity of this park.

Does anyone know if these changes were approved or tabled?

[gman430]

Excellent: http://www.greenvillesc.gov/OMB/Admin/BidPDF/13_3396/13-3396%20Arch_Eng%20Services%20for%20New%20PW%20Campus.pdf

[Galley]

Excellent: http://www.greenvillesc.gov/OMB/Admin/BidPDF/13_3396/13-3396%20Arch_Eng%20Services%20for%20New%20PW%20Campus.pdf

 

Looks good!

[vicupstate]

Meeting tonight at 6:00 at Kroc Center for next interation of the park design.

[ausrutherford]

Went to the meeting. The current plan incorporates flood ways/etc and puts any buildings out of the way.

[vicupstate]

Trey Cole is applying for development permit for .46 acre lot on Mayberry street.

He posts here sometimes.

[gman430]

Design unveiled: http://connections.greenvillesc.gov/forms/130506_DraftConsensusPlanMap.pdf

[ausrutherford]

Changes are already in the works...

[GvilleSC]

It's hard to imagine the impact that this will ultimately have. We know it will be a huge game changer for that area, but how huge becomes the question in my mind. It's going to be fun to watch the momentum swing in that direction.

[gman430]

Plans unveiled for park: http://www.wyff4.com/news/local-news/greenville-news/concept-for-new-park-in-greenvilles-future-unveiled/-/9654794/21977858/-/f2sxe3z/-/index.html?utm_source=hootsuite&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=wyff%2Bnews%2B4

[gman430]

The city of Greenville has put out a bid for a construction manager-at-risk to provide preconstruction services for a planned public works facility on Fairforest Way. Sealed bids will be accepted until March 18: http://www.gsabusiness.com/news/50574-greenville-seeks-construction-manager-for-public-works-project?rss=0

[vicupstate]

The city is spending $523k to buy two parcels on Welborn Street for this future park.

 

http://www.greenvillesc.gov/CouncilAgendas/minutes/2014/AUGUST/Formal/8-25-2014/Item%2016a%20-%20Purchase%20Welborn%20Street%20(Park%20Area).pdf 

[ausrutherford]

I see that council gave in to the Mayor's wishes. He has wanted those buildings for the park for awhile. 

[gman430]

Two stories from GSA Business on this: 

 

http://gsabusiness.com/news/52650-public-works-facility-could-cost-19m?rss=0 and http://gsabusiness.com/news/52652-city-rsquo-s-500k-purchase-could-be-used-for-west-greenville-park?rss=0

Edited October 6, 2014 by gman430

[Danmire]

Looks like they are rezoning the properties where Cleveland Park West is going to go

http://www.greenvillesc.gov/PlanningZoning/PlanningApplications/Applications/2014/DECEMBER/PlanningCommission/12-11-2014/Z-36-2014-RezoingWestSide.pdf

[vicupstate]

http://upstatebusinessjournal.com/news/city-park-view-planned-15-townhomes/

 

Townhouses near the future park.

[vicupstate]

104 S. Hudson residential project

http://www.greenvillesc.gov/PlanningZoning/PlanningApplications/Applications/2015/MAY/PlanningCommission/05-21-2015/MFD-15-304-104SouthHudsonSt.pdf

 

Court View project:

http://www.greenvillesc.gov/PlanningZoning/PlanningApplications/Applications/2015/MAY/PlanningCommission/05-21-2015/MFD-15-305-202GibbsStreet.pdf

 

These will sell from $399-489k, per the sign that is on-site. . 

[GvilleSC]

104 S. Hudson residential project

http://www.greenvillesc.gov/PlanningZoning/PlanningApplications/Applications/2015/MAY/PlanningCommission/05-21-2015/MFD-15-304-104SouthHudsonSt.pdf

Court View project:

http://www.greenvillesc.gov/PlanningZoning/PlanningApplications/Applications/2015/MAY/PlanningCommission/05-21-2015/MFD-15-305-202GibbsStreet.pdf

These will sell from $399-489k, per the sign that is on-site. .

It is great to see this kind of investment. Doesn't there seem to be a lot of proposals coming out in this price range? Or maybe it just seems that way...

[vicupstate]

From Gville News:

 

The plain that will one day be the canvas for an expansive, signature city park on the west side of downtown Greenville is one of stark contrast, between the past and the rapid change occurring in the present.

Dump trucks and bulldozers churn on the city's aging public works campus as cyclists pedal by on the Swamp Rabbit Trail along the banks of the Reedy River.

Abandoned warehouse buildings stand among the flat, grassy meadows where other warehouse buildings — in preparation for a grand, $12.9 million park of the future — have been torn down.

Every day, Mayor Knox White said, investors approach the city looking for direction on how to develop the long-neglected area around the KROC Center — and every day, he said, the city has to tell them what he considers an embarrassing fact: The city has no plan.

That's something he and others aim to change — sooner than they'd thought just months ago, though just how soon suddenly has become a pressing debate among city leaders.

"I can't think of an area that has more development interest anywhere in the city," White said. "They ask us what the plans are, and we say, 'We just don't know. We don't have plan.'"

On Monday, the City Council will discuss a proposal to spend up to $300,000 to develop not only a plan for an expansive, transformative park, but also a detailed development plan for the area around the park, until recently an area virtually abandoned other than public works.

The $300,000 is a new item as the council enters talks over the $168 million budget that will govern city spending over the next year.

The extra money to pay for design of a plan governing the so-called "park district" doesn't have full support, mainly over concerns that important steps before such a move haven't yet been determined.

The biggest hurdle, Councilwoman Susan Reynolds said, is the monumental task of moving the public works campus, which makes up the vast majority of 22 acres of planned park space.

How to pay for that — estimated to cost up to $19 million — has yet to be decided.

"This was brought up at the ninth hour," Reynolds said. "We need to have a plan to move public works, first and foremost. I understand developers are coming, but I don't think that we can just react because that's happening. We've got to methodically think this through, put some priorities in place and decide, 'Where do we go?'"

***

The park doesn't yet have a definitive name, though the general idea for it has been around since the turn of the 20th century.

Cleveland Park West. Mayberry Park. Meadowbrook Park. Reedy River Park. West Side Park.

For now, the name "City Park" has taken hold.

The overall park district area — generally bounded by West Washington, Willard, Mayberry and Hudson streets, between the KROC Center and A.J. Whittenberg school off Academy Street and the main Norfolk Southern and Amtrak rail line — is lightly traveled and not particularly noticeable from an outside vantage point.

The park area defined so far is more confined, between Mayberry, Welborn and Hudson streets.

The park would mirror the city's two other signature parks that defined downtown districts and guided development — Cleveland Park, at 122 acres, and Falls Park on the Reedy, 32 acres.

Over the past decade, there have been different iterations of what the park might look like, but each shows a grand vision for a regional destination and local resource powering redevelopment of a forgotten area.

The concepts show a destination playground with a water "sprayground," picnic pavilions, open lawns, community garden, visitors center and multi-purpose field, among others, split in two by a gentle stretch of the Reedy River.

Two bridges would connect the park. The Swamp Rabbit Trail already passes alongside the river, connecting old mill neighborhoods with Falls Park in the heart of downtown and on to Cleveland Park.

The concepts drawn up for the park are only for a 22-acre portion of the area around the meadow plain, largely inhabited by the public works campus. The city owns a total of 51 acres in the area, part of a deliberate series of recent property acquisitions.

Over recent weeks, discussion for how the city should plan for the area has escalated. Two options for planning districts have surfaced — one 170 acres, another 310 acres.

***

The city has talked about moving public works and building a park, and investors have been listening.

As West End development has radiated ever west, the once-remote idea of jumping over Academy Street to continue new investment has been put into action.

The result: Plan after plan for new mixed-use condos, making use of the Swamp Rabbit Trail, proximity to downtown and even the skyline itself.

Currently, there are seven major projects on the cusp, White said, including the four-story luxury apartment development Reedy View that has broken ground at Westfield and West Broad streets, 215-unit Greenville Lofts on a key gateway at Academy and Westfield streets and a 14-unit townhome project, City Homes @ Markley, on Markley Street across Academy now under construction.

The flurry of development came at a quicker pace than city planners expected, with investors banking on the city's ability to follow through with public investment similar to Falls Park, he said.

Now, the city is receiving inquiries from others who want to develop even closer to the park, right up to the banks of the river.

For instance, White said, a group has approached the city about using an old warehouse on the north side of the river to operate a public market just off the trail.

On Mayberry Street, across from the public works campus, the city owns a row of property that is ripe for commercial use — but without a park district plan, White said, the city is limited in guiding development.

Private interests have pledged support to raise money to fill out aspects of the park, much like other public-private partnerships the city has employed, he said.

"The plan will give people who are already invested there some real design ideas about how to work the project into the park," he said. "It's amazing the amount of investment in the area even though there's uncertainty, and I'm trying to remove that uncertainty."

The city's projected revenues from various sources have exceeded expectations, leaving more money than in recent years to invest in capital projects like the park and planning for the area around it, White said.

Looking ahead, the city's budget includes setting aside a $4 million "capital reserve" for signature projects like the park and relocating public works, said Kai Nelson, the city's office of management and budget.

How the district develops will determine the future of the low-income neighborhoods that surround it, said Councilwoman Lillian Brock Flemming, who represents the area.

The accelerated need for a plan, Flemming said, "is because of the influx of development, which we don't control."

With a detailed district plan that builds upon the more-general West Side comprehensive plan, she said, "we would have an opportunity to appeal to the kind of investments we are looking at for that particular area, in order for it to have affordable housing and not necessarily luxury apartments. We cannot fill every space with luxury apartments and condominiums."

***

Last year, the city set aside $1 million to acquire property around the proposed park and another $225,000 to design the north side of the park across the river from public works, said Dana Souza, the city's parks and recreation director who along with other city staff was tasked with developing a strategy for how to move forward with the project.

The city already funded a $250,000 trail head project with a 50-space parking at Welborn and Hudson streets that is under way and spent $600,000 in acquisition of two warehouses.

The $300,000 for a plan for the park district would add to the $225,000 set aside for construction design of the north side, Souza said.

This year, the proposed budget includes $2.1 million for park construction.

The city staff has offered two options to move forward: One to continue with construction drawings for the north side project, the second to continue design development for the entire park to refine broader elements.

"If we're going to expand the planning area into this park-district planning, it would make sense for us to really look at the park at a greater level and go through design development rather than proceed directly into construction drawings for one segment of the park," Souza said.

The request for $300,000 — which city staffers said ultimately could come in at a lower cost — comes toward the end of the budgeting process, something Reynolds and Mayor Pro Tem David Sudduth said concerns them.

Early in the year, council members lay out their priorities during a retreat, a time for the staff to get clear direction on how they should write the budget — from parks to recycling to street paving and on.

"I totally agree with the thought process that there needs to be a plan, but my hesitancy is that we don't even know what the park is yet," Reynolds said. "If we want to make a big change like that, we need to have more discussion."

Each council member has projects he or she believes are vital, Sudduth said.

For him, it's been expanding neighborhood trolley service, building sidewalks and paving streets.

Planning for the park is important, Sudduth said, "but we have so many competing priorities in the city, it's really important to have that conversation on the front end."

The money might ultimately be needed to help move public works, and the details involved haven't been settled, he said.

"We have still not made the decision officially to move public works," Sudduth said. "If we don't move public works, there will never be a park."