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CONSTRUCTION THREAD: ONE Greenville (Main @ Washington)


btoy

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While we lament fenced-off excavations and abandoned footings in Greenville's city center, there is at least some consolation in knowing that many other cities around the country are facing similar construction financing issues. For instance, downtown Boston has a number of stalled and abandoned projects, including a huge hole in the ground at Downtown Crossing, one block off Boston Common, where the original Filene's store used to be and was to be rebuilt as part of an ill-fated 750-million-dollar mixed-use redevelopment project known as One Franklin, with a 1.2-million-square-foot tower. After completing partial demolition on the site, leaving only the facade and one end of the building standing in front of a great pit, the developers want to exit the project and sell their stake. They had halted work in 2008 when they were unable to raise construction financing following the global credit crisis and recession. (Sound familiar?)

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2009/02/out_of_financing_in_boston.html

http://bostondailyphotoblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/filenes.html

http://www.boston.com/business/gallery/holerenderings/

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/07/14/developer_may_leave_stalled_downtown_crossing_project/

I like to think optimistically and believe that Greenville has weathered the financial crisis better than many other cities and will continue to weather it through better and more rational project scopes. I just hope the scaled-back projects don't sacrifice architectural style just to shave a few dollars here and there.

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I like to think optimistically and believe that Greenville has weathered the financial crisis better than many other cities and will continue to weather it through better and more rational project scopes. I just hope the scaled-back projects don't sacrifice architectural style just to shave a few dollars here and there.

I believe this might be better posted in the Peacock Hotel construction thread. To the best of our knowledge, Main & Washington isn't being scaled back, is it? The entire scope of the project is rather unclear at this point in time.

Edited by GvilleSC
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While we lament fenced-off excavations and abandoned footings in Greenville's city center, there is at least some consolation in knowing that many other cities around the country are facing similar construction financing issues. For instance, downtown Boston has a number of stalled and abandoned projects, including a huge hole in the ground at Downtown Crossing, one block off Boston Common, where the original Filene's store used to be and was to be rebuilt as part of an ill-fated 750-million-dollar mixed-use redevelopment project known as One Franklin, with a 1.2-million-square-foot tower. After completing partial demolition on the site, leaving only the facade and one end of the building standing in front of a great pit, the developers want to exit the project and sell their stake. They had halted work in 2008 when they were unable to raise construction financing following the global credit crisis and recession. (Sound familiar?)

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2009/02/out_of_financing_in_boston.html

http://bostondailyphotoblog.blogspot.com/2010/05/filenes.html

http://www.boston.com/business/gallery/holerenderings/

http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/07/14/developer_may_leave_stalled_downtown_crossing_project/

I like to think optimistically and believe that Greenville has weathered the financial crisis better than many other cities and will continue to weather it through better and more rational project scopes. I just hope the scaled-back projects don't sacrifice architectural style just to shave a few dollars here and there.

Downtown X-ing is the next combat zone here... it shuts down after 6:30, and as for the hole in the ground, the developer made news a few months ago by giving a lecture at Columbia University stating that his SOP is to let a property blight until the local and state governments give him the money to fix it up and he doesn't have to use his own money. Needless to say this didn't sit well with Mumbles Menino.

Needless to say, Greenville is picking up, and so is Boston. I thank the powers that be everyday that we're not Rhode Island or Michigan with high unemployment. We each have our own niche markets, Boston being IT and Biomedical and Greenville being manufacturing and finance to an extent.

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  • 2 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...

According to the Journal TBA, Joseph-Beth bookstore is 'considering' leasing space in Washington Square. Also, a 'major' sculpture will be a focal point of Piazza Bergamo.

I love the rumors of a bookseller for downtown. Furthermore, I'm extremely excited about art being a major focal point for what will essentially be an entirely new urban space. Now, we have to play the waiting game... :ermm:

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According to the Journal TBA, Joseph-Beth bookstore is 'considering' leasing space in Washington Square. Also, a 'major' sculpture will be a focal point of Piazza Bergamo.

It also confirms "Cheddars" is coming to Gville.

Not suprising regarding Joseph-Beth. Company officials have been visiting the city several times the last year or two to scout locations downtown for a new store.

Edited by citylife
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According to the Journal TBA, Joseph-Beth bookstore is 'considering' leasing space in Washington Square. Also, a 'major' sculpture will be a focal point of Piazza Bergamo.

I didn't see the TBAs, but the specific wording in a Sept. 28 Journal article was that Piazza Bergamo "could include...a focal point such as a water feature or sculpture." [Emphasis mine.]

Not clear to me that this "focal point" has been defined yet. I like that sculptures have become prominent features in downtown, so I am hoping for more, but I could live with another fountain, too. Or perhaps the best of both: a very striking water feature that incorporates sculpture on a significant scale. I'm thinking along the lines of Bryan Hunt's "Lake Falls Lake" at the Main Street entrance to Falls Park, at least in terms of scale, though something even larger might be appropriate for what seems to be the center point of the Main Street business district.

I hope the overall plans are not too busy, not too austere.

The Journal also said:

"Developers hope to begin construction on the Woolworth project by spring 2011 and have construction of its first phase completed by July 2012, said Michael Kerski, city economic development manager. Potential tenants have signed letters of intent but no contracts have been finalized, Kerski said."

Spring seems a reasonable target; I can live with that.

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According to the Journal TBA, Joseph-Beth bookstore is 'considering' leasing space in Washington Square. Also, a 'major' sculpture will be a focal point of Piazza Bergamo.

It also confirms "Cheddars" is coming to Gville.

After reading this news, I can't help but recall the wasted hype over the proposed RiverPlace carillon a few years ago. Let's hope the City's new Arts in Public Places Commission will help this latest proposal become a reality. I always LOVE the addition of new public art in Greenville's beautiful downtown.
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After reading this news, I can't help but recall the wasted hype over the proposed RiverPlace carillon a few years ago. Let's hope the City's new Arts in Public Places Commission will help this latest proposal become a reality. I always LOVE the addition of new public art in Greenville's beautiful downtown.

Speaking of which, whatever happened to that Carillon? :dontknow::blink: Is it really that hard and expensive to install the thing? Seems like it would only take a few workers one day to do it.

Edited by citylife
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I assume you are referring to "Falls Lake Falls". ;)

Or maybe it's "Falls Lake Fall," which is what the city calls it in a walking tour brochure. FallsPark.com, however, does give the name as "Falls, Lake, Falls."

Not knowing the name of the piece when I was writing my previous comment, I did a Google search. That helped a little but was inconclusive, since the piece seems to be referred to commonly and frequently by both names, "Falls, Lake, Falls" and "Lake, Falls, Lake." I chose to take the form I found in a Wikipedia entry, which apparently was incorrect as well. There are two points here: (1) at least I tried and (2) I am certainly not alone!

Edited by RiverWalker
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  • 1 month later...
  • 2 months later...

In one of the most wondered about empty spaces on Main Street, where the old Woolworth once sat on North Main and West Washington streets, construction of a major mixed-use development could begin this summer.

White said it will likely be “good, national retail -- almost like Haywood Mall.”

http://www.wyff4.com/news/27041818/detail.html

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I love the optimism expressed by the Mayor in that article. I hope we see some hard facts about this development soon. Summer construction would be great! If it happens, downtown really will experience a significant change with all of the projects mentioned. I wish they had outlined Reedy Square's potential for construction this year.

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