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Poinsett Highway


GSP Tiger

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  • 2 months later...

  • 4 years later...

One of the worse/ tackiest looking things on Poinsett is that check cashing/quick loan(whatever it is) place in the old Checkers drive thru building. That is the worse looking thing across from that stacked stone 'Welcome to Greenville " sign. Horrid looking with the double drive throughs sticking out each side. That undid everything good about that Welcome sign IMO. Also on the subject of ugly paint jobs -Old Navy should have never painted the outside of their building "bright white" It looks terrible and unbalanced because they are subleasing some of their space they didn't use in the remodel. Cherrydale management should force them to paint it back to match the rest of the shopping center.

Edited by vistatiger
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When I've had a project that's in such a mess it's impossible to imagine it ever getting completely fixes (including when there are multiple stakeholders and/or funding issues), I'll take a different tack. Don't try to see the finish line, just address the start. What couple of things can we start with, accomplish those, and then addresss the next 3-5 things. So as I was driving from Cherrydale into downtown yesterday, I started counting chain link fences along that stretch of Poinsett, and there are at least half a dozen of them. Honestly, what other major thoroughfare/gateway to the City would put up with chain link fences right along the road? It's ridiculous, actually. Collectively, they detract a lot from how Poinsett Highway looks.

Now, what I don't know is what ability any government body has to address that from a code/zoning standpoint, to the point of making property owners remove existing fences. But if it was me and I could only do 1 thing, that's where I'd start. (if I could do 2 things, I'd make Duke Power bury the power lines because they look about as awful as the chain link fences)

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Well, I think a lot of the businesses around there have the fences because they feel the need to have them. I think before you go telling them to remove their fences they should feel comfortable doing so, which means a lot of other improvements to the area need to come. The fences aren't up because they think it's attractive, they're up because it's a shady area of town.

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  • 3 weeks later...

^^ Considering they are a private entity (and thus not constrained in ways a public body would be ),with a bigger endowment than Clemson or USC, not to mention their Hollingsworth funding, I would say they have a tremendous ability.

They have certainly put their money where their mouth is on going green. Hopefully, they will have a similiar commitment to this initiative.

Edited by vicupstate
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^^ Considering they are a private entity (and thus not constrained in ways a public body would be ),with a bigger endowment than Clemson or USC, not to mention their Hollingsworth funding, I would say they have a tremendous ability.

They have certainly put their money where their mouth is on going green. Hopefully, they will have a similiar commitment to this initiative.

I certainly hope you are right. Unfortunately I wish I knew how much money Furman was wishing to invest in this, or if they are going to invest solely man power and basic political backing. Also, they are partnering with the County, not the city. And we all know they aren't exactly effective.

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^^ The same thing any economic developer/planner would do. Apply for grants, solicit donations, liason with all the parties involved (city, county, Furman, DOT, land owners, etc.), coordinate the efforts of same, lobby, administer loan or garnt money, solicit and interview prospective designers for a Master Plan, etc.

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How are we sure Furman is committing employees full-time to the project? From what I've seen its been student led with some faculty backing.

No one has been assigned to the project full time. But some higher level admins were directed to help organize/coordinate the project. And they created a new tenure line in the sociology department to hire someone who does research on urban/suburban development. Again, the Poinsett project is just one part of these folks' workload, but institutional resources are being diverted to contribute to the project.

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This is what the Gville News article had written:

The university has assigned a key administrator to the project, Boyd Yarbrough, special assistant to the president for strategic initiatives, and is also enlisting the help of student leaders.

It’s also thinking about hiring a faculty member with expertise in urban planning to work on the project, Smolla said.

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This is what the Gville News article had written:

The university has assigned a key administrator to the project, Boyd Yarbrough, special assistant to the president for strategic initiatives, and is also enlisting the help of student leaders.

It’s also thinking about hiring a faculty member with expertise in urban planning to work on the project, Smolla said.

Exactly. Mr. Yarbrough is working with the project, he is however not working solely on the Poinsett Initiative as he is also in charge of all University contracts, i.e: Aramark. There is not a single employee whose key job is developing Poinsett. My fear is that this will be a full effort that never has the pieces come together because of difficult logistics.

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The sociology job search is complete and is being finalized. I've met the new faculty member and he is interested in working on the project. That said, I'm not completely sure what his role will be. Realistically, I think they just need to hire a town planning firm to do a charrette, formulate a plan, and draft a new form based code. This is an important, but relatively small project, not some major urban renewal undertaking.

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GREENVILLE, S.C. -- Changes are on the way for a busy part of Greenville County.

Private businesses and Furman University, along with Greenville County and the Department of Transportation, are teaming up to revitalize the seven-mile area between Furman University and downtown Greenville.

The effort is named the Poinsett District.

The first area the Poinsett District will focus on is the ¼- mile stretch between Hammet Road and Gantt Street.The goal is not just to beautify the neighborhood but to rejuvenate economic growth.

Greenville County Councilman Butch Kirven said, “At this point, all options are all the table.”

The group would like to see some of the neighborhood eyesores like the crumbling T-shirt factory and junk yard be sold and re-developed.

There are also plans for a park and to add signage and landscaping to encourage more walking and running on the sidewalks.

The preliminary plan will be presented at the Greenville County Council meeting Tuesday night.

There will also be a meeting about this plan at the Brutontown Community Center on Thursday, March 1 at 6:30 p.m. and at the Happy Hearts Community Center in Washington Heights on Thursday, March 8 at 6 p.m.

Read more: http://www.wyff4.com/news/30507235/detail.html#ixzz1n2YXpGsV

The website has renderings.

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