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Proposal: COUNTY OFFICES MOVING?!


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I heard a quote form the mayor that said if the county square gets redeveloped, it would be in the same scope as the rest of the West End. This does not sound to me like something that we would all be hoping for. (nor would it "Change the face of DT"). It sounds like it would be low-rise retail and condo development. I do not want to see that parcel developed in that way. I really hope the leaders would use that opportunity to do something incredible for the city, and of course I think we really need some high-rise development.

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Highrises are great, I do love them and can't wait for another to finally get built in Greenville. But, if you ask me to choose between 3 highrises with no density, or a dense midrise development... I might have to go with the midrise option. Don't get down about highrises. Greenville beats A LOT of other cities at street level and density only makes it that much better.

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I agree that the County Square property would be a wonderful place for highrises, especially since it is somewhat elevated in comparison to the rest of downtown. However, I can also see some nice low- to midrise developments there. That would be a great place for some good shopping, nice residential, and maybe even some corporate space as well. Imagine the views from there looking across the river to downtown, with its nice skyline! Wow!

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Austin, Texas, city leaders and residents are looking at the same issues of downtown density/height/cost. They have been considering selling off government property to help in their efforts to attract 25,000 residents downtown within a year. This is quite interesting in light of the past few posts. Austin has one of the most attractive downtowns, IMO, with its pleasant mixture of unique highrises and street-level activity, but some people there are skeptical of building taller to add density. Read more.

I accidentally posted this over under the Palmetto Bank thread, so that one needs to be deleted.

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The question isn't why do we like highrises, the question is why don't you like highrises? This is an urban development forum remember. :)

Did I say I didn't like them? I just asked what the fascination was with them. I think they are kind of neat and interesting to look at and depending on the project can be the best option for the plot of land. However I think you can have excellent urban development without having use a high-rise for every project. Of course when I think of high-rise the things that come to mind are the Daniel Building(What's it called now?), Poinsett Hotel and Bank of America Building. I consider these up and coming 10-15 story buildings "mid-rise". Yes, I know that's subjective but they are definitely not high-rise compared what you see in some of the bigger surrounding cities of Charlotte and Atlanta.

I really like the direction the city has taken with projects like the Peace Center, West-End field because not only are they modern but they respect the history of Greenville. If they did redevelop the current plot of land where county offices are I'd like to see them design new buildings in the same character as the Furman Campus which stood there many years ago.

I saw the drawings for the McBee Station project today and I love the look. I'm also excited about how some of the older mills like Mills Mill and Monagan are being rescued and used for excellent living space. I hope similiar projects will happen and bring back life and pride back to some of the old mill communities. Those areas don't have to be "slums" but many have fallen into that state especially Judson, Poe Mill and Woodside. Regretfully Poe Mill burned down. At one time these were THE urban areas of their day in fact they were mini-towns with their own stores, shops and true community churches.

As I have said before I love good healthy growth in a community but to have a high-rise just to look cool is a thought process that is a bit disturbing. If we have high-rises and hope they are full and or close to full and not just a facade we use to compensate for weaknesses in other areas that could have been developed more wisely

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What's the fascination with high-rises?

In my mind highrises are a visual and physical display of the community itself. What companies, industries, and tennants make up that community, how prominent they are, and frankly, how large they are. I am not saying a skyline is a total picture of a community at all, we all know here in Gville that is far from true. But it is mainly what non-natives look at. Like it or not (or agree with it or not) most people judge a cities size, health/attractiveness, and importance by it's highrises. If there are a lot of them, then it is a large and important city (at least in America). :P

I think Gville needs some more highrises for all the reasons listed above. Plus the fact that they look really cool, and provide a visual impression for passersby.

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Just thought I'd throw this out there...

...from a planning standpoint... there is the school of thought that high-rises can be density killers, if not done right. Many modern high-rises, in response to suburban worker-demand, are integrating parking into their structures. Which sounds good, but often parking is placed on the bottom floors, killing any possibility of having functional activity occuring at the ground level.

The end result is a "suburbanization" of a downtown office complex, where 95% of activity to and from a building is via a vehicle.

Not that I think that any new high rise built here would necessarily suffer from this same thing, but I just wanted to make the point that the presence of a high rise doesn't necessarily equate to density and great urban design.

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From today's edition of the Greenville Journal ....

** Things look "optimistic" for the proposed county government/Greenville Mall land swap. City and County officials believe an agreement could be finalized by the end of the year if all the infrastructure costs can be worked out.

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From today's edition of the Greenville Journal ....

** Things look "optimistic" for the proposed county government/Greenville Mall land swap. City and County officials believe an agreement could be finalized by the end of the year if all the infrastructure costs can be worked out.

I have heard from an inside source that this is definitely happening. Not a matter of "if," but rather, "when." I am excited. :thumbsup:

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  • 2 months later...
Yea, I was just reading this, myself. I'm rather perplexed by one quote though:

"If the county does not move to Greenville Mall, they're going to put a bunch of big boxes there," Burns said. "The plan changes dramatically when we say. 'Yes, we're gong to put 800 employees there.'"

Aren't there going to be a bunch of big boxes (Costco, Rooms to Go, etc.) there whether the county moves or not? Didn't we already see the site plan for this? So, if the county does build its offices there, does that mean that one or more of the big boxes will be eliminated? :blink:

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