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Greenville's 2007 Top Ten Wish List


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As we did a Greenville top ten list for 2006, it should be right to start a new one with 2007 in mind. What ten would make Greenville great for next year?

1.) Greenville's downtown districts continue to grow and boast their presences.

2.) Hockey returns to Greenville. The untimely folding of the Grrrowl alienated many fans without a team. The Bi-Lo Center guarantees a team for next season.

3.) Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World officially announces its new store. Losing out to very dismal Costco at Magnolia Park, the popular outdoor sports store seeks to open in a grand location in a vital Greenville area.

4.) Initial steps begin to beautifying and revitalizing Rutherford Street/Poinsett Highway and Easley Bridge Road.

5.) The City of Greenville demands future towers to be of a minimum height. This dares developers to build taller buildings (400+ feet tall).

6.) The additions of Publix (McBee Station) and Super Bi-Lo (South Church Street @ University Ridge) may prompt more supermarkets to locate in or closer to downtown.

7.) Laurens Road (from Haywood Road to Mauldin) continues to see revitalization with Verdae and Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research. The complete rebuild of the I-85 interchange as a gateway to both districts entice people to stop and explore these treasures.

8.) Growth booms will draw major retailers and restauranteurs to Travelers Rest, Moonville, Powdersville and Taylors/Wade Hampton.

9.) The City of Greenville aggessively annexex northward (to Cherrydale) and northwestard (to Berea).

10.) Realization of light rail trainsit connecting Travelers Rest to Fountain Inn and Easley to Greer. Rubber wheel passenger tram is not as great everyone hopes for.

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It will probably be at least five years or so before hockey returns to the Bi-Lo Center. The financials that caused the previous team to fold haven't change, and won't until greater efforts are made to pay down the BLC's bonds.

Once some breathing room is accomplished, the BLC will probably need a bit of a remodel, by then being close to 15 years old.

Hockey isn't coming back anytime soon.

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Here's my wish list:

  1. The Camperdown to start construction

  2. City Hall Plaza to announce plans for new mixed use development and to begin construction

  3. The West End's revitilation to continue with the opening of new retail and resturants farther into the district

  4. The 8-story West End residential tower begin construction due to high interest

  5. Riverplace to start on atleast one new building in addition to completing the Terrace at Riverplace.

  6. Some sort of progress be made with the new federal courthouse, whether it be a design competition or a near DEFINITE time table.

  7. Announcement of atleast one new tower and the announcement of plans for Main at Washington/Piazza Bergamo/Bank of America...

  8. Magnolia Park Town Center construction to occur fast and residential interest to be high.

  9. TR-Greenville tram service to begin and be extremely successful to reach its full potential

  10. Greenville and Greenville County to experience more smart growth and dense infill.

GOOD LUCK in 2007 Greenville!
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Not having a major tenant at the Bi-Lo Center to draw crowds would worsen financial straints. Logically, they would not let that happen. You must spend some money to make more money in the long term.

Several other Leauges have inquired about relocating a team to Greenville for the 2007-8 season. I would like to see the AHL (the level below NHL) locate here, but we're not at that point yet. Perhaps something on the same tier as ECHL, either UHL or CHL, will land here.

It will be March or April when we hear something official about hockey's return.

***

GVille, I like your #4. Any idea we can see more towers closer to Anderson Street?

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As we did a Greenville top ten list for 2006, it should be right to start a new one with 2007 in mind. What ten would make Greenville great for next year?

1.) Greenville's downtown districts continue to grow and boast their presences.

2.) Hockey returns to Greenville. The untimely folding of the Grrrowl alienated many fans without a team. The Bi-Lo Center guarantees a team for next season.

3.) Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World officially announces its new store. Losing out to very dismal Costco at Magnolia Park, the popular outdoor sports store seeks to open in a grand location in a vital Greenville area.

4.) Initial steps begin to beautifying and revitalizing Rutherford Street/Poinsett Highway and Easley Bridge Road.

5.) The City of Greenville demands future towers to be of a minimum height. This dares developers to build taller buildings (400+ feet tall).

6.) The additions of Publix (McBee Station) and Super Bi-Lo (South Church Street @ University Ridge) may prompt more supermarkets to locate in or closer to downtown.

7.) Laurens Road (from Haywood Road to Mauldin) continues to see revitalization with Verdae and Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research. The complete rebuild of the I-85 interchange as a gateway to both districts entice people to stop and explore these treasures.

8.) Growth booms will draw major retailers and restauranteurs to Travelers Rest, Moonville, Powdersville and Taylors/Wade Hampton.

9.) The City of Greenville aggessively annexex northward (to Cherrydale) and northwestard (to Berea).

10.) Realization of light rail trainsit connecting Travelers Rest to Fountain Inn and Easley to Greer. Rubber wheel passenger tram is not as great everyone hopes for.

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I really hope #1 happens. I would love to see at least the major districts (West End, Pettigru Street, and Augusta Road) develop unique logos or design standards to be implemented into all street lamps, signs, etc... This would help the appeal and individuality of each district. To add to this idea, I would love to see more streets be redesigned using brick pavers, or another "old world" material to give a sense of history and charm to potentially vibrant places. These areas need a better sense of pedestrian-friendliness. The West End is well on its way to achieving this, but more needs to be done.
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I love the idea of making design standards/signatures for our districts. :thumbsup:

I also like the idea of pavers for redesigning streets. Which got me thinking and a key intersection that I'd like to see redone is McBee Ave and Spring Street. The pedestrian traffic will really pick up at this intersection and it'd be a great way to set it off. The city needs to pay SunTrust to redesign its awful plaza at that intersection. Its pavers look cheap, the building is kind of hidden and it could really be greatly improved upon. Maybe add a fountain, nice plantings, statue???

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Spring/Falls St in general needs a streetscape to make it look more like Richardson/River St. It doesn't have much traffic but it needs to be made easier to cross, particularly if McBee is to become a major east-west pedestrian axis. Its essentially a 4 lane road with 2 lanes worth of traffic. This would add to the bike lane system that the City it putting in, and generally help the appearance of the Spring St corridor.

My list:

  1. Find a permanent funding source for GTA (ideally the County will pitch in!)

  2. Signs of enhancement of "Main St corridor" feel to areas off of Main St: Coffee, Camperdown/River, McBee. This could mean projects... streetscapes... any improvements.

  3. More downtown housing units

  4. Progress on LRT/BRT issue

  5. More emphasis on City neighborhoods, city living, particularly on the west side (Hampton-Pinkney/Southernside) but also areas like the Greenline-Spartanburg neighborhood.

  6. N Main & Stone improvement (a road diet for N Main)

  7. Augusta St corridor enhancements for pedestrians, encouraging walkability

  8. A solution to the Woodruff Rd traffic problem

  9. Address the decline of Laurens Rd/Stone St (from Pleasantburg to Church) and a possible future for that corridor

  10. A major national retailer locating downtown

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Not having a major tenant at the Bi-Lo Center to draw crowds would worsen financial straints. Logically, they would not let that happen. You must spend some money to make more money in the long term.

Several other Leauges have inquired about relocating a team to Greenville for the 2007-8 season. I would like to see the AHL (the level below NHL) locate here, but we're not at that point yet. Perhaps something on the same tier as ECHL, either UHL or CHL, will land here.

GVille, I like your #4. Any idea we can see more towers closer to Anderson Street?

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There have been some great ideas mentioned, most of which I would also like to see. I have one more to add, and that is a dynamic and innovative site plan for Piazza Bergamo. I hope that the crosswalk will be torn down, and the old buildings that stretch from the piazza to Washington will be demolished in order to make room for a great development. Perhaps this is where our national retailers (Borders, etc.) can locate, which would go a long way toward making downtown more of a shopping destination.

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It would not be a bad location for Bass Pro Shops. I rather see them come locate downtown, preferribly along the Reedy River, to further enhance the area and draw more visitors and business. Either location would be fine with me because having the store is a treasure the area will proudly share.
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Well you have to consider that Spartanburg is more of a 'gateway to the mountains' with I-26, so much more traffic could be generated by that... and people from Asheville coming down to the coast, or even the Lakes in Anderson/Oconee. I would think that proximity to Greenville and Spartanburg, which make up the bulk of the Upstate's population, and near key access routes would be among their top priorities. Maybe they are considering that new site in the "Golden Box" area near Greer/Pelham/Reidville.

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That may be, but I am inclined to believe they would locate nearer to an actual destination rather than along a major route alone. Greenville is definitely a major "gateway to the mountains," and Anderson, Pickens, and Oconee Counties are home to the busiest group of lakes in the state, with millions of visitors each year. Most people traveling from Asheville to those lakes are not going to travel all the way down I-26 to I-85, since it is well out of their way. Many people in Asheville already travel to Greenville to shop, and that trip is not typically taken via I-26 to I-85 either.

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Perhaps. But BPS chose not to locate near either of the big lakes in the Charlotte area, so your theory is no guarantee either. I am simply contending that I think BPS would rather locate nearer to the center of the Greenville-Spartanburg sprawl than out in Anderson County.

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1. Funding for lightrail from Downtown to Simpsonville becomes a reality.

2. Developers add density to North Main from Academy to Stone...midrise 6,7,8 story buildings with retail on ground floor to fill in the parking lots along North Main and extend the downtown Main Street feel.

3. An observation tower on Roper Mountain.

4. Construction to begin on the 2nd "Collaboration" village at CU-ICAR.

5. A West Coast nonstop from GSP.....US Airways to Phoenix or Las Vegas hubs......United to the Denver hub.........Delta to the Salt Lake City hub.

6. Construction of the Federal Courthouse to begin.

7. Funding for high speed rail along the 85 corridor, along with construction of a new intermodal terminal in downtown (high speed rail, light rail, GTA transfer point, etc).

8. Development of the block with the existing GTA transfer station into a high rise.

9. Continued development around Haywood, so this area becomes a true midtown.

10. Addition of national retailers downtown.

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