The Gateway Site

[krazeeboi]

Some within the city are advising the Mayor not to push for a convention center downtown for it would be empty too much of the year for it to make a positive impact. 

 

That's dumb. A downtown location in and of itself would give Greenville a leg up in landing meetings over peer cities.

[gman430]

Project is still a 'go' according to today's update from bidclerk with construction slated to start October 6th: https://www.bidclerk.com/project/2700747.html

[Exile]

Just out of idle curiosity, and too lazy to look through the forum, did the Gateway Site ever get any serious consideration as a spot for a convention center? I'm looking at Google Earth, and it seems to me that it's a natural: proximity to the Arena and to the Hyatt (kind of like the way the Marriott Marquis, Hilton, and Hyatt in Atlanta combine forces); with the potential (perhaps) of putting a hotel next to it, say across from Liberty Square (if there's enough room between the Church Street and the garage). Conventions I've been to in larger cities sometimes required a lot more effort than parking at the Arena and walking across a bridge would.

 

I am living elsewhere now, but I don't recall ever hearing mention of the possibility.

[vicupstate]

I've never heard of the Gateway site being considered for a convention center, but recently an article quoted an official with the Bon Secours Arena saying he supported the center going on there surface parking lot.   

[vicupstate]

The apartment project is dead, per a very reliable source. 

[scgubers]

The apartment project is dead, per a very reliable source. 

 

Thanks for affirming. 

[apaladin]

Just like I said a while back. This property is prime for people who have no plans to develop it. Buy it, have someone draw up some plans knowing all alone you are not going to build anything. Sit on it a few months are a year resell it for a good profit.

[vicupstate]

^^ I don't know that it has changed hands that often since the the Auditorium Authority sold it the first time. 

 

I have doubts that it will ever be developed unless it is for a Convention Center or other government project.   

[gman430]

The site is just in a bad location plain and simple. I say put a city park on site until it's developed but what do I know.

[William01]

I say put a hotel with restaurants,etc, so people can walk across the bridge to The Bon Secours Wellness Arena to see a concert. 

[Exile]

The site is just in a bad location plain and simple. I say put a city park on site until it's developed but what do I know.

 

If it's too difficult to build on, then I think the park idea is good. Maybe put the mother of all statues (Greenville statues, of course) in the center, or something taller, like an obelisk. Or maybe Greenville's run out of money for monuments? Too bad the Wilkins house couldn't have been moved there.

 

Is there irony in the fact that the street construction that required the destruction of the Carolina Theater 40-odd years ago has now orphaned such a prominent location? Is there a higher elevation in downtown? If so, not by much, I would guess.

[gvegascple]

How about a sky needle - observation deck type of structure in the spot?  It would fit in will with the smaller footprint, give folks a view of the mountains and downtown and present another destination attraction to attract pedestrian (or automobiles parking at BSWC) traffic.  IT would give us some height that everyone seems to be clamoring for as well.  It could spur some growth on that side of the town.  Put the GO center at its base?  It is a bit cheesy and expensive though.  I think the location is pretty rotten as well to be honest.  What do other cities do with similar spots?  Traffic just surges around this spot on all sides most of the day, anything successful here would make traffic coming into town royally suck.  I wouldn't want to have to live there and deal with traffic getting in or out without someone tunneling me an escape route.

Edited June 23, 2014 by gvegascple

[greenjoesc]

A massive traffic circle with some monuments or large artwork in the middle. The difficulty in getting pedestrians in that location is a killer.

[gman430]

Perfect timing. G-News story on this: http://www.greenvilleonline.com/story/money/business/2014/06/23/plans-downtowns-bermuda-triangle-fall/11276599/

[motonenterprises]

I wonder if we're ready for something over the Landmark building's height yet? We're on a fairly consistent roll with low to mid rises and building density. If the One Project combined and went vertical, that would've gave us 30+ floors right there. One is 9, one is 11, and the one under construction now is 12. Of course it would've taken away from the footprint though.

[NBNY2GRNVL]

I think a epicenter style mixed use building with retail and entertainment like they have in Charlotte would work perfectly there. People could see shows at the arena come out and eat at the complex and hang out in whatever entertainment options are there. You could have a hotel on the upper floors and there's plenty of parking because of the parking complex for the arena.

Because of its location to the highway its the only spot in the city for something like that it would not cause a traffic mayhem nightmare.

[mallguy]

Agreed.  I'm surprised that nobody has proposed an Epicenter-type thing for downtown Greenville yet.

 

Louisville has something similar, I think.

[gman430]

I say plant some trees and be done with it.

[Greenville]

I say plant some trees and be done with it.

 

Why would someone who paid good money for that land put something like a park there that generates zero in revenue?  The owners would be paying property tax every year, just out of the goodness of their hearts so Greenville can have another park?  Not going to work.

 

The only way for a park to work there is for the city to buy it.  I'm not comfortable with the city wasting millions of dollars to buy the site, just to turn it into a park which isn't likely to be used very often.  The city should save that money for something else.

 

The most recent development made a lot of sense with apartments.  They provided density on a weirdly laid out piece of land, as well as people in a new part of downtown where there is not currently a lot of residential density.  I'm hoping for something similar to be built there.

[vicupstate]

^^ I agree.  Apartments always made the most sense. I think the large number of competing units had a lot to do with the project being dropped.  I see that use (residential) or some sort of public office building as the only viable options. 

[Exile]

The site might not be worth millions if it's not worth building on. If that were the case, then the owners might be happy to get anything out of it. I suppose that, having bought it in 2008 (according to the News article), they thought they were getting it cheap. But maybe it's just a bad site. It's across the street from a courthouse, an arena, and a historic church/graveyard, which means that the city's not going to grow to or around it in any meaningful way.  And access is terrible, even for pedestrians, as greenjoesc noted.

 

Seems to me that the only real potential is as some sort of complement or adjunct to the Arena, particularly because a wide footbridge already exists there.

 

Or, some enterprising entrepreneur could build over Beattie Pl.

 

Who knows? In the meantime, plant the trees.

[ausrutherford]

I would personally like to see the Hilton built on the site. The current one could become a Doubletree. Hiltons belong downtown...

[NBNY2GRNVL]

The site might not be worth millions if it's not worth building on. If that were the case, then the owners might be happy to get anything out of it. I suppose that, having bought it in 2008 (according to the News article), they thought they were getting it cheap. But maybe it's just a bad site. It's across the street from a courthouse, an arena, and a historic church/graveyard, which means that the city's not going to grow to or around it in any meaningful way.  And access is terrible, even for pedestrians, as greenjoesc noted.

 

Seems to me that the only real potential is as some sort of complement or adjunct to the Arena, particularly because a wide footbridge already exists there.

 

Or, some enterprising entrepreneur could build over Beattie Pl.

 

Who knows? In the meantime, plant the trees.

 

"Seems to me that the only real potential is as some sort of complement or adjunct to the Arena"

 

This is why I like the entertainment complex idea. There is plenty of parking next door, a bridge connecting the garage and the property and the events at the area would go perfect with restaurants, movie theater, bowling alley, upscale night clubs, national retail and anything else you could think of. Plus you could put a hotel on top of it and that would go perfect with people coming in to see shows and who don't want to drive home. This would also make the area more usable for big multi day conferences. We keep taking about a convention center that could pull in big events. Well heck we already have on paid for by the tax payers we just need to make it more usable. The only down side would be needing a bridge to connect it with the rest of downtown but I'm sure that could be figured out some how. Maybe a tunnel would work better than a bridge or just reconfigure the intersection at 385 and Church St. A mass transit option to get into town from the Verdae area could stop there and drop people off as a gateway to the rest of DT.

 

"Seems to me that the only real potential is as some sort of complement or adjunct to the Arena"

 

This is why I like the entertainment complex idea. There is plenty of parking next door, a bridge connecting the garage and the property and the events at the area would go perfect with restaurants, movie theater, bowling alley, upscale night clubs, national retail and anything else you could think of. Plus you could put a hotel on top of it and that would go perfect with people coming in to see shows and who don't want to drive home. This would also make the area more usable for big multi day conferences. We keep taking about a convention center that could pull in big events. Well heck we already have one paid for by the tax payers we just need to make it more usable. The only down side would be needing a bridge to connect it with the rest of downtown but I'm sure that could be figured out some how. Maybe a tunnel would work better than a bridge or just reconfigure the intersection at 385 and Church St. A mass transit option to get into town from the Verdae area could stop there and drop people off as a gateway to the rest of DT.

 

[vicupstate]

^^ Something like that would be a better fit for the Greenville News site.  An arena is not a convention center.  Convention Centers needs flexible meeting and exhibit space, not 16,000 seats.  An Epicentre type development with a hotel and office space would be a good fit for the Greenville News site, with the Calvin/Falls St. area being the site of the Convention Center itself (the old postal facility parcels).

[gman430]

They put the world's largest whack-a-mole game on the gateway site. Whack! Whack! Whack!

Edited June 25, 2014 by gman430