What would you destroy?

[MAJIKMAN]

As another forumer said just about everything South of Cherrydale Point on Poinsett Highway to about the Northern edge of Greenville's North Main neighborhood (aside from a couple of exception along the corridor). To be such an important entrance downtown it really is quite depressing, especially the abandoned gas station over at the corner of Poinsett and Hampton-Pickney? the place lloks like its been abandoned for at least five years if not longer.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Don't you mean North to Stone Ave. And I do agree that that area is primed for some type of redevelopement. It going to take some vision though. Some who is not scared to take risk. We need someone from N.C. or Ga. Any takers. Hey could

someone get out there and take a few pics. To get some creative juices flowing. You know we have all kinds of people reading.

[RestedTraveler]

As another forumer said just about everything South of Cherrydale Point on Poinsett Highway to about the Northern edge of Greenville's North Main neighborhood (aside from a couple of exception along the corridor). To be such an important entrance downtown it really is quite depressing, especially the abandoned gas station over at the corner of Poinsett and Hampton-Pickney? the place lloks like its been abandoned for at least five years if not longer.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That was me!

The area between Stone Avenue and Heritage Green is pretty good now. You could view it as an anchor at one end of this stretch of road.

Burger King at Cherrydale has recently been replaced by an EXCELLENT new Long John Silvers/A&W. There's a new Walgreens coming to the Cherrydale area, too. And a Target rumored to be going in across Pleasantburg from Cherrydale. So, that area is another anchor.

Everything between Stone Avenue and Cherrydale could use some work. On the up-side, there is a new Dollar General store locating to a recently rennovated structure along the route. Maybe this will spur more development. Who knows?

Additionally, my wife has suggested to me a number of times that a skywalk be put near the intersection of Stone Avenue and Rutherford. There are pedestrians in the middle of the road there all the time and I believe a few have even been killed there in recent years. A skywalk would make it safer as long as the pedestrians would actually use it.

Don't you mean North to Stone Ave. And I do agree that that area is primed for some type of redevelopement. It going to take some vision though. Some who is not scared to take risk. We need someone from N.C. or Ga. Any takers. Hey could

someone get out there and take a few pics. To get some creative juices flowing. You know we have all kinds of people reading.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sure! I'm game. I've been meaning to capture a photo of my daughter's favorite "upside down A" anyway.

[RestedTraveler]

This is one of those threads that may need to be moved from the Upstate Parent Forum into the Greenville Forum as it pertains primarily to Greenville. Any seconds?

[Spartan]

You are right. This thread is largely Greenville.

[btoy]

I decided yesterday that with the post office near bowater the bank of america there should be torn down and replaced as well at the same time.

[RestedTraveler]

I decided yesterday that with the post office near bowater the bank of america there should be torn down and replaced as well at the same time.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yea - that postal carrier annex and the stuff around it is a prime location for some residential high rises. It's also an eye sore when crossing the Church Street Bridge.

[goodbye]

Very true! The Calvin Street Post Office could be moved into a nice new building on the other side of the Camperdown bridge. Parking could be placed under the bridge and behind the building, which would face Broad Street. This being said, I'd prefer that the USPS move that station completely out of the CBD area, but I understand its great importance in being located there. Mail is delivered to many of the downtown businesses and residences from that location. It also serves the McDaniel Road area and beyond.

[csedwards72]

McAlister Square should be demolished. It was a nice neighborhood mall, but then all of a sudden it died, and it has served its purpose. The things in it- small shops, office space and Greenville Tech space- could all be put downtown. There's no inherent reason to have them in a former mall, apart from the low cost. The site could be turned into housing. Bell Tower Mall/County Square should also be torn down and redeveloped as housing or nice office space; county employees could easily be transferred downtown into regular office space.

[MAJIKMAN]

(quote for Rested Traveler)

<Additionally, my wife has suggested to me a number of times that a skywalk be put near the intersection of Stone Avenue and Rutherford. There are pedestrians in the middle of the road there all the time and I believe a few have even been killed there in recent years. A skywalk would make it safer as long as the pedestrians would actually use it.>

Hey that would be a good idea. A lot of people have been killed in that area. That is why the city put in a traffic light there at the intersection of Earl and James St. This is where pedestrians can cross at stopped traffic. This is the only kind of crosswalk that I have ever seen and I have lived and been to a lot of places. This truely shows the lengths that the city will go to make the city walker friendly. But with all good things. People still cross at the wrong places along that road and drivers run the light. I'm assuming they don't see it. The city has be writing tickets for both offenses, running red lights and jay walking.

[Chickenwing]

I wonder if part of the reason for that traffic light is because of Gateway House. I know they are on both sides of the road there, and there is another complex down Earle St that several of their members live in as well. I doubt that any of them drive, and would be crossing the road here quite frequently.

[RestedTraveler]

That is why the city put in a traffic light there at the intersection of Earl and James St. This is where pedestrians can cross at stopped traffic.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

The traffic signal that had been there has since been removed (over a year ago, I believe). This is part of the problem, too, I think. People still cross there as if the traffic signal were still present to protect them from oncoming traffic.

[Greenville]

I don't mean this in an insensitive way, but I wish that the ugly building downtown next to the Holiday Inn Express would be torn down. I'm not sure of the name of it, but I believe it is government housing for disabled elderly people. I certainly don't want these people to be without a place to live, but a new building would give them a nicer place to live. Then the current building, which I consider to be an eyesore, could be torn down. A win-win, yes?

[GvilleSC]

I don't mean this in an insensitive way, but I wish that the ugly building downtown next to the Holiday Inn Express would be torn down.  I'm not sure of the name of it, but I believe it is government housing for disabled elderly people.  I certainly don't want these people to be without a place to live, but a new building would give them a nicer place to live.  Then the current building, which I consider to be an eyesore, could be torn down.  A win-win, yes?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

you nailed that one on the head. I totally agree. That property could seriously help continue our skyline to the north. Right now, there's not much hope for something up that way, due to current buildings and the cemetary.... Maybe they could combine that and the Greenville Summitt and create a large, tall building and free up some prime properties. Well, while we're at it, why not combine Scott towers with this too... ok, too far fetched, but still...

[btoy]

I don't mean this in an insensitive way, but I wish that the ugly building downtown next to the Holiday Inn Express would be torn down.  I'm not sure of the name of it, but I believe it is government housing for disabled elderly people.  I certainly don't want these people to be without a place to live, but a new building would give them a nicer place to live.  Then the current building, which I consider to be an eyesore, could be torn down.  A win-win, yes?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

you nailed that one on the head. I totally agree. That property could seriously help continue our skyline to the north. Right now, there's not much hope for something up that way, due to current buildings and the cemetary.... Maybe they could combine that and the Greenville Summitt and create a large, tall building and free up some prime properties. Well, while we're at it, why not combine Scott towers with this too... ok, too far fetched, but still...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

We need eldery housing and it would be very expensive to tear them down and rebuild. A waste of tax dollars. If how they look on the outside is the problem then lets change the problem. Towers East could say be stuccoed or something to make it more attractive, and Scott Towers only looks bad up close, I think they should only be torn down if they are deemed at some point unsafe, or we finally get to the boint were there is no prime land for towers left. Which is not going to happen for a very long time.

Also, I want to reply to the guy who hates mall and want to tear them all down.

Generally when you dear down a viable structure it is done to replace it with a higher use. Though that IS an option for the Greenville Mall and Bell Tower Mall (County Square) it is not for McCalister Square. Housing at McCalister Squares site would not work, the cost of the tearing down the mall would be too great to replace with homes. I think that the future of that site maybe office miderise, but not for a long time. I say let it stand, considering it is in use.

As for Greenville Mall, I think it can still be saved and would love to see it saved, but I realize that ultimatly and wrecking ball may be the answer.

County Sqaure? I am been preaching its destruction for a year now. Lets get rid of that thing and do some extremely high density housing and mixed use. But of some midrise and highrise condos, can you imagine the view from the pent houses?

[csedwards72]

Also, I want to reply to the guy who hates mall and want to tear them all down.

Generally when you dear down a viable structure it is done to replace it with a higher use.

[btoy]

For those malls- I grew up shopping at McAlister Square and made a lot of trips to Bell Tower Mall as a kid.  I like malls a lot, was especially sad to see McAlister Square and Greenville Mall go and would like to have each of them back as a regular mall.  But McAlister, Bell Tower and Greenville Malls have no future as enclosed retail malls and the land should be used for better purposes.  Especially McAlister Square and Bell Tower, now that they're used for office and other space, are very poor uses of their land: relatively small buildings surrounded by oceans of asphalt.  They should both be razed and replaced with higher-density housing or offices or something that'll make a more efficient use of their sites, in particular their massive and underused parking lots.  Something that would bring lots of tax revenues to Greenville, which needs more taxpaying people and assets near downtown, would be good (and especially something more attractive than those buildings are).  If a developer were planning to build offices, housing or other retail on those sites from scratch, would s/he build mall-like buildings and massive parking lots?  No.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I totally agree about Bell Tower Mall,

I have recently been in McCalister and I was real impressed with its current condition, not health, but how it looked. I do agree that all the asphalt around it is a waste, and from What I understand so does Greenville Tech. I remember hearing plans that lot of it is going to be taken up to create park space. Also I think you may at some point get to see some of sold off for Outparcels.

[Brandon]

I dont recommend that it be torn down, but perhaps a renovation is in order for the crescent shaped brick building that faces Falls Park. The main street side isnt so bad, but on the park side it looks like someone started building a building and just stopped.

[RestedTraveler]

I dont recommend that it be torn down, but perhaps a renovation is in order for the crescent shaped brick building that faces Falls Park. The main street side isnt so bad, but on the park side it looks like someone started building a building and just stopped.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Are you talking about Falls Place? I'm not placing the crescent-shaped brick building.

[Brandon]

Are you talking about Falls Place?  I'm not placing the crescent-shaped brick building.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

YES...Falls Place. I could NOT think of the name this morning.

[btoy]

They did just Renovate that place, they just Renovated it for RBC Centure, also, I think that a restaurant is going to be opening there so more renovations I am sure are on their way.

[Greenville]

We need eldery housing and it would be very expensive to tear them down and rebuild.  A waste of tax dollars.  If how they look on the outside is the problem then lets change the problem.  Towers East could say be stuccoed or something to make it more attractive, and Scott Towers only looks bad up close, I think they should only be torn down if they are deemed at some point unsafe, or we finally get to the boint were there is no prime land for towers left.  Which is not going to happen for a very long time.

Also, I want to reply to the guy who hates mall and want to tear them all down.

Generally when you dear down a viable structure it is done to replace it with a higher use.  Though that IS an option for the Greenville Mall and Bell Tower Mall (County Square) it is not for McCalister Square.  Housing at McCalister Squares site would not work, the cost of the tearing down the mall would be too great to replace with homes.  I think that the future of that site maybe office miderise, but not for a long time.  I say let it stand, considering it is in use.

As for Greenville Mall, I think it can still be saved and would love to see it saved, but I realize that ultimatly and wrecking ball may be the answer.

County Sqaure?  I am been preaching its destruction for a year now.  Lets get rid of that thing and do some extremely high density housing and mixed use.  But of some midrise and highrise condos, can you imagine the view from the pent houses?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I see your point, Brad, about it being too expensive to tear that building down and start over. Making the building more attractive on the outside with stucco or something is certainly a start. Right now, it's an eyesore and I wish someone would do something about it.

Also, I worry sometimes about all of the disabled residents who live there crossing Academy Street on their scooters en route to the North Hills Bi-Lo. People turning right from Main onto Academy are supposed to yield to people crossing, but I worry sometimes that it's going to be dark and a driver isn't going to see one of them...

[goodbye]

I would totally support a relocation of the elderly living at Towers East. As for an exterior renovation, sythetic stucco is a very cheap and effective way to drastically change a building's appearence (as I'm sure Brad knows). I've discussed this very issue recently with a few friends of mine. I personally think that the need/desire will eventually be strong enough that the City will make the necessary changes. Land value is already on a spaceship.

[jarvismj]

Actually, I'm surprised that Towers East hasn't gone up in flames yet. I used to deliver for Joy Food, and the number of times I was in there last summer, with the people having the heat cranked up, and the walls are all wood, yeah, its just a matter of time in my opinion until it goes up. My suggestion would be to locate two towers over near Laurens Road, between Pleasantburg and Haywood. Two reasons for that; land over there isn't as expensive, and it would be near a ROW for future LRT.

[goodbye]

Good point on the location of the buildings. Somewhere outside of the urban core would make the most sense to me, but I really don't know enough about these issues to make the proper call on this one. I do know that it seems a dangerous place to have them cross a large and busy Academy Street to get to the closest grocery store, and then climb a steep hill to get back home.

[MAJIKMAN]

The traffic signal that had been there has since been removed (over a year ago, I believe).    This is part of the problem, too, I think.  People still cross there as if the traffic signal were still present to protect them from oncoming traffic.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

There is a traffic signal @ that location. It is connected into the flashing walk don't walk crossing signals. And it is very visible that it is a crosswalk. The deal with most drivers running that light is this. There is a median that runs from the Salvation Army down to Stone Ave. Well sense there is no TRADITIONAL intersection there @ Earl and James. They concentrate on the next light @ Stone.

I have seen so many near misses with cars coming in both direction on Rutherford St. and seeing people in the middle of the crossing. Then the drivers of these cars blowing their horn to get people out of way. Only to realize that the people crossing are showing them the red light. But while I am talking about this. Don't cars have to stop for pedestrians anyway? I know this isn't a state by state or city by city thing. Hum...I may have to look into this. I know you have to in a lot of Northern and Mid-Western states and city. Can I get some feed back from some of those folks.