Downtown Greenville Master Plan Greenville, South Carolina June 2008 Sasaki Associates, Inc. W-ZHA CGD Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Greenville Today 11 Positioning Greenville 17 Master Planning Principles 27 Five Corners 33 Making Connections 47 Implementation Strategy 59 Acknowledgments 84 Executive Summary 01 CHAPTERCHAPTER Executive Summary The City of Greenville has undertaken this current master plan as a way to look forward and ensure the success of downtown for the next twenty years. In each decade, Greenville has stepped ahead of other cities, acting boldly to reinvent and strengthen the downtown. This proactive approach has served the City well, making Greenville a model for other cities to emulate. As the City well realizes, the work of building and sustaining downtowns is an ongoing endeavor. In this light, the City of Greenville has undertaken this current master plan as a way to look forward and ensure the success of downtown for the next twenty years. The plan faces the realities of downtown today, building on its strengths and confronting issues Figure 1.1. The downtown Greenville Skyline. that must be addressed to move forward. The goals of this master plan are to: . Create a framework for future development downtown . Reinforce the role of downtown as an economic catalyst for the region . Leverage prior successes to move to the next level 4. Create a fully functional mixed use, sustainable, urban environment. Main Street is understood to be the center of downtown but the definition of the outer boundaries varies, especially as Main Street has been extended (Figure .). For the purposes of this study, the downtown area is defined by the Stone Avenue corridor on the north, the Butler Street Corridor on the west, the Church Street corridor on the east and University Ridge and the Stadium on the south. While the study focuses on the Figure 1.2. Greenville is the hub of the Upstate region. area within these bounds, the immediate and the larger context is just as important in understanding the role of downtown. Downtown Greenville Master Plan Report Figure 1.3. Main Street defines the identity of downtown Greenville today. Executive Summary With a combined population of over a million underutilized areas within the downtown, people in the Greenville-Spartanbug MSA, each one complementing Main Street. the area is a significant economic force. Since each corner is located at a key A constellation of smaller cities and their downtown gateway, redevelopment metropolitan areas compete for position in and placemaking will transform the region, including Asheville, Augusta, the arrival sequence. and Columbia. Greenville stands out for the quality of its downtown, large corporate The Five Corners are: headquarters and job opportunities, and its position at the foothills of the Blue Ridge . Broad & River District: Church Street/ Mountains. While significant universities Route 9 gateway in the southeast are located in the region, including Clemson, Figure 1.4. The Falls in Downtown Greenville. Gateway District: Interstate 85 Furman, and Bob Jones, none of these gateway in the northeast are located proximate to downtown. Heritage Green: Rutherford/Route 76 gateway in the northwest Looking Forward 4. County Square: the south end between Looking forward, a strong Main Street Church Street and Augusta Street is essential to maintain the identity of downtown Greenville (Figure .). A 5. Warehouse District: between healthy green canopy of trees and active Academy Street/Route 123 and storefronts and restaurants will engage Main Street in the West End. pedestrians whether they are visiting or Downtown today offers an incredible living in Greenville. Falls Park along the range of cultural activities. In the heart of Figure 1.5. The Peace Center is a major downtown Reedy River counterbalances Main Street downtown, the Peace Center is a striking destination. by offering an informal park experience, presence on Main Street overlooking with the dramatic Liberty Bridge, echoes of the river (Figure .5). Many of the other the historic mill buildings, and the ability to destinations, however, are off Main The geography of Greenville is such that touch the water and the rocks below (Figure Street and sometimes difficult to get to, downtown anchors the western part of .4). The trend toward downtown housing in especially on foot. The redevelopment the city and is complemented by two The Bookends, Poinsett Corners, RiverPlace, of the Five Corners will embrace many other centers of economic activity. and McBee Station will strengthen the of these destinations, creating more The Pleasantburg corridor represents constituency of residents that are more lively activities to complement them. an inner ring of suburban growth, with committed to downtown and its services on The improvement of streetscape and primarily retail services along its length a day in and day out basis. The historic in- extension of park areas will make it easier as well as the newly renovated Carolina town neighborhoods of Hampton/Pinckney, to connect to all of the downtown cultural First Center, the Downtown Airport, and McDaniel Avenue/Alta Vista, Earle Street/ venues. Except for County Square, each Greenville Technical College. On the eastern North Main and Pettigru further complement district is within a five to ten minute walk end of the city, the emerging growth area the residential base of downtown. coalesces loosely around the intersection of the heart of Main Street. In the future, of I-85 and I-85, with shopping malls, The goal of the current master plan the BI-LO Center, Zoo, Museum of Art, nearby corporate headquarters, the new is to look beyond Main Street, however, Library, Little Theatre, Bob Jones Museum Clemson University International Center to achieve a more fully functioning and Gallery, Imagine Nation Children’s for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR), and downtown. In the future, downtown Museum, Upcountry History Museum, and the proposed lifestyle center at Verdae. will offer a variety of distinct places that Greenville Drive Stadium will feel integrated expand the office and housing market and connected within the downtown. Greenville is the hub of the Upstate in South opportunities and allow people to stroll Building on the success of Falls Park and Carolina halfway between Charlotte and easily throughout a larger area. The Five Cleveland Park, an entire necklace of green Atlanta along the I-85 corridor (Figure .). Corners of Greenville are designed to will encircle downtown (Figure .6). give distinctive identities to currently Downtown Greenville Master Plan Report Figure 1.6. Proposed downtown master plan. Executive Summary 4 To Paris Mountain State Park Every part of downtown will have direct To Travelers Rest & Furman University access to these parks, and from there will k connect to regional park systems along e e r C d n a l !Äå h ÄÊ c ! foot paths and bicycle trails. Downtown and i R the West End occupy high ground with the !Äå !Äå greenville Reedy River flowing between them. The south carolina City has already planned for trail and park !Äå !Äå trails and greenways extensions upstream and downstream on master plan !Äå the Reedy River (Figure .7). Extending this !Äå !ÄÊ !ÄÊ !Äå !ÄÊ !ÄÊ park system up the Richland Creek tributary, !Äå ¨¦§385 Äå !ÄÊ ! !ÄÊ !ÄÊ which flows near the Pettigru neighborhood, !Äå !Äå !ÄÊ !ÄÊ !ÄÊ !ÄÊ !ÄÊ and along the McPherson Park creek To Greer & !ÄÊ !ÄÊ Spartanburg !Äå ¨¦§385 !ÄÊ between downtown and the NorthEnd, will !ÄÊ !Äå !ÄÊ !ÄÊ !Äå help provide more direct access for more !Äå !Äå !Äå people. The final link of the Green Necklace La ur el C will cross the ridge along Academy Street, r e e ¦¨§85 k !ÄÊ !ÄÊ !Äå which can be improved as a green parkway !ÄÊ passing through the many church campuses !Äå R !ÄÊ e e d y R on the western edge of downtown. i v e r B !Äå r u !ÄÊ s hy C ree !Äå k !Äå The street network will provide the !Äå !Äå structure to tie the downtown together, complemented by an inter-modal transit To Mauldin ¨¦§185 To Piedmont system. A finer grain of secondary streets !Äå will help disperse traffic and make them ¦¨§85 more walkable for pedestrians. Today Church Street, Academy Street, and the To Anderson Beattie/North pair concentrate high-speed Legend Greenway Trail - Proposed !ÄÊ Destination Point Destination !ÄÊ traffic, setting up barriers that are difficult Greenway Trail - Existing School !Äå School Street Based Trail - Proposed Park Road Street Based Trail - Existing Water Body Lake Conestee Major Road Natural Surface Trail - Proposed Central Business District Interstate for pedestrians to cross. Main Street is Natural Surface Trail - Existing Greenville City Extent Railroad To Simpsonville & 0 0.25 0.5 1 Fountain Inn O Miles the only truly walkable street with full Figure 1.7. City of Greenville Trails Master Plan streetscape and many doors that open on to the street. In the future, many streets will serve this multi-functional role, and the major arterials will become attractive. To minimize vehicular traffic, the transit system needs to work on many levels from the regional to the local scale. On the horizon, a proposed high speed rail will connect Raleigh, Charlotte and Atlanta. Two alignments are under consideration: the current Amtrak route and a new route parallel to the Interstate 85 corridor. The secondary transit system is a proposed 5 Downtown Greenville Master Plan Report bus rapid transit (BRT) with stops at the The process began in March 007 when Amtrak Station, downtown, Laurens Road, the Sasaki team engaged in conversations the Convention Center, Woodruff Road, with a number of focus groups, including Verdae, CU-ICAR and Mauldin, effectively • City Management and Economic connecting the primary economic centers in Development Staff the city.