Residents Gather To Hear Plans for South Main/Edgefield/Spring Street Redevelopment
December 17, 2011
By CHRIS TRAINOR
Index-Journal
Greenwood, SC - Landscaping improvements, extensive streetscaping, infrastructure upgrades, aesthetic improvements, new connecting roads and other ideas were presented Friday as Partnership Alliance and consultants Arnett Muldrow hosted the latest public meeting on creating a master plan for the potential redevelopment of what has become known as the South Main/Edgefield Street/Spring Street corridor.
|
A large crowd of interested residents and property owners gathered for Friday's meeting at the Federal Building. A number of government officials also attended the gathering, including Greenwood Mayor Welborn Adams, city manager Charlie Barrineau, county manager Jim Kier, several members of City Council and members of the Greenwood CPW board.
|
Partnership Alliance CEO Mark Warner addresses the crowd Friday during a meeting in which a master plan for the redevelopment of the South Main/Edgefield Street/Spring Street corridor was discussed. (Chris Trainor
| Index-Journal) |
|
Partnership Alliance and other officials have been talking for some time about the possibility of redevelopment just south of Uptown Greenwood, with one key ingredient being the creation of a more cohesive link between the major medical district - which includes the Self Regional Healthcare campus and the Greenwood Genetic Center campus - and Uptown.
The Arnett Muldrow firm, which has consulted on several projects in Greenwood in recent years, has outlined several goals for the creation of corridor redevelopment master plan, including:
* Preserving and enhancing the neighborhood.
* Better connecting Uptown Greenwood with Self Regional Medical Center and its associated uses.
* Enhancing South Main Street as a place for quality investment.
* Developing a step-by-step short-, medium- and long-term implementation strategy.
The consulting team is continuing to develop the master plan and is set to host another public meeting in January.
The consultants shared some initial ideas on Friday, including an agressive plan to redevelop Carolina Avenue in a manner in which it would connect South Main Street to an as-yet-undeveloped phase of the Greenwood Genetic Center campus.
Consultant Tripp Muldrow noted the South Main/Edgefield Street/Spring Street corridor redevelopment master plan will call for cooperation amoung city government, CPW, business owners, home owners, and renters in the target area. It also will call upon groups and residents to seek funding from a number of sources.
Some suggested funding sources included Housing Trust funds, Community Land Trust funds, new market tax credits, tax increment financing and Community Development Block Grants.
Time horizons for implementation of a master plan would include one to two years for conducting due diligence and securing funding, two to five years for the completion of demonstration projects and five-10 years for the completion o long-term projects.
Adams said he has liked what he has seen so far in the corridor master plan development . At the same time, the mayor acknowledged such an aggressive redevelopment and reimagining of the corridor would take time and money.
"It can definitely happen," Adams said. "I believe it can happen. This is the reason I wanted to be mayor of the City of Greenwood, because things like this get you excited about the future. We've got to have the community buy in. Not only the landowners, but the rest of the community supporting it. It can definitely happen."
Partnership Alliance CEO Mark Warner said he was particularly enamored with the consultants' idea to redevelop Carolina Avenue and have it connect South Main Street to a potential new phase of the Genetic Center campus.
Warner said he had not previously considered such a plan.
"What (the consultant team) brings is a set of trained, fresh eyes, particularly as it relates to the Carolina Avenue aspect," Warner said. "My grandmother owned a house in a neighborhood not too far from there, so I've been going into that part of Greenwood for years. But it took someone coming in with a completely different set of eyes and saying "Have you thought about this?"
|