Maxwell Next on Project List
September 18, 2008
Greenwood, SC - As the Main Street pedestrian crosswalk project comes to completion in the next couple of weeks, the City of Greenwood is set to embark on more improvements for Uptown.
| This time, construction will move to Maxwell Avenue with the start of a much anticipated streetscape project. Maxwell will be under construction for the next six months from the intersection of Main Street to the intersection of Edgefield Street. |
| The first phase of the project will take place along Maxwell from the intersection of Edgefield to the intersection of Monument Street.
The city has contracted with AOS Specialty Contractors Inc. to remove the existing asphalt surface and brick base and construct a new and improved pavement section that will include street trees, landscaping and decorative pedestrian level lighting.
The design for the project was developed by Davis and Floyd Inc. of Greenwood.
AOS is set to begin demolition work Monday near the intersection of Maxwell and Edgefield.
When completed, Maxwell will take on a similar look to that of Oregon Avenue.
The city completed the Oregon streetscape project in 2007.
Funding for the Maxwell streetscape is being provided by a grant from the South Carolina Department of Commerce Rural Infrastructure Opportunity Program with matching funds from the city.
Greenwood CPW is also providing funding to install the new street lighting.
“The street improvements being made will continue the efforts to develop the Emerald Triangle into an arts and cultural destination,” said local photographer Jon Holloway, who has an art gallery on Maxwell Avenue.
The Emerald Triangle District is a nine-acre triangular shaped area in the heart of Uptown bordered by Maxwell Avenue and the CSX railroad. The 2004 Greenwood City Center Master Plan outlined a plan to make cultural investments to spur new economic development to include art studios, small shops and restaurants.
Holloway has renovated two buildings on Maxwell Avenue -- one for his photography studio and a second for the recently opened studio named Meridian, a collection of 12 artist studios and shops that feature jewelry, painting and more.
“Everywhere you look in Uptown, there’s something new and exciting taking place,” Holloway said. “From the recent reopening of the Greenwood Museum to the construction of the new library, Uptown’s future is bright.”
The installation of three sections of crosswalk along Main Street began in May. Chandler Construction of Greenwood should complete the project by the first of October. Crews are finishing the final section of crosswalks at the intersection of Main and Maxwell.
“I am very pleased with the improvements made by the city to enhance the pedestrian experience in Uptown,” attorney Welborn Adams said.
Adams is renovating the Barksdale Building, located at the intersection of Maxwell and Main, into a mixed commercial and residential development.
“With the increase in gas prices, the national real estate trend is for people to move back into city centers,” Adams said.
“We are now poised to capitalize on that trend in Greenwood.”
Including the streetscape improvement along Maxwell Avenue, the total public and private investment made in the Emerald Triangle District over the last four years is approaching 10 million dollars. This total includes investments made in the Arts Center at the Federal Building, the Greenwood Community Theatre and The Museum.
For information, visit www.uptowngreenwood.com or call 942-8411.
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