Ambitious project weaving together government, business, culture and housing in the Uptown area remains on track
January 1, 2006
By MEGAN VARNER
Index-Journal senior staff writer
After finding a spot in an Uptown parking deck, you take a stroll down the tree-lined Main Street to stop into an upscale specialty shop for a unique buy or have a cup of coffee at a trendy new bistro. From your seat, you can see others leaving their Uptown apartments, on their way for a visit to the improved Greenwood Community Theatre, The Museum or Old Federal Building or heading to an outdoor cultural event or to a lush city park for a quiet moment. It’s all part of a long-term dream that is on its way to becoming a reality for Uptown Greenwood.
The Greenwood City Center Master Plan, unveiled to the public in February 2004 as a long-term project designed to revitalize economic activity in the town’s center, made significant headway in 2005, officials say. The plan is the result of months of study conducted on the physical, economic and cultural demands of the city center. With short-, mid- and long-term goals in place through 2015, developers of the plan hope to transform the Uptown area into a cultural hub for the seven-county region, complete with specialty retail and dining destinations, a network of parks and a number of residential options in existing and new buildings in town. The plan is a collaborative effort among public and private groups in the city and county, including the Uptown Greenwood Development Corporation, Partnership for a Greater Greenwood County & Economic Alliance, City Center Plan Steering Committee, CPW, Greenwood Area Chamber of Commerce and the Upper Savannah Council of Governments. Lander University, Self Regional Healthcare, the Arts Council of Greenwood County, The Museum, Greenwood Community Theatre, Greenwood County Public Library and Uptown merchants also have participated in the master plan.
“We wanted to know what we could do to get people to come (to the Uptown area) and then build around what the people were coming for,” said Jeff Fowler, CEO with the Partnership Alliance, which has helped secure a number of grants for the master plan. “Once people start coming in, more people will be spending money and walking around.” Fowler said this would spur retailers and businesses to open shops in the Uptown area and would help the district capture some of the money being spent at stores on the bypass and outside of the Greenwood area. “Most of that money is being spent on things that could be in the city’s center,” such as specialty furnishing shops, higher-end restaurants and boutiques, Fowler said.
One of the first major phases of the plan is the $3.45 million Emerald Triangle Project, which includes renovations, upgrades and additions to the Old Federal Building, The Museum and the Greenwood Community Theatre, as well as streetscaping projects along Oregon Avenue. The Triangle project was aided by several major grants, including a $200,000 Rural Infrastructure Fund from the S.C. Department of Commerce and a $400,000 HUD Economic Development Initiative Appropriation. Both were used for renovations to the Old Federal Building and for the creation of a Regional Visitor and Tourism Center to be housed in the building.
“Those grants helped our campaign a lot. Anything like that gives you a big boost,” said Anne Craig, executive director for the Arts Council of Greenwood County, which will have offices in the renovated Old Federal Building. The Old Federal Building, which also will house offices for the Self Family Foundation, a public reception hall, gallery and classrooms, is tentatively scheduled to be completed in late January, Craig said. The next step of the Triangle project, renovations to the theater, is anticipated to begin in early 2006, with about eight months of work to be done, Craig added.
The final step in the project will deal with The Museum, which Craig said possibly could move to another location within the next five years. The Museum Executive Director Matthew Edwards said consultants will be brought in before the decision to move or remain at the current location is made. Because that decision is still some distance in the future, Edwards said the short-term focus for The Museum is to stabilize the current structure and fix water problems that have been plaguing the building.
With the help of a matching grant from the Self Family Foundation, The Museum is planning an extensive exhibit revitalization which will be under way for the next six to nine months and will “add a more cohesive, esthetic appeal to the museum,” Edwards said. The work on the Emerald Triangle is scheduled to be nearing completion next year, and Craig said the project’s completion would be a major validation for the City Center Master Plan. “Now that we’ve finished one big piece of it, it adds legitimacy to the plan. People see something that is very concrete and they know that the next steps can be achieved, too,” Craig said.
Beginning in 2006, streetscaping projects will begin along Main Street in Greenwood, said Charlie Barrineau, assistant city manager. Oak and Japanese Cherry trees will be added and relocated along the road, and the median will be extended southward, he said. An Uptown entrance sign will be added in the area just south of the Inn on the Square. “We’re hoping for a gateway effect as you enter Uptown on the south end,” Barrineau said. The second phase of the streetscape project will be the addition of decorative crosswalks in three locations in Uptown, and Barrineau said the city currently is seeking funding for that project. The city already has received a $488,861 community development block grant for a streetscape project along Oregon Avenue, and Barrineau said construction on that phase is tentatively scheduled to begin in the summer of 2006. “It should improve the visual effect (of the street) to match the improved the Federal Building, (Greenwood Community) Theatre and Museum,” Barrineau said.
Beyond 2006, Barrineau said the city will begin looking at projects for Maxwell Avenue as well as projects that will create “linkages” and a cohesive appearance for the district between Lander University and Self Regional Hospital. Longer-term projects are planned for a parking deck and specialty shops on Oregon Avenue, a park in the Uptown area and residential options in existing and new buildings in the district. The new Greenwood County Library, which will be located on the Main Street lot where the old Winn Dixie once operated, will be another major anchor of the master plan, though its completion is still years away.
Though the plan isn’t set in stone, partners in the project will be “advocating for the completion of the entire master plan for the town center,” said Frank Wideman, president of the Self Family Foundation, which also has worked to secure private and public funding for the master plan. Wideman said the building of partnerships between all of the groups committed to the project has been one reason the plan has been successful so far. “The (City Center Master Plan) is absolutely vital for the survival of the town center,” Wideman said. “One of the things we’ve really been stressing is the need to improve the quality of life in Greenwood. A part of that effort is the revitalization for the town center and to have a vibrant arts and cultural district. “If Greenwood is to move forward in the future, we believe that ensuring that we have the best quality of life possible for a community of this size is critical,” Wideman said.
Ten years from now, when the master plan has been completed, the hope is that the Uptown area will appear more like a “mini-Greenville,” Fowler, with the Partnership Alliance, said. “You’ll see more walking, more diversity in retail and a big diversity between retailers in Uptown and the bypass,” Fowler said. “I think they will compliment each other.”