Greenville, S.C., downtown: too popular
Having spent last night in downtown Greenville, S.C., I have a complaint:
It attracts way too many people.
OK, Furman's Homecoming weekend (I'm an alumna spouse) happened to coincide with the St. Francis Fall for Greenville festival. I have no idea how many thousands of people were packed into the downtown area. We weren't able to get a feel for the city at a typical time.
But the fact that a small city could host such a huge event says a lot.
Greenville has a lot going for it. Certainly, it's become a national model for downtown redevelopment. Larger cities, like Greensboro, can learn a lot. Indeed, city leaders took a bus trip to Greenville a few years ago for just that purpose.
A stroll down a seven- or eight-block stretch of Greenville's Main Street reveals an amazing variety of restaurants, bars, galleries, shops, hotels, banks, government buildings, residential complexes, theaters and more. The architecture, in many cases, is stunning. Public art and statues attract the eye. There are nearby sports facilities and the Reedy River parks, gardens, bridges and walkways. Beautiful.
I usually do most of my sightseeing while jogging. Much of my run this morning followed the Swamp Rabbit Trial, which traces the river from the Falls Park. It led past new residential developments, older neighborhoods and a series of small parks. I'm a big fan of greenways. Greenville's greenways, though, don't strike me as central at all to downtown development or activities. If Greensboro does build a greenway looping around downtown, it seems to me it would have to serve as a boundary rather than an attraction in its own right. It's what's in the middle that counts.
I haven't studied how Greenville created such a vibrant downtown, although I see it's still considered a work in progress. I don't know what holds up the Greenville economy and keeps all those restaurants, bars, shops and hotels in business, especially those of outstanding quality. All I can say is what others already have observed: Greenville has an exciting, vibrant and busy downtown.
Too darn busy sometimes.
Comments (6)
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Greenville is amazing. I love that place and how they have transformed downtown. But I liked Greenville before the transformation. Greenville, like most nice cities has water - it has a river. It's simply a way cooler place to be geographically - it's core is elevated and not claustrophobic, and there are mountains near by! And when it was originally set out there was a little thought put into it, this a better lay out, more churches and cemeteries and open space downtown. A sense of space...
I am grateful for the cool stuff going on in downtown Greensboro. But a river would be nice :-) Wonder if we could pull that off?
Posted on October 12, 2008 9:01 PM
Doug, I couldn't agree more -- I just love what they've done with downtown Greenville. I've been visiting there for about 10 or 12 years and have watch it happen. What I noticed was that 10 years ago, the redevelopment was mainly on the little downtown strip and the streets that shoot off from it (like our Elm St.). It didn't have much to do with the river at that time, or not in any way that was apparent to a visitor. When I was there a few weeks ago, I was impressed at how far out & around downtown the redevelopment has gone. It's clear that the planning was done, and done well there, and that they stuck with a long-range plan for a long time, something we haven't been all that great at here. I would say that Greensboro is at least 10 years behind Greenville in this downtown revitalization (plus there's that no river thing).
You said, "I don't know what holds up the Greenville economy and keeps all those restaurants, bars, shops and hotels in business, especially those of outstanding quality."
I think I can answer that one: lots of high-income professionals working at the US headquarters of BMW, Michelin, Fluor & Bowater.
Posted on October 13, 2008 7:42 AM
The river is a great asset, but most of the downtown development is not along the river.
Thanks for listing those businesses, Dawn. I noticed the Bowater building down by the Falls.
Interesting that they are all multinational corporations. Greenville certainly was hurt by offshoring of the textile industry, but it's hardly let itself be a victim of globalization.
Posted on October 13, 2008 8:35 AM
Another thing that stimulates their economy is a young professional community with disposable income and fresh ideas. I have never heard anyone say a bad thing about G-Vegas and in fact, most people I speak to in their late 20s to early 30s would love to live there. You do not get that feeling about Greensboro.
Greensboro is trying and has made a great strides in the years that I have lived here. The one thing that is missing though, is positive energy. It is hard for a community to stay positive and upbeat when all you hear about is job loss. This area needs to find its identity after the manufacturing, textile, and furniture losses. Raleigh=Bio Charlotte=Banks Greensboro=logistics?
Posted on October 13, 2008 2:42 PM
For the record, when looking at urban areas Greenville is actually larger than Greensboro. South Carolina's annexation laws are very strict and most of Greenville's people live in the county because of the small city limits. I wish they would change those laws.
Posted on October 24, 2008 4:46 PM
Thanks for the info.
I'm actually planning to go back to Greenville next month with a group from the city of High Point interested in learning the secrets of success there. Looking forward to it.
Posted on October 24, 2008 5:03 PM