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I think I saw you guys on the news last night, Allen.

I think Greenville has got it going on. But I think Greensboro has come along way in a short time.

What I do find interesting, is the idea that because Greensboro is larger than Greenville, our downtown should be at least as vibrant if not more.

I've lived in small towns most of my life, and just about all of them had more going on downtown than larger cities. I think it's because small towns are generally smaller in area and there is less to do outside of downtown. Also, the chances of bumping into somebody you know downtown is so much higher.

I love the idea of Greensboro having a vibrant downtown. But I honestly feel that if it is to be successful, most of the business is going to come from folks who live within walking distance.

truth, I too have lived in a lot of small towns and part of what you say is true. However to imply that Greenville has less to do outside the downtown is a bit of a stretch. Having lived on the boarder of SC for the last year and doing most of my shopping in Spartenburg and Greenville I can tell you that there is much more going on out side of Greenville than most cities its size. Greenville is not an isolate, nor is G'boro. There is Spartenburg located next door , simular to WS. There are so many small towns which offer thier special kind of charm and draw, many more actually than found around G'boro.
Greenville has spent a lot of time in planning, putting together private funding, example, Bi Lo Center, which is not a drain on the pocketbooks of the folks in Greenville as is the "White Elephant" in G'boro. The events at the BiLo center draw folks from all around and I am one of them. When there for events, we shop and spend money in downtown. We found it so good that we often just go "downtown" just to enjoy ourselves dining or shopping. Lots of NC tags parked downtown Greenville.
The folks in Greenville have not attempted to cater to just one section of society in downtown, there is a good mix, rednecks and yuppies walk the same streets.
Greenville has not taxed it's infastructure to death to pay for improvements or because improvements have been made, unlike what I read about what is happening in G'boro.
The State of SC has not taxed new business, which supports much of downtown Greenville , out of business as NC does. Why do you think Michilin and BMW with all the satillete business located in SC instead of NC.
I could go on and on as to the reason's Greenville's downtown has had the sucess it has as compared to the dismal showing of G'boro and I will add Asheville into that mix as well for they are failing also. ( don't want folks to think I am picking on G'boro only)

Allen, kudos for being able to stay up that late last night; your observations are on the mark.

Truth,Greenville is funny with population numbers. Their county is as large as Guilford (population) but their city limits are smaller. And they can't annex. And the city can't tax. So we're not that different in size, only in statistics.

Our CBD can be as cool as theirs. Many of their "less expensive" projects, like streetscaping and signage, can be done here without a whole lot of upset citizens. We were probably all surprised at how big a difference streetscaping makes. I saw East Market's streetscaping this morning and hope we can enlarge on that throughout downtown.

Thanks Mrproduce and Sue. I enjoyed the extra information. I've always loved downtowns, thrift stores, and autumn.

I'm excited about the future of Greensboro's downtowns. I love the different 'feel' and 'culture' about downtowns. It's cool watching people from various settings like mrproduce mentioned coming together in such a beautiful atmosphere.

Addressing Asheville: They do have one hip street that I really enjoyed spending the day on. The major problem I had with their downtown is that there weren't more streets like that there. Also, there lack of parking, cost of parking meters, and aggressive ticketing policies made me never want to return.

Yeah. That $3 deck parking or free at Grove Arcade is a killer in Asheville. Uhh.. yeah.

Thanks Ben and truth, I will be happy to pass this along to the local paper if I may. This is election time in Asheville as well so your comments might make a difference in some way. You are correct on parking, the towing business is one of the best to invest in if one is looking for a new business in Asheville. Parking is terrible and they are still insisting on throwing another million and a half in the dump they call the civic center. It bring s to mind another "White Elephant" from my G'boro days.

I am not sure which street you are speaking of truth. There is a small area around the Grove Arcade and another that is just off the upper court house circle. There have been some interesting galleries , shops and one or two resturents there in the past. It is unfortunate that many of the shops and resturantes are now catering to the very upper crust, those who can pay the half million to a millon plus for the lofts in the old stores there, and have pretty much priced themselves out of business for the common folks like me. The quality does not justify the price at most imo.
Lexington Ave is an interesting street also with the hookers, panhandlers, transvestits, lost in space hippys from the 60's but I tend not to frequent that street after dark for the most part.
Eagle Street is becoming a super area. It was once the center of the Black community and a resturant or two, one of the best is owned by a lawyer by the name of Gene Ellison is located there and several shops are in the area also. More support is need for this area but it seems that the "uptown" folks aren't very interested.

Sue's comment that Greenville City could not tax got me curious so I decided to do a bit of research. Having had looked at property in Greenville City I thought there was at least some
kind of tax or howelse could they do all that great downtown imporvement. Mary Douglas Neal,Downtown Development Manager had this to say:

You are right--That article is incorrect. The City of Greenville's
millage rate is 90.9 mills. A large majority of our downtown
improvements are paid for using Tax Increment Financing (TIF). Using
this tool, we establish a base level of revenue generated from property
taxes. When improvements are made to a building, the difference between
the original tax and the higher tax generated as a result of the
improvements goes back into the TIF fund to pay for future improvements
in the area. As I said, this is tool is extensively used to pay for
downtown redevelopment.

Mary Douglas

Mary Douglas Neal
Downtown Development Manager
City of Greenville--Economic Development
P.O. Box 2207 Greenville, SC 29602
(p) (864) 467-4403; (f) (864) 467-5744

I wonder if Downtown Greensboro has looked at this type of financing for improvements instead of asking taxpayers to pay and pay. Asheville should take a look at the Greenville plan also instead of soaking the residents to pay for "White Elephants" in their downtown.