2021 showed Greenville in transformation. As the community continued to adapt to the challenges brought by the pandemic, debates raged over what exactly Greenville will look like in the years to come. Some of the debate centered around questions of culture and values. Others were concerned with the physical makeup of the community itself, its infrastructure and land. While other challenges showed how world events can effect lives in the Upstate.
City envisions a new West End and Village of West Greenville
No matter how different they might be in character and layout, the West End and the Village of West Greenville often get confused for one another.
The shared moniker “west” might be the biggest factor. Or it could be the relative proximity of the burgeoning downtown entertainment district (the West End) to the quietly confident arts district (the Village of West Greenville).
Both districts are growing and the City of Greenville commissioned two concurrent small area plans to lock down just what these sibling districts will become over the coming years.
The plans, both of which were approved by the city, aim to improve infrastructure, preserve character and offer strategies for containing sprawl and improving walkability. The plans are guides, rather than specific ordinances, although the city has stated it plans to adopt aspects of both plans in the coming year.
Greenville residents grapple over land and sewer
As Greenville’s growth continued unabated yet again during 2021, residents debated over what the physical makeup of the county will be in the decades to come.
For years, the debate over the county’s push to consolidate sewer services under one entity faced pushback and lawsuits from independent Special Purpose Sewer Districts. Commonly known as SPDs, special purpose districts are independent districts with elected board members, which have historically handled wastewater collection and fire services.
In November, that long-raging battle over the fate of sewer infrastructure reached its conclusion with the county voting to dissolve all special purpose districts and turn over sewer service to MetroConnects by July 1, 2022.
Veterans reflect on the end of the war in Afghanistan
After 20 years, the nation’s longest war ended, leaving veterans of the war in Afghanistan across the country, including here in Greenville, to wrestle with the aftermath. Over 800,000 men and women served in the five operations that constituted the war on terror, some of whom were not even alive when it began in response to 9/11.
“I think all veterans who have served there, or another war zone, and have seen their battle buddies injured or paid the ultimate sacrifice, it becomes a very emotional thing,” said Maj. Gen. Mastin Robeson, former commanding general of Marine Forces Special Operations Command. “You couple that with the fact that you don’t serve in countries like that without becoming emotionally connected to both the mission — as in, the attempt to eradicate terrorism — but also the mission as in forming a relationship and a bond with the local population.”
Local veteran Jeremy Mitchell, who served as an Army Sgt. and sniper team leader, said he’d been doing his best to avoid scenes of Afghanistan’s collapse into the control of the Taliban.
“I’ve deliberately not been watching the news, just because I don’t want to,” Mitchell said. “I’m just tired.”
BridgeWay Station breaks ground in Mauldin
The $150 million first phase of the BridgeWay Station project broke ground in Mauldin in April, marking the starting point of what aims to be an immersive, master-planned urban village.
For years, developer Phil Hughes, founder of Hughes Investments, had been working behind the scenes to finalize what he calls “the vision” of the project, which sits on land he purchased more than 30 years ago. Now that vision is clear: more than 450,000 square feet of new development, including retail, restaurants, office space, multifamily residential, and event space, along with a pedestrian bridge over the highway.
Hughes Investments is spearheading the project alongside McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture and Harper General Contractors.
Designed to emulate “old-world architecture,” the development is expected to bring more than 1,000 new jobs to Mauldin within the first phase alone, with an anticipated completion date of Q4 2022. The focal point of the project’s design — and its namesake — is a new pedestrian bridge that will span I-385 and connect the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail from Travelers Rest and Greenville to BridgeWay Station, Simpsonville, Fountain Inn and beyond.
