A basketball court, playground and a neighborhood park may figure into Greenlink’s plans for a new $13.75 million bus garage in New Washington Heights.
Residents in the community have asked for those amenities and more in stakeholder meetings with Greenlink. A public drop-in meeting was also held on March 30 at the Kroc Center to share more information and seek public input.
Located at 205 Arcadia Drive, the operations and maintenance facility would replace the current one on Augusta Street, a former beer warehouse that Greenlink has outgrown but is landlocked by downtown development.
The new facility would sit on a 26.5-acre site, more than eight times larger than the transit authority’s current facility, and have 10 bays for buses and space to repair more than two at a time, according to transit authorities.
Primary activities will include performing mechanical work on a handful of buses during the day, servicing and refueling the buses when service ends at 11:30 p.m., providing overnight storage and parking when Greenlink is not operating and housing administrative staff and personnel, according to Greenlink’s website.
Addressing concerns about how bus emissions at the new facility will affect the environment, transit officials said residents don’t need to worry.
Greenlink’s board recently adopted a new sustainability goal and will no longer purchase diesel vehicles after the move into the new facility, Instead, the bus system will switch to electric and compressed natural gas engines, which emit less pollution.
Residents have also asked for amenities such as a pavilion and outdoor activity and play areas and said they want to see the former all-Black Washington High School honored by incorporating old bricks from the school into the design or erecting some kind of monument on the property.
Greenlink has already received an $11 million federal grant and $1.4 million from the city of Greenville to build the new facility. The county donated the land in place of providing funding.
Construction is expected to begin in January 2022.
