Residents in the Greenline-Spartanburg neighborhood are asking for more affordable housing, better connectivity, and improved infrastructure to help revitalize the neighborhood.
Strategies to accomplish these goals will be included in a new master plan for the neighborhood located northeast of downtown. The neighborhood’s previous master plan was created in 2001. The city of Greenville is working with Arcadis, the consulting firm that assisted with the city’s approved Downtown Airport District Plan, neighborhood residents and stakeholders to help develop an up to date plan.
A public meeting was held May 14 as part of the project’s design charrette process to prepare the draft master plan. The project’s design team presented early strategies and ideas based on public and stakeholder feedback.
“We want this to be a plan that is driven by the neighborhood,” said Amanda Morrell, the project manager and a landscape architect with Arcadis.
Affordable housing
Increasing the amount of affordable housing in the neighborhood was identified as a main priority for the updated Greenline-Spartanburg master plan. Public feedback showed that 62% of people prefer having approximately 25% to 30% affordable housing in the neighborhood.
While creating the new plan, the design team is considering policies, programs and partnerships that can be utilized to create more affordable housing in the neighborhood. Tammie Hoy Hawkins, president of Together Consulting and a member of the project’s design team, explained the policies and strategies are divided into five core areas:
- Increasing the production of affordable housing/homeownership
- Increase preservation of affordable housing
- Minimizing the displacement of residents
- Supporting existing residents
- Increase mixed-income mixed-use opportunities
The new master plan will also include recommendations on the design of new housing units. Tara Brenton Hile, a principal at SHLTR Architects, explained these designs will focus on matching the scale of the existing neighborhood’s smaller, single-family homes while also offering a mix of housing type. Hile is a member of the project’s design team.
Roads and connectivity
Street improvements and connectivity strategies will be featured in the neighborhood’s updated master plan. The neighborhood currently includes fragmented roads and limited sidewalks.
Mike Rutkowski, senior principal with engineering consultant firm Stantec, explained a key strategy is to improve the quality of the neighborhood’s core roads including Spartanburg and Becker streets. Traffic calming strategies are also proposed to be added along these roadways.
Intersection improvements were also suggested where the neighborhood’s streets connect with the surrounding corridors including Wade Hampton Boulevard and East Stone Avenue. Lighting improvements was also a request made by local residents along the roadways.
For bicyclists and pedestrians, the design team has outlined locations to add new sidewalks, crosswalks and a proposed multi-use path along Richland Creek.
Parking was another issue identified by the neighborhood’s residents. Rutkowski said they are looking for dedicated parking areas and are also considering restricting parking to one side of the street to help with traffic flow.
Infrastructure
Recommendations to upgrade the Greenline-Spartanburg neighborhood’s wastewater and water infrastructure will be included in the master plan. The neighborhood currently has old water and sewer infrastructure in need of replacement.
Dan Esteban, a senior civil engineer with Stantec, explained the plan will also feature strategies on how to manage the neighborhood’s stormwater.
“Richland Creek is a big drainage tributary that comes through here,” Esteban said. “So we’ve identified some key areas, whether it’s down in the flood plain area or in other parts of the neighborhood, where we can put in detention ponds or bio-filtration areas.”
Another suggested strategy to improve stormwater infrastructure is to add buffers along Richland Creek.
Next steps
Another element the design team is looking to include in the new master plan are recommendations to further enhance the neighborhood’s David Hellams Community Center. Residents have also asked for more work to be done to manage the kudzu growing in the neighborhood.
Based on the feedback the design team collects, they will begin to establish preliminary recommendations to include in the Greenline-Spartanburg neighborhood master plan.
The city and Arcadis plan to have a third public meeting to present these recommendations to the community. This meeting is tentatively scheduled to be held July 30.
Following the final public meeting, the design team will create a draft master plan for the city to review. The plan is anticipated to go before the Greenville City Council for adoption in the fall.
