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GREENVILLE, N.C. (WNCT) – The anticipation mounts ahead of this week’s city council discussion on the imperial site in Uptown Greenville.
It’s an issue that dates back to the early 2000’s, where the imperial tobacco company served as the main hub for the city.
Business owners across Dickison Avenue say the improvements to the site can help bring more businesses to the area.
Bob Licari is the director of operations at Smashed Waffles.
Licari said he isn’t afraid to see what impact the historical site can have on Dickinson Avenue.
“Any construction that they do, in the uptown area, is going to be great for business,” said Licari. “You can’t find a parking space within blocks, so another dorm or another living space or another business is a fantastic idea for the city.”
Business owners in Uptown are ready for a decision.
“We’re kind of used to it in uptown but we’re looking forward to the results at the end of it.”
The decision on what to do with the historical site still lingers for city council.
In this week’s meeting, leaders say it’s crucial for the future of uptown.
Brad Hufford is the associate director of retention and expansion for the Pitt County County Development Commission.
“There’s a lot of potential the in that site,” said Hufford. “Part of it is really wanting to see some diversity in the offerings.”
Moving forward, Hufford said the decision is great for businesses either way.
“Kind of creates diversity amongst the offerings that are available in Uptown Greenville.”
The Greenville City Council meeting begins at 6:00p.m. at City Hall on February 8, 2018
Saw a commercial for a new retirement community being built near Ironwood on Hwy 43. Looks nice...and expensive...
They have been running ads on the radio for this place for at least a decade but it was to “reserve your place” - it wasn’t being built yet. Has anything been constructed?
Radio Ads have been running on 103.7 F.O.R.E.V.E.R and a day! I imagine at least 1/4 of the people who have committed to living here are already dead by now. They need to go ahead & build the darn thing, shesh...if nothing else than to make my ears not suffer through that radio spot one more time.
Radio Ads have been running on 103.7 F.O.R.E.V.E.R and a day! I imagine at least 1/4 of the people who have committed to living here are already dead by now. They need to go ahead & build the darn thing, shesh...if nothing else than to make my ears not suffer through that radio spot one more time.
Don't be one of those who says "I Wish I Would Have" be one of those who said "I'm So Glad I Did!"
Looks like all they have so far is a mobile office on premises...
That has been the case since at least 2009. I can't believe anyone is still buying into this.
Before the election last year I used to listen to talk radio a lot. They are one of the biggest advertisers there and have been ever since Rush Limbaugh et al moved to FM. Someone must still be giving them money.
That has been the case since at least 2009. I can't believe anyone is still buying into this.
Before the election last year I used to listen to talk radio a lot. They are one of the biggest advertisers there and have been ever since Rush Limbaugh et al moved to FM. Someone must still be giving them money.
Ok. I never listen to the radio and don't watch much television. I'm guessing they have to pre-sell a certain amount of units before building; but usually there's a deadline to get a minimum quota of pre-sales. Strange kind of project to be dragging out the process on. Like it's been said, the people who've been interested have probably been interred already...
The Greenville City Council on Thursday directed staff to research a potential partnership for the development of the Imperial Tobacco site as well as bring back additional detail on the public investment the development would require.
The council was presented three bids from development groups for the 8.6-acre site near downtown in response to a request for bids put out by the city in July.
The proposals came from The Keith Corporation of Charlotte, Armada Hoffler of Virginia Beach and Hallmark Communities and Seacoast Communities of Mount Pleasant, S.C. The bid from The Keith Corporation is for a portion of the site to construct a large office building. The other two are for the complete development of the site.
City Economic Development Director Roger Johnson said staff believed all there proposals were excellent and suitable for the development of the site, and did not offer a recommendation on which company should be selected. According to City Manager Ann Wall, staff was asking the council to select a company to begin negotiations so more specifics could be identified.
Council was split on how to proceed Thursday, with some members suggesting specific companies, while others were concerned about the city proceeding with any of the bids.
Debate centered on the investment each bid would require from the city. According to Johnson, bids from the whole-site developers, Armada-Hoffler and Hallmark-Seacoast, asked the city to build about 650 parking spaces, which staff estimated could be about $15.3 million.
Johnson said the exact cost to the city was unknown, and the $15.3 million was just an estimate based on what the developers proposed; negotiations could lead to different numbers.
District 5 Councilman Will Litchfield and Mayor P.J. Connelly were vocal in their opposition to city investment. Litchfield said he was not comfortable making a decision on which developer was the best company until more details about cost could be determined.
The proposals from both developers were for a mixture of residential, commercial and office space across the property. Both plans proposed about 320 residential units and about 65,000 square feet of office space, most of which is located in a proposed three-story building on one end of the development.
Connelly and Litchfield also said they were concerned about whether the proposals were the best use of the property — whether more housing was the kind of comic development the city needed. Connelly said he did not want to risk upward of $15.3 million in infrastructure on the project when the council had so many other priorities for funding across the city.
“Putting $15.3 million of taxpayer funds on the board is a tremendous amount of money. I mean we have some goals and priorities we’ve set out in the council planning session ... we only have a (finite) amount of money we as a city can use, I don’t want to subsidize, and take money away from services the city offers,” he said. “I just feel like we’re playing roulette with the taxpayers’ money.”
District 4 Councilman Rick Smiley, who supported Armada Hoffler’s bid, disagreed with Connelly. He said the council needed to select a developer so they could begin the process of identifying the specifics then weigh whether or not the venture would be worth it.
“You’re right. We don’t know and we can't know until we give staff a chance to talk to some of these people, and we can’t have sensitive conversations until we pick one and we're willing to pick one and get into it,” he said, adding he would support any of the developers if council had a preference.
“It sounds like what the mayor is saying is that he doesn’t want to see anything happen, that there are unanswered questions and he doesn’t want the questions answered and as long as those questions are unanswered, we won’t move forward.”
The council generally supported the idea the site should be developed in phases, specifically beginning with the office complex, instead of the entire site — an idea presented by the Hallmark-Seacoast bid. Staff also received interest from a local developer interested in building a hotel on the site, which council agreed was something worth looking into.
According to Johnson, the bid from Armada Hoffler stated any change to the scope or time of the city’s proposal would result in the developer pulling out of negotiations. At-Large Councilman Brian Meyerhoeffer pointed out this conflict effectively eliminated Armada Hoffler from council’s considerations.
Based on this, Meyerhoeffer said he wanted to go back to Hallmark-Seacoast and figure out exactly what the city would be required to do in regard to parking. Litchfield made a motion for staff to research this, as well as a partnership involving both Hallmark-Seacoast and Keith. The motion asked staff to present the information to them in March.
Johnson said Hallmark-Seacoast had already informed staff they would be willing to have talks with The Keith Corporation about partnering on the site, allowing Keith to build the office building on the site.
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