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Good luck. It may happen. I can foresee the areas around the exits being pretty heavily developed. I hope the county can be proactive and put create some parks within those areas. Housing and commercial developments will be huge along that corridor within 10 years in my opinion.
Over the course of the next two months, two massive housing projects are scheduled to come online, bringing upward of 800 new residents to the downtown area.
Gather Uptown and Dickinson Lofts/University Edge both are scheduled to open by August.
Gather Uptown, located at the corner of West Fifth and South Greene streets, just across from City Hall and the Greenville Police and Fire-Rescue headquarters will begin moving in residents by July 1.
The five-story, 140,000 square foot apartment complex will offer bed spaces for 404 students. The complex includes an attached parking deck and a climate-controlled bike facility.
BSB Design, a firm started by architect and Better Homes and Garden editor Jack Bloodgood, created the look of the Gather project. The art-deco style of the structure was inspired by the city’s original City Hall building and a long-vacant bus station that was among the structures cleared to make space for the complex, which occupies an entire city block.
Kasai Carter, leasing specialist for the property, said its overall goal is tied to the idea of its central location and emphasis on walkability and bicycling. She said true to its name, Gather Uptown is designed and planned to bring students together in a space in the heart of the city, and not only provide for residents needs but help grow the surrounding community.
“When you think of all the businesses down here — especially those that suffered from the last football season — they need people down here, people that live down here,” Carter said. “This is for our residents, but this is also for the city of Greenville.”
Just two blocks south of the complex, construction is wrapping up on another mixed-use development that includes additional housing.
The $32 million dollar project is located just off Dickinson Avenue, leading developers and city officials to hope the increase in population will spur more growth into the booming Dickinson Avenue corridor.
The project is split between two main apartment complexes, connected around an interior courtyard. University Edge is designed as student housing. Dickinson Lofts, the section of the project running parallel with Dickinson, will offer market-rate apartments which developers said they hope will meet the need of young professionals in the city.
Between the two, about 400 residents are expected to live in the complex, with provided parking in an attached parking deck and adjacent lot. In addition to housing, the mixed-use development also will feature 20,000 square feet of retail, dining and office space that it is hoped will draw pedestrian traffic to the Dickinson Avenue corridor.
Developers say the mix between student housing, professional housing and commercial space is emblematic of exactly what the complex and the future of Greenville development requires: balanced growth that prioritizes all economic drivers of the city, not development that only addresses one need.
Jim Blount, a local partner for the project said he was excited about the idea because it brings new life into the area, which is showing sure signs of a great future.
“I think what differentiates us from other properties is the Dickinson Avenue corridor,” he said, looking out the window of a fifth floor apartment. “That right there, this whole Pitt Street area, it’s all coming to life. I know we’re early and the wave is still building, but I really do think it’s going great.”
According to data provided by Bianca Shoneman, president of the nonprofit Uptown Greenville organization, Blount’s vision of the complex is entirely within reason. She said the addition of the about 800 residents into the downtown population is certain to make a profound effect on the area.
Shoneman said such a drastic increase has only happened once, when the opening of The Boundary apartment complex nearly doubled the residential population from about 585 to 1,100.
Population in downtown Greenville had remained relatively dormant before The Boundary, remaining at around 585 since 2012, when Uptown Greenville keeping records.
Shoneman said in the year since The Boundary opened, she has heard from downtown businesses that traffic has sharply increased, with one business even reporting an about 30 percent uptick in sales.
In addition to the increased population, Shoneman said she is excited to see an increase in foot and bicycle traffic, which could prompt improvements in infrastructure and downtown culture.
“I certainty think we’re going to see more student traffic, more people walking the streets,” she said. “ I’m excited about the impact it will have on walkability.”
Interesting to see nothing about the Uptown 209 project, maybe because they have not broken ground. They are digging at the Life Science/Biotech site so there is work going on there. Also nothing about the One Stop building, which may be for the same reason as Uptown 209.
Re: University Edge/Dickinson Lofts - The article mentions market rate housing, yet the website only shows student apartments... Hoping for the best. Also, the architecture on this is pretty ugly.
Re: University Edge/Dickinson Lofts - The article mentions market rate housing, yet the website only shows student apartments... Hoping for the best. Also, the architecture on this is pretty ugly.
The sad part is that it didn't have to be that way. The structure itself isn't terrible - I'm more a fan of the UE/DL structure than the Gather building - but the paint/vinyl combo is HIDEOUS. Here's hoping they change it up in the near future because it's borderline an eyesore.
Me too. The red at the top adds an interesting effect. It’s different but by no means ugly.
I LOVE the way the Gather Uptown color and design harkens back to the bus station.
The red on its own isn't bad, and the green on its own isn't bad, and the yellow vinyl on its own isn't bad - it's just the way it adds up. I was a design student back in the day, forgive my snobbishness coming out.
Likewise, I too LOVE how Gather Uptown turned out. I was worried about the blue when it first went up, but it comes across great in the end product. The wider sidewalks are a boon as well--now we just need some additional attractions in that area to draw foot traffic. It's all coming together so nicely.
WINTERVILLE — As far as economic impact goes, Bo Batts of the Pitt County Girls Softball League is a firm believer that seeing is believing.
The longtime organizer said that if you have looked hotel lobbies, grocery stores and restaurants in Winterville and Greenville over the last few days, you likely have seen troves of people wearing softball gear — T-shirts, uniforms, visors — with the namesake and logo of their respective teams.
“Chick-Fil-A, Sam’s, McDonald’s, they are all saying they are seeing an uptick,” Batts said. “It’s pretty obvious. You either have a tag that says, ‘Hey, I’m a player,’ or a uniform. It’s easy to track the economic impact.”
The flock of youth athletes is no coincidence, either, as 48 teams from eastern North Carolina are in town for the Eastern North Carolina State All-Star Tournament hosted by the PCGSL at the Sara A. Law Complex on Reedy Branch Road. The games began Saturday and end Wednesday.
Bringing in a large regional tournament is considered a win for the host that wins the bidding the process, Batts said. It gives the area exposure to thousands of out-of-towners each year who pump money into the local economy via spending on lodging, dining and retail.
Participants visited businesses nearby the fields in Winterville — games also were played at A.G. Cox Middle School and South Central High School — in the area of Memorial Drive and Fire Tower Road and elsewhere in the area, Batts said.
In fact, the Pitt-Greenville Convention and Visitors Bureau estimates that the tournament will bring in $543,000 in direct impact and $782,000 in multiplied impact, meaning the dollars that are used over and over again. Not just that, Andrew Schmidt, executive director of the bureau, said exposure is something that is also considered.
“You never know if someone is going to go to a tournament or a venue and say, ‘Hey I want to hold an event here,’” Schmidt said. “But exposure is something you really can’t measure until later, but it’s something we do consider.”
But not everybody in the area is seeing — or believing — things Batts’ way.
When Batts and others from the PCGSL asked the Winterville Town Council for $10,000 in support last month, a motion filed by Councilman Tony Moore failed 2-3 with some council members saying the economic impact did not benefit the town as much as did Greenville.
“I don’t see the benefit when we have our own recreation department,” Councilman Ricky Hines said, referring to the $10,000 allocation to an outside recreation league. “I can’t see giving them $10,000 … yes, the tournaments are in Winterville, but they stay in Greenville sleeping at the hotels and eating in Greenville’s restaurants. They are only in Winterville to play. That’s $10,000 we don’t get back.”
Another member Veronica Roberson, said the town would be better off using any funding to start its own league. However, the town attempted to host a summer softball league for teenage girls several summers ago. Only 12 girls signed up for the failed program.
Batts, sitting in the building that overlooks the four-field Sara Law complex on Sunday, said that while Winterville has been helpful in the past with donations, and has helped supply law enforcement and fire rescue personnel, the $280,000 budget for the league requires additional monetary assistance.
He said that the tournament draws more than a thousand visitors every day and the full parking lot is a testament to that, but it costs $30,000 to host, which is no small number for a youth sports league.
“I felt very good about trying to get the ($10,000),” Batts. “Unlike what (Hines) said, there is money being spent. I’m disappointed in the three members that didn’t think that we deserved support. I mean, think about it, you had 5,000 people riding around this area yesterday that weren’t here before. You know darn well that somebody somewhere stopped in Winterville and spent some money.”
The tournament itself is cost-free for teams, players and coaches, but tickets cost $5 for adults and $3 for kids. The tournament really is funded by smaller tournaments at Sara Law, concessions, fence-sign sales, team sponsorship, raffles, fundraisers and a couple thousand dollars in grants.
Additional contributions have come in from elsewhere. Batts said 15 vendors donated 900 meals to help feed the teams and fans. Multiple food trucks were scattered throughout the complex. Rock Springs Catering donated a portion of its proceeds from nacho sales back to the league. There also were five different lodging options that Batts recommended to incoming teams and families.
Amy Parker, a parent from Emerald Isle was one of hundreds of out-of-towners at the tournament. Having grown up playing softball, Parker understands the constant travel as well as the time and financial sacrifices necessary. As far as the economic value of a five-day tournament goes, she said she is a personal testament to how local businesses benefit.
“We came Saturday morning to stay at the Hampton Inn in Greenville,” Parker said, noting she allocated $1,500 for the trip. “There’s economic value there from filling up on gas, to stopping at Walmarts for snacks and Gatorades and water, hotels, all that stuff. There’s lots of money to be made.”
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