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I was hoping that was a horribly written article and I'm pretty sure it is. Look at page # 22 in the report. It lists everything that has been/is being built uptown and how much it costs. Some is city, some is not. It does not say that the city spent all that money, it says public and private.
So the City has a black eye from the North Campus Crossing location...
As well they should.
That being said...how about they come up with a guide for student housing...like, oh who knows...proximity to campus.
I cant see how they can argue against the Charles Blvd location...its easy access to ECU, its on the existing bus route...its got a complex across the street.
But that site should be significant single family. Personally, I don't see that there is a problem building this housing...Greenville continues to grow and this is good location for growth to occur. I believe its not even in the city limits now, so it will add significantly to the tax base.
Additional rezoning applications also includes 5.5 acres on Bells Fork and Southridge to from residential ag to residential high density with the possibility of 70-75 multi-family (1, 2 and 3 bedroom structure).
I am not necessarily opposed to development of apartments/townhomes, however I question whether we will be maxing out on student apartments. If there are nearly 30,000 students at ECU of which perhaps 23,000 are on campus with the possibility of additional students from PCC - at what point will Greenville reach its max of needing additional student housing? Looking at all the development going on near ECU along with the addition of the newer dorms at College Hill last year...is over saturation occurring?
ECU currently requires all incoming 1st year students to live on campus (a few exceptions).
I would like to know if anyone at Greenville planning is looking at the extent of potential needed student housing? We should be asking ourselves - what are we allowing to develop? Is Greenville's population expected to grow this quickly over the next 10 years to require apartments/townhomes and additional housing developments? Or are we developing student housing in a flurry for easy profit without serious thought?
Currently in development:
Gather Uptown - 400 bed development
Campus Edge - 600 bed development
Sidewalk Development - 60 unit apartment 60 unit student housing
I am sure there are others. The Charles development project (The Reach) which was not approved had 656 beds.
Growth is important - but it should be smart, well thought out growth.
When will there be a real mixed-use development in Greenville? Not the kind that hints at mixed use, but ones that have single family homes, multi-family homes, shopping, including a good grocery store or farmers market, dining, banking, office, recreational, a school, civic, health care, and other uses. Let's try to recreate the old concept of being able to live, work, shop, and play while being able to easily walk from their homes to the other destinations. It seems the Greenville market should be ready for something like this. Instead of more cookie cutter developments, how about doing something different. Differentiating often leads to social buzz and attracts "customers". The people building new developments should be aware of this concept, if not, they need to get out and explore what's been going on around the country the last 15-20 years.
Taft isn't concerned about other properties at all. They just built one complex and are starting to build another student housing complex that has pulled students away from North Campus Crossing. He's clearly worried about his own properties and what a new student housing development would mean to his bottom line. But for the council to kinda side with Taft does make me think he's a little too deep in the council's pocket.
I think they're communicating rather poorly but I don't necessarily disagree with the outcome. Like many here I am concerned with the amount of student housing and there needs to be a organized plan in partnership with the university to govern future developments. Regarding the Charles Blvd development if you're trying to move people Uptown and continue building density in the UpTown area this is right decision. I don't know if the council is too close to Taft or if it just so happens that Taft is a developer in the Uptown area right now. The council is looking out for goal of growing the City center, hopefully not just Taft.
Given that, I am much less surprised at the decision to approve the Evans st project and not the Charles Blvd. Evans street is closer to the city center and along the greenway which I'm sure they're promoting additional use of. I think the Charles Blvd development might be a little ahead of its time. If Bells fork is built out a bit more that could become a nice little hub and perhaps the Charles blvd development would have additional justification.
When will there be a real mixed-use development in Greenville? Not the kind that hints at mixed use, but ones that have single family homes, multi-family homes, shopping, including a good grocery store or farmers market, dining, banking, office, recreational, a school, civic, health care, and other uses. Let's try to recreate the old concept of being able to live, work, shop, and play while being able to easily walk from their homes to the other destinations. It seems the Greenville market should be ready for something like this. Instead of more cookie cutter developments, how about doing something different. Differentiating often leads to social buzz and attracts "customers". The people building new developments should be aware of this concept, if not, they need to get out and explore what's been going on around the country the last 15-20 years.
As far as "real" mixed use, what you're describing seems like it should be a city core. It would take a lot of space that may not be readily available. I feel like the Dickinson Ave corridor and surrounding areas can become what you're describing. There are lots of single family homes within walking distance of that area, and there could be opportunities for developers to build other types of housing nearby. I definitely think as more developers get interested in this area, the higher chance you'll see different types of developments.
Thing is, cookie cutter developments (4-5 story buildings, 1st floor office/retail, upper floors apartments) are still in style all over the place. They're relatively cheap and quick to build and they get lots of people interested in living in them.
I really would like to see a mixed use building in this area that holds a primary care/urgent care facility, a pharmacy like CVS or Walgreens, along with medical offices on the 2nd/3rd floor, and PCC classrooms (continuing education?) on the top floor or two. I hope that the whole area doesn't just become 5 story apartments. I don't think it will. I think the Dickinson Ave area will become our American Tobacco district, our North Hills, our Epicentre all rolled into one (on a much smaller scale, of course).
I think many are undervaluing the need for student housing in Greenville.
If ECU has 23K on campus and Pitt has about 10K undergrads that is about 33,000 students...there are about 5,500 students on campus at ECU, zero at Pitt...
Which leaves you needing housing for 27,500 beds for student housing...
If you just had complexes of about 600 students each, do you know how many of those complexes you would need?
FOURTY FIVE.
In other words, building a handful of complexes isn't going to hurt the situation. One of the big differences now than 30 years ago in Greenville is Pitt, which is bringing in kids from all over the region to Greenville and those kids need to live somewhere, and student housing complexes makes the most sense...and guess what, Bells Fork is easy access to both ECU and Pitt.
Answer this question...how close is North Campus Crossing to Pitt Community College?...and you will see where the real problem with NCC was.
BTW, the College View neighborhood is in shambles...anyone have a rendering of what is going back there...very good location for redevelopment of student housing.
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Further development
