A City’s Tools for Downtown Development: Much More Than Money (cont.)

Greenville Commons
The first successful partnership anchor for Greenville was the Greenville Commons, a mixed-use facility that incorporated a Hyatt Regency hotel, convention center, office, retail, parking and public plaza/atrium. The city, utilizing mostly federal grants, purchased the land; built the convention center, parking garage and public space; then leased air rights for the hotel and office building. The plaza is considered a city park. A group of local business people partnered with the city to provide the initial capital and assume the risk. In this partnership, the first of many throughout the years, the city’s financial participation was almost one-third of the entire project cost.

Since the Commons was completed in 1982, private investors, public philanthropists and city government have united to successfully develop other important mixed-use anchors throughout the downtown, assuming many forms and levels of participation. Common denominators, however, have been the strategically focused location and mixeduse nature of the projects. Federal grants have long since gone, forcing the city to seek other funding sources such as tax increment financing, accommodation and hospitality taxes, and parking revenue bonds.

A vehicular bridge that once obstructed this waterfall was replaced by this pedestrian bridge. The project was part of a park renovation that took place when the Peace Center for the Performing Arts was developed.

Peace Center for the Performing Arts
A languishing industrial area was redeveloped into a performing arts complex that incorporated historically significant buildings with dramatic new architecture and landscaping. The complex stabilized a less than desirable area, and linked downtown to a hidden asset – a river, waterfall and park. The performing arts center includes major, newly constructed performing venues and renovated historic structures housing restaurants, offices, and retail space. The Peace Center gave people a reason to come downtown on nights and weekends. A local family provided a $10 million commitment to kick off the project, with the city acquiring the property (through tax increment financing) and providing the landscaping and amenities. Eminent domain, used sparingly in Greenville, was necessary to secure some of the property.

Westend Market
To continue the vision, another anchor, the Westend Market, was conceived.With a private donation of neglected, historic buildings, the city developed a major 45,000-square-foot destination for residents and tourists alike. Recognizing that private investments would not be forthcoming without a major spark, the city assumed the developer role to create a market with office, retail, restaurants, artisans and a traditional farmers’ market, all in a festive and park-like setting.

The financing structure required the pooling of myriad sources: Tax increment financing, a HUD Section 108 loan, grants, city general fund dollars, and even the sale of personalized bricks were used. The city took on a significant risk, but learned first-hand the private side of the equation. The Westend Market was sold in 2005, yielding a net profit to invest in other city projects.

The Poinsett Plaza office building (right) was built in conjunction with a parking structure that was originally planned to accommodate the renovation of the historic Poinsett Hotel.

Poinsett Plaza/Hotel
Sometimes, mixed-use development includes multiple buildings and developers all within the same project. The city was working with the owner of a vacant historic hotel when it realized that the parking structure required to support the hotel should be sized to accommodate other potential developments. The city approached a local bank, then housed in an historic building on the block, which had expressed interest in additional space. A developer was identified and the result was a renovated 204-room hotel, a new 220,000- square-foot office building with residential penthouses, and the renovation of a vacant educational wing of a church into 44 condominium units.

Tax increment financing was used to construct a parking garage with a design that incorporated the architectural elements of each development. Even though the city’s financial participation was necessary, perhaps more important was its role in bringing the various private partners together. Due to the confines of the space and the need to maintain tight schedules, the city became the facilitator, construction coordinator and mediator, holding weekly meetings with the multiple developers and contractors to keep the project on track.

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