RiverPlace project getting $13 million in public money
Posted Thursday, January 6, 2005 - 9:01 pmBy Anna B. Brutzman
STAFF WRITER
brutzman@greenvillenews.com
 Construction continues on the first phase of the $55 million RiverPlace project in downtown Greenville. OWEN RILEY JR./Staff |
The spending covers $5 million for a 550-space underground garage, $3 million for a fountain that will gush 6,100 gallons of water a minute, as well as $5 million for walkway along the river and other expenses such as sidewalks and water lines, according to city officials.
The money will come from people who pay to park in city garages and property owners in three special tax districts downtown, areas designated for revitalization.
The fountain and walkways will be open to the public, but how much access people will have to the parking garage is unclear. Most of the spaces will be taken by workers in the retail and office areas of the development and residents of the condominiums, city officials said.
City Manager Jim Bourey said that while the spaces will be open to any member of the public on a first-come first-served basis, people living, working or visiting at the development will be its primary users.
"We don't really anticipate there's going to be a lot of outside use beyond RiverPlace," said Bourey.
That was disappointing to West End shop owner Jules Wrenn, who said more parking is needed in the area since the upsurge in visitors since the opening of Falls Park on the Reedy.
"For the city, parking needs to be a top priority," she said.
Still, restaurant owner John L. Lewis said the city did the right thing in helping entice RiverPlace developers downtown with a parking garage.
"Very few businesses would be able to build downtown without parking," he said.
In RiverPlace's current $55-million first phase of construction, an office building and two condominium complexes are due for completion this year, developers said. A Hampton Inn and Suites will open in early 2006.
"Without (the garage) we wouldn't have had that level of investment," Bourey said.
Ultimately, according to developers, a second and third phase of construction at the 10-acre site stretching from Main to Academy streets along Camperdown Way could push investment up to $100 million.
Between serious investment, the acquisition of more public space for downtown visitors and helping revitalize what was for decades a vacant lot, Mayor Knox White said the project has given the West End a major kick start.
The city also gained public parking needed by visitors to nearby Falls Park on the Reedy, shops and restaurants, said Nancy Whitworth, director of economic and community development for the city.
The city's costs for the RiverPlace project — $13 million — were set by a prearranged contract with the developers, Bourey said.
Developer Bill Santerini's firm Allora is building one of RiverPlace's condominium projects, a 36-unit complex called 55 RiverPlace. He said that Bob Hughes, head developer of the project, had already worked out a parking garage with the city before he signed on. Hughes could not be reached Thursday for comment.
"It would be very hard to market condos downtown without people knowing where they are going to park," Santerini said.
Developer Bo Aughtry, who is working on the hotel, described RiverPlace as the first "large-scale project on that side of the river."
Bourey said none of the garage's spaces would be reserved for occupants of the development. Whitworth said residents would have that option if they pay a premium.
"It's always a small portion" of the overall spaces, Whitworth said.
Whitworth said visitors to the West End wanting to use the lot shouldn't have a hard time finding a place there because not all residents and workers at RiverPlace would be there at the same time. The garage will take in vehicles at hourly as well as monthly rates.
"What we find is most people think they need more parking than they really do," she said.
Staff writer Anna B. Brutzman can be reached at 298-4394.