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Agreed. There may be a few different options downtown, but it should be built downtown.
Yeah, I think with all of the rundown areas and empty land downtown there should be a couple of options for the location but I think the best area is the old imperial warehouse location. It would be really cool if they built it to look sort of like the old imperial warehouse because then it would still reflect Greenville's history but also reflect a new beginning for downtown and since it is now the tobacco warehouse district then it would go along with that too.
Yeah, I think with all of the rundown areas and empty land downtown there should be a couple of options for the location but I think the best area is the old imperial warehouse location. It would be really cool if they built it to look sort of like the old imperial warehouse because then it would still reflect Greenville's history but also reflect a new beginning for downtown and since it is now the tobacco warehouse district then it would go along with that too.
Just to note...I believe you are referring to the "Ficklen" Warehouse area....the Imperial Warehouse area is near the RR tracks behind Dickinson Ave. It burned in the early 90's and will be very visible from the new 10th St connector bridge which will take out a lot of current structures in that area. It borders West Greenville and the multi-modal facility will be near there.
Personally, I like the Tobbaco Warehouse District (which I think is what you meant) or possibly a location on or near the Town Common.
I'm not a big fan of the Imperial Site area, I think that area is best suited as a buffer from West Greenville with some open space/park type use...
Group swinging to land ball team
Daily Reflector, The (Greenville, NC) - Sunday, January 27, 2013
One quote posted by Mr. Bojangles:
Back in the late 1940s, the Imperial Tobacco plant bustled on the edge of downtown Greenville, processing between 10 million and 15 million pounds of the golden leaf each season.
Now, more than three decades after the factory sent its last shipment overseas, private investors envision the site - gutted by fire in 2008 - as a reinvented campus, a place where a minor-league baseball team may want to locate.
Another quote from the same article posted by Mr. Bojangles:
When everything is said and done, the largest tract of land remaining between Dickinson Avenue and West Fifth Street will be the old Imperial Tobacco warehouse, which consultants have said is "just the right size for a baseball stadium."
'Business sense'
At the peak of production at Imperial Tobacco, a siren sounded every day at 8 a.m., noon and 5 p.m., controlling the shifts of the workday.
Now, it is the sound of a different siren - police sirens - that are more known of the plant, a recent hot spot for vagrants, vandals and thieves.
The project group hopes the plant can control local business again, attracting new development and increasing the local tax base with money from sports fans wanting to come live, work and relax at or near a minor-league ball park that's home to a team with a major-league affiliate.
Maybe you need to read the article again because I am pretty sure it clearly says the Imperial Warehouse and nothing about the Ficklin Warehouse. The Ficklin Warehouse is still standing and is used by a company called UNX and it is on Ficklin Street. Maybe you should check your facts before you correct someone's statement. This is what they were planning on using the Imperial Warehouse land for because it is just being wasted right now and its a pretty big piece of land. The whole point of redeveloping the Dickinson avenue area is to connect downtown with West Greenville. That will help the neighborhood to be part of downtown and by getting rid of the rental property and encouraging home ownership it will reduce crime in the area. You would not want to use the imperial land as a "buffer" from West Greenville because that isn't fixing your problem, its just ignoring it and it won't help to just make it "look good"
Last edited by piratesrock; 02-12-2013 at 09:49 PM..
If that was meant for me...you referenced the "tobacco warehouse district"...which does not include the Imperial Site, but does include the Ficklen site. The actual district is between Dickinson and Evans, bordered by 10th and Reade Circle. That's where I was coming from in my correction.
My opinion is that the district needs to be fixed up before the Imperial site can be developed. The District has more potential in my opinion as well because of its closer proximity to ECU and downtown, its District designation and it is bordered on Evans (along with the Art Museum) by the Evans Streetscape project. Personally I think putting a ballpark up against West Greenville is a bad idea, even after the 10th Street Connector is done. Buying up Bingo parlors and such along the large block of 10th, Washington, Pitt and 9th and bordering the Ficklen warehouse as well as ECU's warehouses across 10th is a much better idea to me. It could be a large arts and entertainment district that could funnel over into the Dickinson Ave corridor....and the Imperial site could be used as I said for open space for Arts display and different public activities as well as some recreational.
If that was meant for me...you referenced the "tobacco warehouse district"...which does not include the Imperial Site, but does include the Ficklen site. The actual district is between Dickinson and Evans, bordered by 10th and Reade Circle. That's where I was coming from in my correction.
My opinion is that the district needs to be fixed up before the Imperial site can be developed. The District has more potential in my opinion as well because of its closer proximity to ECU and downtown, its District designation and it is bordered on Evans (along with the Art Museum) by the Evans Streetscape project. Personally I think putting a ballpark up against West Greenville is a bad idea, even after the 10th Street Connector is done. Buying up Bingo parlors and such along the large block of 10th, Washington, Pitt and 9th and bordering the Ficklen warehouse as well as ECU's warehouses across 10th is a much better idea to me. It could be a large arts and entertainment district that could funnel over into the Dickinson Ave corridor....and the Imperial site could be used as I said for open space for Arts display and different public activities as well as some recreational.
Oh OK. I actually think I read that they are going to designate the Dickinson avenue corridor as either part of the "Tobacco Warehouse District" or make it the new tobacco warehouse district. I think it would be better if it wasn't directly up against West Greenville but I think they would eventually buy up land around the stadium for shops and restaurants. There really is just a bunch of rundown houses in that part of West Greenville but I am sure if they built it there then they would also account for making sure the crime and image at least of that side of the neighborhood would be improved. I am not really sure that they would put it on the other side of Dickinson avenue just because they want little shops and stuff to be all along the road and they would have to demolish a lot of businesses but, whatever plan they come up with will still drastically improve downtown because any amount of development will help that area. I really think they will end up building the stadium though because this is something they really need to help bring people into downtown and they will need a attraction like this downtown. I know that I wouldn't go downtown just to go shopping or eat supper but if I went to a baseball game and then if I was hungry then I might just look for a good restaurant to eat at and maybe see a couple of shops I might want to check out. But I would never go downtown just to shop right now.
The 600-900 blocks of Dickinson Ave were a designated historic district in about 2007 I think. Its technically a separate district from the Warehouse District which kind of meanders from Reade to 10th. It could all be one district, but to be honest, it may better that its not right now.
Stuff needs to be torn down in there (outside of the designated districts) to make way for new uses within the district. The city, if they are not already, should be targeting this area for cleanup. Honestly, I would have preferred ECU move into this area rather than down Reade Circle...here's why.
If ECU bought up the Ficklen warehouse as well as other surrounding buildings it could actually transform the warehouse into a new "art building" adjacent to the Museum of Art. It would allow the old Art building on 5th to be torn down and re-done into student housing to match the other housing along 5th. ECU could buy up the properties around this art building and clean them out and up into at least parking for ECU...further saving having to build a parking deck near 10th and Cotanche. If the area (except the historic buildings used for ECU) were cleaned out for parking and future re-use then it would get you right up close to Dickinson, which would allow for college related businesses to locate on Dickinson in that district...if the city gets the Imperial Site cleaned up and uses it for open space then the whole area is cleaned up and utilized and it acts as your entrance when you come in on the 10th St connector. I could even see the site as being a better site (adjacent to the warehouses) for a performing Arts Center and Hotel....rather than tucked back into the corner of 1st and Cotanche.
There are a lot of opportunities there...before a stadium is built, I think the City and ECU need to get together and develop a consolidated "master plan" that incorporates the best uses of all of these areas including the Historic Districts. Downtown Greenville could actually extend to 10th Street and I don't think that would be a bad thing. The more business there the better the environment for kids to come to school and live. Additional housing with downtown needs to be identified as well for it to be effective. This really all goes along with the 10th St connector project and the urban renewal area the City has previously designated.
The 600-900 blocks of Dickinson Ave were a designated historic district in about 2007 I think. Its technically a separate district from the Warehouse District which kind of meanders from Reade to 10th. It could all be one district, but to be honest, it may better that its not right now.
Stuff needs to be torn down in there (outside of the designated districts) to make way for new uses within the district. The city, if they are not already, should be targeting this area for cleanup. Honestly, I would have preferred ECU move into this area rather than down Reade Circle...here's why.
If ECU bought up the Ficklen warehouse as well as other surrounding buildings it could actually transform the warehouse into a new "art building" adjacent to the Museum of Art. It would allow the old Art building on 5th to be torn down and re-done into student housing to match the other housing along 5th. ECU could buy up the properties around this art building and clean them out and up into at least parking for ECU...further saving having to build a parking deck near 10th and Cotanche. If the area (except the historic buildings used for ECU) were cleaned out for parking and future re-use then it would get you right up close to Dickinson, which would allow for college related businesses to locate on Dickinson in that district...if the city gets the Imperial Site cleaned up and uses it for open space then the whole area is cleaned up and utilized and it acts as your entrance when you come in on the 10th St connector. I could even see the site as being a better site (adjacent to the warehouses) for a performing Arts Center and Hotel....rather than tucked back into the corner of 1st and Cotanche.
There are a lot of opportunities there...before a stadium is built, I think the City and ECU need to get together and develop a consolidated "master plan" that incorporates the best uses of all of these areas including the Historic Districts. Downtown Greenville could actually extend to 10th Street and I don't think that would be a bad thing. The more business there the better the environment for kids to come to school and live. Additional housing with downtown needs to be identified as well for it to be effective. This really all goes along with the 10th St connector project and the urban renewal area the City has previously designated.
I do think that the City and ECU should work together and discuss a plan for the area but I still think that the Imperial site is the best site for the stadium due to the Intermodal Center being on that side of Dickinson. I think that they probably could incorporate some park space in the plan but eventually if the stadium serves its purpose then you won't need a buffer from West Greenville because I can see it becoming a neighborhood sort of like the one near Dowdy Ficklen. I think the City would do something like they have been doing on Fifth street where they are building new houses and selling them on the side of the baseball stadium and in a couple of years if all goes according to the master plan, the downtown area will need new space and they will have to buy up a lot of West Greenville. I see what you are saying about 10th Street and it would be great if ECU would expand some into the "Arts and Entertainment District" because I think they would help get that area booming. I think there are many plans that would work for this area but anything will help it right now. Right now it seems like they are only calling the Reade Circle area Downtown(or Uptown, whatever) but I think Downtown will have to expand at least as far as 10th Street because they are going to run out of land. Greenville is becoming a lot bigger and soon they will need to start building up once they clean up downtown. I think one thing that will help the downtown area will be having ECU so close by and they will just continue to expand into downtown and I think that will help the area even more. Just give it 5 or 10 years and our downtown will be really nice.
The Brody MRI building (small building to the right of the Brody Outpatient entrance) is receiving an alteration. There is a crane there and other assorted things. Not sure what is going on yet.
The bar Level's downtown is changing their clientele. It is reopening as a gay bar on Feb 21 (I think).
Not my cup of tea, but it could be worse.
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