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Status:
"48 years in MD, 18 in NC"
(set 7 days ago)
Location: Greenville, NC
2,309 posts, read 6,100,090 times
Reputation: 1430
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Quote:
Originally Posted by BMOREBOY
Exactly my point; Greenville is slowly but surely attempting to diversify and that's what I love to hear.
Greenville actually has a very long history of doing whatever it takes to succeed. The rate of successes has slowed down a bit in the last 20 or so years but once in a while, you need to make changes to regain momentum.
Greenville actually has a very long history of doing whatever it takes to succeed. The rate of successes has slowed down a bit in the last 20 or so years but once in a while, you need to make changes to regain momentum.
Pretty much most cities must adapt to a evolving economy; lets look at Wilson for say, it's economy just as Greenville's was, was based around Tobacco. Now Wilson could've slumped off just as cities that failed to adapt such as Kinston, but it's economy evolved in a sense to more of a dependant of Raleigh while maintaining more of a blue collar workforce. Now Greenville is utilizing ECU more and ECU is helping Vidant become a renowned hospital in a sense. Nonetheless you're correct, Greenville has evolved at a fairly quick pace and I believe as of last year the pace has accelerated tremendously mostly because of all the announcements Uptwon. And as uptown continues to evovle and actually sees some progress, more companies will begin moving in. I know we bring this city up a lot, but look at Greenville, SC, it's downtown area has attracted plenty of companies to their area.
Greenville actually has a very long history of doing whatever it takes to succeed. The rate of successes has slowed down a bit in the last 20 or so years but once in a while, you need to make changes to regain momentum.
While I understand your point, it should be noted that Greenville failed for many years to address its issues....what we are dealing with now is a direct result of that failure. There was an entire side of town where there was no concerted effort to address. Had the 10th Street Connector been planned and pushed when the Med School was started in the late 70's, it would likely have been done in the 90's and a lot of problems would have been addressed and properties redeveloped on the downtown end of it. Its 20 years late.
There was a lack of foresight and a lack of wanting to deal with the problems in West Greenville...some recruited professors said that when they got off the plane at the airport that they were driven down Memorial Drive, left on Greenville Blvd to Elm Street and then down Elm to 5th Street. In other words, if we just drive around the problem, we can act like it doesn't exist. Out of sight, out of mind.
Hurricane Floyd and increased crime has force the City to deal with its problems, and physical change doesn't happen overnight.
There was a lack of foresight and a lack of wanting to deal with the problems in West Greenville...some recruited professors said that when they got off the plane at the airport that they were driven down Memorial Drive, left on Greenville Blvd to Elm Street and then down Elm to 5th Street. In other words, if we just drive around the problem, we can act like it doesn't exist. Out of sight, out of mind.
I really don't understand what exactly is wrong with this. Every city has a bad side. What responsibility do others have to fix the bad side?
If I don't mow my grass for a month I don't expect someone from west Greenville to come do it for me. Why is the opposite true?
That is AWESOME that Greenville is finally getting new jobs! I know some of y'all probably think that its not that important because its just 200 jobs from ASMO and 300 jobs from Walmart but now days in this economy its great to still see companies expanding. Yes, they might be lower income jobs but it is exciting to see Greenville finally offering incentives to companies that help grow the area's economy. Any job is a good job in this day and time. Even if it may be 300 jobs at Walmart that is 300 people that are no longer jobless so I am all for new jobs, even from Walmart. There are WAY too many people that are on unemployment that don't even try to go out and find a job so at least there are new jobs for those people that really are trying.
That is AWESOME that Greenville is finally getting new jobs! I know some of y'all probably think that its not that important because its just 200 jobs from ASMO and 300 jobs from Walmart but now days in this economy its great to still see companies expanding. Yes, they might be lower income jobs but it is exciting to see Greenville finally offering incentives to companies that help grow the area's economy. Any job is a good job in this day and time. Even if it may be 300 jobs at Walmart that is 300 people that are no longer jobless so I am all for new jobs, even from Walmart. There are WAY too many people that are on unemployment that don't even try to go out and find a job so at least there are new jobs for those people that really are trying.
I don't think anyone is downing Greenville for obtaining more jobs, that would be inane of any of us to say especially with Greenville's unemployment rate being fairly high. People like myself are just never satisfied until things actually go our way; these new announcements are great dont get me wrong but I won't be happy until Apple or GM or whatever company announces their bringing a major factory or operation to Greenville. So until then I won't be completely satisfied but I still like the new job announcements. Once those major companies start moving in, plenty of more supplier companies will come as well leading to thousands of new jobs and that's what I'd love to hear.
One of the key factors for me leaving Greenville when I did was that there were no jobs available, or if they were available you wouldn't really be able to get the job without a connection. So of all people, I'm extremely happy that more people will be able to work who are my age. Honestly I wish that Greenville could get a direct highway to either VA to their ports or Wilmington, that would make Greenville look far better to the companies I envision moving in plus with a highly educated workforce coming from ECU, there's no reason for Greenville to continue to lag behind.
Hell we could even build a Inland Port to connect us to Wilmington and that would be a genius development that would be critical to Greenville becoming a job center. I'd create zones near the Inland Port that have no taxes for 5 years if you bring 150 jobs at the minimum. I don't mind the budget missing revenues from companies if more people are employed because either way tax-revenues would increase. I still want the Tobacco district to become a robust, innovative district that could help lead Greenville to have more tech jobs. I still would like Vidant to buy some land in Winterville and hopefully build a small medical center there. I know this is a little expensive and unlikely, but I wouldn't even mind the city and ECU building a street-car system along Charles Avenue because I know it would get plenty of usage. I guess I'm a dreamer, but I just believe that Greenville has much under utilizied potential.
I really don't understand what exactly is wrong with this. Every city has a bad side. What responsibility do others have to fix the bad side?
If I don't mow my grass for a month I don't expect someone from west Greenville to come do it for me. Why is the opposite true?
We aren't talking about mowing grass, are we?.....we are talking about renters living in dilapidated houses, crumbling vacant warehouses, crime on the streets, convenience stores with bars on them and drug dealing/loitering taking place...
And it was all accepted as "that side of town". Why can't that side of town be better than that? It's part of the city, right? We have seen how it can affect the image of Greenville and the image of ECU and crime in other parts of town to not deal with it.
Greenville is a small finite place, fixing what's wrong isn't as daunting as fixing South Philly or Harlem. Right now there is a 45 block area that is under the microscope...internal progress is being made, the 10th St connector will be a huge catalyst to address many of the areas as well as revitalize certain parts of downtown.
"Progress" is being made using tax dollars from other residents. Sorry, but that's just not right. It should not be our responsibility to fix someone else's neighborhood.
"Progress" is being made using tax dollars from other residents. Sorry, but that's just not right. It should not be our responsibility to fix someone else's neighborhood.
Greenville is a entitlement community and receives federal HUD money every year to allocate in the way they choose, they have chosen to target this area with the money they get every year. Every larger city gets this money...in the east Wilmington, Jacksonville, and Rocky Mount all get it...as does Raleigh and Charlotte...etc...
Someone else's neighborhood is part of the community, the city. Crime affects everyone and if you allow crime to go on, it will spread. Ridding the parts of the community of the areas that harbor crime (like abandoned houses, illegal clubs, or loitering convenience stores) is a deterrent. The police can't do their job if they have to operate in a third world country. And the folks that own property in those areas (being devalued by the problem properties) pay tax dollars to...how would you feel if you had a property next door to you where drug dealers hung around and no one would do anything about it?
Not doing anything is not a solution to a problem. That's what went on for a long time and it made the situation worse.
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