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Planners Target ‘Ugly’ Corridor For Improvements
City Leaders, Developer Seeking Citizen Input On Stone Avenue
GREENVILLE, S.C. — It has four lanes and a lot of potential.
Stone Avenue is in between Greenville’s famed downtown and the laid-back North Main community.
City leaders have commissioned a developer to work with citizens to create a blueprint for the city street, to develop its potential.
The Stone Avenue Master Planning Process kicked off Thursday at 6:30 p.m. at Earle Street Baptist Church. The meeting lasted around two hours.
Nationally known urban architectural firm Dover, Kohl & Partners has been selected by the steering committee to lead the planning for Stone Avenue.
The firm came with a price tag of about $180,000 in Greenville tax money.
“It’s going to take about five months, and hopefully at the end we’re going to have a great product to show developers, to have a good civic plan for how we’re going to do the streetscape,” said Greenville City Councilwoman Amy Ryberg Doyle.
During the first meeting, a design team took poll questions from the attendees, and showed examples of how other urban corridors around the country have been transformed.
Few details emerged about a plan for Stone Avenue, although several people at the meeting expressed interest in narrowing the street, and slowing traffic flow.
Aesthetics were also a concern for many neighbors.
“Stone Avenue’s really ugly right now. It’s really a place where you don’t want to walk around,” said Mike Cubelo, who lives in a nearby neighborhood.
Gene Berger, owner of Horizon Records at the corner of Stone Avenue and Main Street, said the area has the potential to welcome more businesses.
“It’s a great place to be, to work, to play, to live, to shop,” Berger said.
Several more public meetings with the design team are planned. The next is at noon on Friday at 225 Stone Ave. The meeting will consist of a walking tour with the team to determine the areas’ “walkability.”
