Tuesday, September 16, 2008 by Denise Walsh

Plaza is Pondered for City Downtown by Ginger Livingtson

Article first appeared in The Daily Reflector, Wednesday, August 6, 2008

The Daily Reflector

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

A plan is under way to establish a public plaza in downtown Greenville.

Uptown Greenville is working with Greenville city officials to establish an open air, multi-use space in the area of Fifth and Evans streets. The plan is to use the area for public parking and events such as concerts or an outdoor market.

Uptown Greenville's executive director Denise Walsh and city planner Carl Rees presented the concept Tuesday night to the city's Redevelopment Commission.

A public plaza is a place where various segments of the community can mingle, Walsh said.

While Greenville has an open space in its Town Common, the area is removed from the downtown restaurants and small businesses, Walsh said in a later interview. Often people attending events at the Town Common don't think about finishing their night in the downtown area.

"In a number of communities, you find a lot of pocket parks or green spaces in numerous areas," Walsh said. The plaza, "wouldn't replace the Town Common by any means, but it would serve a different function."

The project is in the initial planning stage, Rees said. The hope is the cost will be shared by Uptown Greenville and the Redevelopment Commission, he said.

The area being considered is a public parking area called the Sixth Street lot. For several years community groups have used the area to host "Freeboot Fridays" during East Carolina University's home football games. The event features music, food and other vendors.

Uptown Greenville, a 16-year-old private, nonprofit corporation working to develop the downtown business community, also has hosted weekend umbrella markets that allow vendors to sell goods along Evans Street sidewalks.

"The thinking here is, between these two things, there is a better space to host these programs," Rees said.

Parking wouldn't be taken away, Walsh said. Instead, the thought is the space could be turned into a flat area with trees surrounding the lot and a possible water feature, she said.

Rees said the area will need electric outlets and a water supply to make it more usable. Greenville Utilities has been approached, he said, and staff there believe electrical outlets could be installed in streetlights. There already is a water outlet in one part of the space, but some engineering work will be needed to make it more accessible, Rees said.

Once GUC determines the cost of installing utilities and a design proposal is selected, public input will be sought, most likely in the fall, Walsh said.

It's likely the project will have to be done in phases, Walsh said, but she hopes work could be completed by fall 2009.