Five years in the making, the master plan for the commercial corridor is coming together
As progressive development continues along Greenville’s commercial corridors, a master plan created in 2009 for Haywood Road is beginning to take shape.
Over the next year, the city is expected to complete an additional undergrounding project of overhead utility lines, and the Simon Property Group will begin a multimillion-dollar renovation of Haywood Mall.
The projects being completed along Haywood Road are the direct result of the city’s master plan, said Joe Pazdan, managing principal and architect at McMillan Pazdan Smith.
The corridor is in a convenient location in relation to the interstate and downtown, he said, and several Haywood Road business owners approached him in 2007 about working with the city to refocus their efforts along the corridor.
“Over the last 20 years there has been an emphasis on downtown and Woodruff Road,” Pazdan said. “What used to be a thriving retail market in Haywood Road had lost some of its luster.”
With funds secured by both the city of Greenville and business owners, an outside firm was hired to conduct a master plan study of the area. Completed in August 2009, the plan outlined a variety of improvements including parcel redevelopment, signage and wayfinding, burying overhead utility lines, and intersection beautification and improvement.
Pazdan said the city of Greenville should be multidimensional: placing a singular focus on one particular area is not necessarily healthy for a community. There has to be more to a city than its downtown business district, he said.
The master plan indicated a need for emphasis on the interchange of I-385 and Haywood Road. Pazdan said the city applied for a Beautification Grant to improve the landscaping and signage at the exit and completed the project last year. As part of the project, the city took over maintenance of the interchange from the department of transportation, and “It looks wonderful.”
City Engineer Dwayne Cooper said the second phase of undergrounding will begin in May. Funded by a 1 percent charge on Duke Energy bills to city residents, the project will cost $1.6 million to complete and extend an additional 1,000 feet from the Chipotle restaurant to Kanpai of Tokyo, he said.
To date, the city has completed a line burial project along Haywood Road spanning 1,000 feet south from Woods Lake Road, he said. The program is designed to improve the city’s reliability, aesthetics, infrastructure and safety of its electrical systems.
The cost of the undergrounding will include the burial of overhead utilities, new street lamps, and a mast-arm traffic signal between Havertys and the old Babies R Us shopping center, Cooper said.
As part of the project, Havertys is realigning its driveway to coincide with the new traffic signal, he said. The city is also planning a sidewalk project extending from I-385 to Woods Crossing Road.
The sidewalk project is dependent on future funding and is proposed for 2016, he said. Estimated cost for the development is approximately $350,000.
The improvements along Haywood Road extend beyond the corridor’s infrastructure and include a staple of the roadway’s retail outlets. Haywood Mall recently opened two new stores, Vans Shoes and the kids’ clothing store Crazy 8, said Stacy Jacobs, area director of marketing and business development for Haywood Mall.
The Simon Property Group, the mall’s owner, wants to do its part in revitalizing Haywood Road. In addition to the new tenants at the Haywood Mall, “we are beginning a multimillion-dollar renovation,” she said.
The mall renovations will include a variety of updates and new amenities. Most notably, Haywood Mall will receive a complete interior remodel, including an expanded women’s restroom, all new carpet and tile, enhanced interior lighting, additional soft-seating areas and additional carts and kiosks.
Exterior updates are set to include the installation of new irrigation systems and updated landscaping at several mall entrances with a focus on the feature entrance at Haywood Road. There will also be enhanced and additional lighting added to the parking deck.
The renovations are expected to begin in May 2014 and be completed by the end of the year.
