Greenville’s West End- the City’s best Urban District located right next to Downtown

The West End was originally known for hosting Furman University which was established in 1852. But unfortunately the university moved to a more suburban location several miles outside of Dwtn. This could have been a great asset to Dwtn given its close proximity to the West End. After the turn of the twentieth century, many textile mills moved into the area. The neighborhood feel into disrepair soon afterwards. But the West End benefited greatly from Civic Leader’s focus on renovating downtown and the Reedy Riverfront as much of this revitalization work occurred in the West End since the 1970s. The District is now Greenville’s best urban district (by a long shot) and the arts and entertainment center of the city.

From an urban perspective, I most appreciated how well the West End ties in seamlessly to Dwtn thanks to the Reedy River Recreation trails and Falls Park, the short bridge between the two and the vibrant commercial districts along Main Street and Augusta that tie seemly to Dwtn. West End has great cultural and retail amenities and is ground zero for Greenville’s urban apartment boom. The neighborhood is also very safe, has great schools, and is buzzing with pedestrians and tourists. For the West End neighborhood to be truly a great urban district it still needs more density, better residential in-fill and development in its low-density streets, better bike infrastructure, and a full service supermarket.

Click here to view my West End Album on Flickr

URBAN STRENGTHS:

* Excellent Access to Dwtn being just to the west of it.
 * Generally good ADA infrastructure but plenty of intersections without modern ADA curb cuts.
* Good economic diversity but limited racial diversity as the neighborhood is 77% white.
* Several solid public schools representing all grades surround the edges of the West End. Also a Catholic grade school nearby.
* Lots of modern apartments. Studios and 1-beds lease in the low to high 1Ks. Tons of 2-beds as well that lease in the 2Ks.  Only a handful of 3-beds.
* Overall the neighborhood is very safe.
* Quality historic commercial but limited historic residential remains.
* Lots of modern apartment and mixed-use in-fill but of varying urban quality and design. This is the south so parking often takes the driver’s seat in terms of design and layout.
* Pretty good urban form along Augusta and Main, especially near dwtn. Still a good amount of surface parking. Overall good streetscaping.
* Good pedestrian activity especially along Main Street and the Falls park.
* Very popular district with a lot of buzz.
* Great access to the Falls Park on Reedy and river trail on the Reedy. But really not other parks in the neighborhood leaving the western edges of Payne-Logan about 1/2 mile from any parks.
* Excellent cultural amenities here including a wide array of food & bev businesses, several live music venues, a couple theaters, several art galleries, and a minor league ball park. Walkable access to many Downtown cultural amenities as well.
* Good retail amenities including lots of boutiques/clothing/gift stores, a drug store, several banks, plenty of dessert joints, a couple churches, and a major hospital is only 1/2 mile from Payne-Logan. 

URBAN WEAKNESSES:

• lots a breaks and lack of connections for a typically urban neighborhood street grid.
• Mediocre density for an urban neighborhood.
• So so public transit access. A couple dedicated bike stares and small dedicated bike lane segments.
• Few households with children here. Median age is pretty diverse however.
• Other than a handful of the older SF homes that remain, for-sale housing is very expensive. 1-bed condos general sell in the 700Ks-800Ks. Lotso of 2-bed condos and townhouses but they sell between 650K-1.3M. 3 & 4 bed sell anywhere from 350K-1.5 M depending on size and age. Handful of affordable housing options in the West End.
• Missing some key retail amenities (i.e. supermarket, post office, public library)”