South Greenwood Park plan moving from concept to reality with CPST funding
After years of planning by city officials and hope by southside residents for the development of a park at the old Greenwood Mills Foundry site, concept is quickly turning into reality.
With voter approval last month of a special sales tax to pay for $85 million worth of capital improvement projects across the county, $1.75 million of that is dedicated to converting the 13.5-acre site from a brownfield to a community-anchoring recreational space.
The levy will be collected by adding 1 percent to the county’s sales and use tax for up to eight years or until the total amount approved by voters is met.
“I am so excited about the idea of it coming to fruition,” said Anne Gunby, a vocal proponent of the plan and resident of the nearby Wisewood Apartments complex. “I guarantee you that we put a lot of time and effort into this.”
City Manager Charlie Barrineau said an actual park opening likely won’t take place until 2019, but officials plan to spend the coming months working through a series of transactions with local, state and federal agencies to create the facility.
“Our goal will be to do a lot of leg work in 2017 with hopes of moving toward design into 2018, with hopefully some construction starting before the end (of 2018),” Barrineau said. “I would say that it would not be likely for anything to be open to the public until 2019.”
Barrineau said the city should collect $1 million near the end of 2018 from the penny sales tax, with the balance of funds for the South Greenwood Park available by year seven.
Currently, the land is owned by the Greenwood Housing Authority’s nonprofit arm, which bought it from Greenwood Mills in 2004. The City Council provided the authority with $50,000 to demolish and remove the old foundry structure.
“The site is ideal (for a park) because of its central location to Main Street,” Barrineau said. It’s also surrounded by several neighborhoods including Blyth Heights, Panola, Mathews Mill, Wisewood and the authority itself.
The project might sound familiar to some southend residents. It was the subject of a 2012 public meeting to gauge community input on the city’s efforts at creating green park space at the site.
Barrineau said 2017 figures to be a busy year for the future park, starting in the early months when the city council will be asked to sign an agreement with the state Department of Health and Environmental Control on a “non-voluntary cleanup contract.”
That action protects the city from any environmental liability with an agreement that officials will implement a state-approved cleanup and redevelopment plan. By the summer, Barrineau said the council intends to ask the Housing Authority to deed the property – which requires authority board approval – for construction of a public park.
Next fall, Barrineau said Greenwood plans to apply for a $200,000 cleanup grant through the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which can’t be done without the state agreement and direct ownership of the property.
“In essence, the city intends to leverage the fact that we have anticipated CPST revenue to secure grant funds,” Barrineau said. “Cleanup funds could assist the city to remove contaminated materials and implement a plan to cap (them) on site.”
Another revenue stream could be the state Revolving Brownfield Loan Fund that can also the promise of dedicated money from the penny sales tax to secure a non-refundable grant.
The Greenwood Parks and Trails Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to expanding the county’s recreation portfolio, is also interested in bringing a park to the south side. Foundation President Billy Nicholson signed an application to the penny sales tax committee advocating for the project.
“If constructed in such a manner to serve as a regional destination, the city of Greenwood can utilize local hospitality tax dollars to maintain the facility,” Nicholson wrote. “The vision of the park is to be similar to that of West Cambridge Park. The current proposal also includes the development of a large multi-purpose area (open space, soccer field, etc).”
Contact staff writer Adam Benson at 864-943-5650 or on Twitter@ABensonIJ.
Originally Published by Index-Journal on:Dec 12, 2016
By ADAM BENSON abenson@indexjournal.com