By Francis B. Allgood
fallgood@scbiznews.com
At a time where construction work is hard to come by, the Greenville County Recreation District recently completed $29 million in new projects and just received County Council approval for more than $9 million in additional work.
The initiative is all part of taking a park system designed for the 1970s and expanding it to national standards based on the population of Greenville County. According to a 2001 study by Woolpert Inc., the system needs a $110 million expansion.
“When the whole world fell apart we were building stuff like crazy,” said Mike Teachey, director of community relations for GCRD. “We’ve provided a lot of work for contractors.”
Already common among municipalities, in 2006 County Council passed a 2% hospitality tax – a tax on prepared food and beverage. Eighteen different projects totaling $51 million were identified through the Tourism Recreation and Athletics Coalition plan.
“This is really the largest capital infusion our agency has ever scene,” Teachey said.
GCRD is funded through property taxes in unincorporated areas and self-generated revenues. With a $12.5 million budget, the agency employs 85 to 350 people based on seasonal work, and manages 1,200 acres of land.
As a special purpose district, the agency cannot expand its footprint using property taxes revenue, but only maintain the parks the district already serves. The hospitality tax, however, allows the parks program to expand.
Among some of the notable projects, the agency has completed two water parks, Otter Creek and 7th Inning Splash, and expanded Discovery Island. These projects totaling more than $5.5 million provided work for Moon-McManus Construction Inc., Hot Springs Pools & Spas and Genco Pools & Spas, according to Parks Director Don Shuman.
Cory Burns Park and David Jackson Park are new five-field baseball complexes and the Mesa Soccer Complex was expanded from eight fields to 16.
“It now meets the requirements to host these big regional tournaments,” Shuman said.
In 2009, the Region III Presidents Cup soccer tournament had a $2.5 million economic impact over a three-day period, he added.
In partnership with Greenville Technical College, GCRD constructed four Little League fields, a collegiate-size baseball field and two soccer/football fields at Greenville Tech’s Northwest campus.
“If they (Greenville Tech) wanted to start collegiate athletics the backbone of the fields is there,” Shuman said.
Samples of some of the other contractors to benefit from GCRD projects were Arbor Engineering Inc., DP3 Architects Ltd., Langley & Associates Architects, Strange Brothers Grading Co. and SYS Constructors Inc.
“We have seen lower than usual bids,” Shuman said. “We are getting contracts from all over. Where we typically would get three or four bidders on a project we are now getting 15 to 20 bids. It’s more competitive. A couple of years ago building materials were down. They’ve come back up, but we are still getting good prices.”
SYS Constructors built the new $12.5 million Pleasant Ridge Camp & Retreat Center. About $4 million came from hospitality tax money, with state funding, grant money and individual donors rounding out the funding. Nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the therapeutic recreation facility is for youth and adults with special needs, disabilities, chronic illness and other health conditions.
“We just opened it in May. We share a property line with Cliffs at Mountain Park,” Teachey said. “It can also be used for corporation retreats, family reunions and weddings.”
As part of the new round of projects, bids are now out for a $4.5 million renovation of the Westside Aquatic Center, $4 million to add four new baseball fields and renovate Greenville Municipal Stadium, and $500,000 in improvements at the Mesa Soccer Complex.
Greenville Municipal Stadium was the former home to the Greenville Braves and the Greenville Bombers from 1984 to 2006. A private developer had plans to turn it into a multi-field baseball park, but funding fell through. GRCD has a long-term lease with the city of Greenville to operate the new park, Shuman said.
According to Teachey, parks, trails and available recreational opportunities are all part of economic development and quality of life. The $2 million Greenville Hospital System Swamp Rabbit Trail has been a success, particularly for merchants in Travelers Rest. The city’s redevelopment effort is centered around the trail and businesses are seeking to be closer, including Leopard Forrest Coffee Co.
Teachey said a traffic issue near an active rail line that closed off a portion of the trail will soon be resolved. Expansion of the Swamp Rabbit Trail to Lake Conestee Nature Park is expected to start this year with completion of the trail by 2012.
In Travelers Rest, the mile marker starts at 23, as the plan is to eventually take the trail to the North Carolina boarder.
“The land along the trail is going to skyrocket in value,” Teachey said. “Statistically property that is adjacent or within a mile of a park has a higher property value if it weren’t. All that land that was basically unused industrial land that wasn’t worth a whole lot is now going to be worth a whole lot more.”
