Additional parking coming to Greenville’s West End

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - The City of Greenville wants to bring more parking to the West End.

The Greenville City Council voted to spend $9.7 million to buy property to create public parking. And leaders say it’s worth it because it gives them control over what could be built on the land in the future.

“This is a key piece of property to serve the growth in the West End,” said Councilwoman Dorothy Dowe.

The land is surrounding Gather GVL. It’s Greenlink’s bus maintenance facility now, but soon, they’ll be moving out.

“We needed parking in the West End and we have been working on that through various projects,” said Dowe.

Since the West End is growing, so is the need for parking. The city already bought a lot on South Main street, signed an agreement with 408 Jackson and Markley Square apartment developers for parking spots in their garages and will set aside about $5 million for new garages in the next budget. But Dowe says they need more to accommodate games at Flour Field.

“We did a small area plan for this very site that we very much like to see it flourish,” she said.

The plan, adopted in 2021, prioritizes affordable housing, open space and mobility for the future of the West End. With ownership in the city’s hand they now control what development may come in the future. Although there are no other development plans other than the parking lot, the vision is a walkable Augusta Street lined with trees, restaurants, retail shops, plaza seating and apartments.

“All we can see right now is an old bus maintenance facility. But seeing the vision of what can come there I think Greenville will be really excited,” she said.

The West End Neighborhood Association president says overall residents have no concerns about the proposed parking, they do believe it is needed. They just hope to see the small area vision plan come to life.

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