In the 1990s, Greenville, South Carolina city officials shifted their downtown revitalization focus to mixed-use development and retail, meaning there needed to be more residential space first.
To flourish that focus, City officials first took some City-owned property and parking lots, and persuaded others to buy those properties at a “good deal” in order to build that mixed-use development.
The second part, officials sold ends of a parking garage to the private sector, which went toward condos and apartments.
Incentives included building much needed infrastructure, and focusing heavily on business recruitment.
But one of the most “critical” renovations Greenville ever participated in, Mayor Knox White said, was the revitalization of the Westin Poinsett Hotel, a 12-story, nationally registered historic landmark in South Carolina.