'Amplification' of Simpsonville on horizon

Council approves firms for city projects

Simpsonville, S.C. — After adopting in May a multi-million dollar bond ordinance to secure funds for a city improvements project, Simpsonville City Council approved on Tuesday three firms to make the initiative happen.

City Council unanimously accepted the selection committee recommendations of civil design firms CoTransCo for downtown revitalization and SynTerra for City Park improvements and landscape architecture firm Studio Main for a Swamp Rabbit Trail extension. 

City Administrator Dianna Gracely told Council at the June business meeting that the selection committee had planned to choose one firm to oversee the project in its entirety but realized that breaking the project up into three smaller ones that are overseen by one firm each makes more sense. The selection committee narrowed the nine submittals to the request for qualifications down to four and interviewed those final firms.

“We felt like it was prudent to come back together again after we had some time to absorb it because we started thinking maybe we need to divide this up into 3 separate projects," Gracely said Tuesday night.

Downtown Revitalization

The downtown revitalization project assigned to CoTransCo includes traffic rerouting, streetscaping, landscaping, hardscaping, irrigation and a festival street. CoTransCo, which is based out of the City of Greenville, completed a similar project for the City of Greer last summer. CoTransCo also manages funds for the Greenville Legislative Delegation Transportation Committee, which allocated $2 million to Simpsonville for its downtown improvements.

"Because (CoTransCo) has money involved in the project now since we were awarded that, it's just cleaner to have one firm manage the entire project," Gracely told Council. "They're very well qualified as well. The selection committee felt like it would be the most suitable firm to do that aspect of our project."

The selection committee included Parks & Recreation Director Robbie Davis, Gracely, Councilman Lou Hutchings, Planning & Economic Development Director Jason Knudsen and Mayor Paul Shewmaker. Hutchings, who made the motion to approve CoTransCo, said at the June meeting that it was his honor to serve on the committee.

"I feel like that by dividing this up into three projects, we’ve got the best of the best for each part of that," said Hutchings, who also served on the selection committee for a municipal facilities project. "There will be a lot of synergy and communication between the groups working on the various parts of it as well as the municipal projects so I feel like we’re going to get a very good comprehensive development when all this comes about."

City Park

The City Park improvements project assigned to SynTerra includes two new football fields, new tennis and basketball courts, new restroom facility, relocation of the disc golf course to Heritage Park, elimination of the community building and use of Park Street for the Simpsonville Farmer's Market. Gracely said SynTerra is "very skilled" in environmental preservation.

"I think they’re going to be very gifted with our park project particularly because we’re building our municipal complex on the periphery of city park," Gracely said.

Council approved at the May business meeting local firm DP3 Architects to design a new fire department headquarters and municipal complex housing City Hall and the police department on the eastward side of Curtis Street, which abuts City Park. Placing the new facilities further east on Curtis Street could create the possibility for an enhanced park entrance.

"We’re going to have some stormwater needs that we have not had in the park before, so I think (Synterra) will be able to give us a creative approach to managing the stormwater without it being just a typical retention pond," Gracely continued. "I think they’ll bring a different perspective to that. I was impressed with some of the projects they presented in their proposal."

Swamp Rabbit Trail Extension

The Swamp Rabbit Trail extension project assigned to Studio Main is a 2.5-mile extension of the current 1-mile trail on South Main Street from Trade Street to Fairview Road. The project will take the trail from Fairview Road to Heritage Park, creating a total of 3.5 miles of trail in expectation that the Swamp Rabbit Trail will continues its way southward through the cities of Mauldin, Simpsonville and Fountain Inn.

Gracely said planner, landscape architect and Mayor of West Pelzer Blake Sanders will be leading the project. Sanders was heavily involved in the creation of the Doodle Trail between the cities of Easley and Pickens.

"(Sanders) is probably one of the foremost experts in trail design, and he maintains a very extensive inventory of trail networks throughout not only the state of South Carolina ... but regionally and nationally as well," Gracely said. 

Hutchings said Sanders is "very qualified" for the project.

"We've gotten the best of the best," Hutchings added.

Mayor Shewmaker said he was honored to serve on the selection committee but that he preferred a word other than "revitalization" as a descriptor for the city improvements project that this City is undertaking. 

"We’re not doing revitalization," Shewmaker said at the end of the meeting. "What we’re doing is amplification. We’re just going to turn up the volume on what is already a good thing, and all three of these recommendations are going to amplify what is already a great thing."

Project construction is expected to begin near the end of the year.