Greenville city leaders hit a home run when they scored partnerships with minor league baseball owner Craig Brown and developer Bob Hughes.
“The ability to partner is defined by three principles,” explained Brown, co-owner and president of the Greenville Drive baseball team. “It takes a shared vision, strong enthusiastic leaders and a collaborative spirit.”
According to Brown and Hughes, Greenville’s city council and city manager followed these three key principles when they built the West End Field, a replica of Fenway Park, and RiverPlace, a mixed-use development. “The partnership benefited both parties,” said Brown during the “Hometown Enthusiasm and Partnerships” session at MASC’s Annual Meeting. “The city committed to overcome obstacles which served to strengthen the partnership..”
Brown encouraged other city leaders attending the session to engage in public-private partnerships and follow the Greenville example to the letter. He illustrated how Greenville’s city council organized public dialogue with neighborhood associations that were opposed to the stadium development. “Opponents backed away because councilmembers communicated the importance of the Drive’s positive impact on the city,” said Brown. “Their leadership didn’t stop there.” He continued, “They immersed economic agencies, the chamber, civic leaders and the business community in their vision to build the stadium.”
The city also worked collaboratively with Greenville County to provide 500 free parking spaces for the Drive at the nearby County Square. Trolleys are owned by the baseball team but are maintained and driven by city employees. In return, the city has access to the trolleys during the Drive’s off-season.
Additionally, Brown emphasized how city leaders kept their commitments to the partnership. Streets leading up to the stadium were paved on time by the city. Water and sewer were installed on schedule.
Meeting commitments was a key element in Hughes’ partnership with the city when they built RiverPlace together. He described his partnership with Greenville to the elected officials attending the session as a ‘marriage.’ “It goes on forever,” he joked.
Using the marriage comparison, he explained the ‘pre-nup’ between the city and his company. “The city needed a great public space on the river, parking and money. The developer needed love and affection and some money,” he explained. Therefore, the city agreed to spend $11.5 million on the garage and public plaza and keep a high level profile on the project. Hughes agreed to invest a minimum of $25 million, manage all the construction and handle cost overruns on the public improvements.
With the agreement in place, Hughes and the city kept its promises and developed the $75 million mixed-use development in 2005. It includes the Hampton Inn, restaurants, retail stores, artist studios, condominiums and a parking garage which is wrapped around an iconic fountain and water feature.
Hughes highlighted the need for all cities to have good ordinances in place when tackling mixed-use developments with contractors. “You have to be ready for the partnership,” he said.
He also stressed being innovative. The first level of one of the mixed-use buildings is reserved for artist studios. The 30-day leases allow enough time for individual artists to showcase their work. If they are not successful, they can be asked to leave in 30 days for another artist to display their wares, according to Hughes.
Hughes and Brown agreed that successful cities are defined by their private-public partnerships. Having a shared vision by strong leaders who have a collaborative spirit and meet commitments are key principles for all cities to follow. However, the city has to be the leader of the partnership in order to make it a homerun, according to Brown. “My first endeavor to build this stadium in another city lasted two years,” he said. “In Greenville, we built the stadium in 13 months. Now, that’s commitment!”