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Officials: Greenville's Unity Park designed to flood amid heavy rain

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GREENVILLE, S.C. —

As the Upstate received several inches of rain, it forced the closure of a popular trail at a Greenville park due to flooding, but officials said its design is working as intended.

Greenville City Engineer Paul Dow said when Unity Park was built in a 100-year floodplain, they carved into the riverbank to help control the rising water.

“When you go to the park, you can see those shelves that were cut in and vegetation placed in those shelves," Dow said. "That allows that stormwater, when it gets up, to spread out and slow down.”

Portions of the popular Swamp Rabbit Trail at the park were closed off to people due to the weather, Tuesday. Standing floodwater could be seen just over the Reedy River's banks, which works its way through the middle of the park.

By controlling the speed of the rising water in the river, Dow said it can help prevent damage to buildings downstream.

“It takes up time for emergency response and things of that nature," he said. "Of course, it’s costly to repair buildings, so having a public space for recreational uses in a floodplain makes a lot more sense.”

Dow said the river is fed through a system of creeks and channels. He added cities like Greenville have to design around the ebbs and flows of water for the foreseeable future.

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“It’s really a losing battle if you’re trying to contain the Reedy River in one certain place," Dow said. "What you have to realize is that it will spread and storms that we saw today were a big storm, and we’re going to expect larger storms than what we saw today, as well.”

In the days ahead, officials will be taking a look at how their designs worked during the storms.

Dow said they could also be adding dirt or mulch to places that may have eroded.

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The arts came roaring after almost three years of pandemic-related setbacks. In Greenville, audiences began returning to theaters and concert halls last season, but 2023 was a banner year.

Here are a few artistic highlights, in no particular order. Greenville offers such a rich array of performances that it’s impossible for one person to see everything, so my list is highly subjective and certainly incomplete.

(For some of what follows, I relied also on the opinions of theater-goers Bert Wakeley, Kelly Neal and Daniel Dogaru.)

The Peace Center’s Broadway Series, specializing in musical-theater blockbusters, continued to dominate the arts scene. Female empowerment was a big theme in the return of the hugely popular “Wicked” and the Upstate debut of “Six,” the latter about the six wives of Henry VIII.

The Broadway Series raised the roof and rattled the ribcage with the electrifying Michael Jackson-inspired musical “MJ,” the aforementioned “Six” and Alanis Morissette’s hard-charging “Jagged Little Pill.”

The 9/11-themed musical “Come From Away” returned in January to rend our hearts while Aaron Sorkin’s fine dramatization of “To Kill a Mockingbird” featured a superb cast led by veteran actor Richard Thomas. For old-fashioned razzle-dazzle, “Funny Girl” returned with a tour de force performance by Katerina McCrimmon.

Edvard Tchivzhel concluded his almost quarter-century tenure as the Greenville Symphony’s music director with a soaring performance of Mahler’s towering Second Symphony in April. Tchivzhel returned to the podium in December to lead the entertaining Holiday at Peace.

The first few in a series of Greenville Symphony guest conductors, vying to be the orchestra’s new music director, offered powerful interpretations of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony (John Devlin, conductor) and Schumann’s Second Symphony (led by the charismatic Lee Mills).

The Greenville Chorale played an important role in the Mahler Symphony and later collaborated with the Greenville Jazz Collective in October for some tasty big band standards.

Glow Lyric Theatre offered compelling productions of the opera “Handmaid’s Tale” and the gritty musical “Cabaret.”

Greenville Theatre spotlighted buoyant big-scale musicals such as “Spamalot” and “Shrek.” Its recent “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” was an utter delight.

The Warehouse Theatre in 2023 staged two world premieres: Sofia Alvarez’s “Kill Corp” and Cammi Stilwell’s uproarious comedy “ODD.” The Warehouse opened its 50^th season with Jayce Tromsness’ dynamic staging of “Twelfth Night” and continues into 2024 with provocative fare such as “The Lehman Trilogy” and Stephen Sondheim’s “Assassins.”

Centre Stage offered a premiere of Randall David Cook’s clever and touching comedy “Four Seasons.” Centre Stage began the year tugging at the heartstrings with “Once.” In December, John Fagan, who directed “Once,” returned with a glowing production of “All is Calm,” about the 1914 Christmas truce.

The Logos Theatre’s original musical “Scarlett Pimpernel” was a first-rate achievement.

The South Carolina Children’s Theatre offered its usual high-quality youth shows, including a stunning “Mary Poppins.”

Bob Jones University provided a clever Western take on “Romeo and Juliet.” Furman University gave us fine productions of “The Prom” and a double bill of “The Dumb Waiter” and “The Lesson.” North Greenville College showcased its considerable student talent in “The Last Night of Ballyhoo.”

It was a great year for theater and music in Greenville. Next year looks to be equally dazzling.

It was a year of openings, closings and honors on the local food and drink scene. Here’s a sample of the stories that made headlines.

Restaurateurs honored

Carl Sobocinski is a widely recognized name in Greenville’s restaurant community as the founder of Table 301. This June, the National Restaurant Association Educational Foundation awarded Sobocinski with the Community Leadership Award presented by American Express. The award commended his work with local nonprofit Mill Village Ministries. Dayna Lee Márquez, chef and owner of Comal864, was a semifinalist for the prestigious James Beard Award for Best Chef in the Southeast.

The effect of rising costs for liquor liability insurance

A hot topic was the effects of the rising cost of liquor liability insurance. The rises stem from a 2017 law requiring bars and restaurants to obtain liability insurance coverage at a rate of $1 million annually at minimum. Several venues closed and cited the liability issue as a factor.

Openings and closings

The city saw an array of exciting openings, along with some closings. The 07 opened on Laurens Road this October, as well as C&C Italian Deli Sandwich Shop on Augusta Street. Some notable closings were Tanner’s Big Orange and Addy’s Dutch Cafe & Restaurant. Cateran’s Buffet Restaurant closed, then reopened under new ownership later in the year. Simpsonville added Scuffletown Food Truck Park at 206 Ladean Court. The park is a unique concept with six award-winning trucks and 21 beer and wine taps, along with various areas for entertainment.

Upstate restaurants gained national attention

Four restaurants in Greenville and Spartanburg made the “Top 100 Places to Eat in the Carolinas” list on Yelp this June. The restaurants were Pita House, Sassafras Southern Bistro and Califas in Greenville, and The Lemongrass Kitchen in Spartanburg. This was the first “Top 100” list for the Carolinas, adding to the merit for each restaurant.

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Population growth continued unabated throughout 2023, and county leaders are increasingly under pressure to find solutions to the challenges posed by that growth.

Homecoming

Despite delays, county administrative offices moved to their new home at the corner of North Church Street and University Ridge. The two gleaming glass towers will serve as the flagship for the $1 billion mixed-use development occupying 40 acres along University Ridge. County staff moved into their new home in late spring, which paved the way for demolition of the aging mall they once called home and the start of extensive infrastructure work for the project’s next phases.

Tax hike

With demand for county services outstripping revenue, the county passed its first property tax increase in decades. Citing increased costs virtually across the board, the county scaled back its initial proposal to 7 mills or an additional $28 per $100,000 in valuation of property. County council grappled with the necessity of raising property taxes but ultimately decided the increase was necessary to avoid reducing services to county residents.

Road woes

A perennial issue, the problem of crumbling roads became more acute this year as the magnitude of the maintenance backlog became clear. County staff assessed it would take about $2 billion to get the county’s road system up to scratch. The roughly $12 million raised each year by road maintenance fees are ludicrously incapable of making a meaningful dent in the problem. The upshot is more funding is needed.

Septic controls

Given that two-thirds of the county is unzoned, council ventured into the realm of septic-system requirements as a means of controlling growth. At issue are housing developments popping up all over the map in areas without zoning protections in place or adequate sewer infrastructure. New requirements specify minimum lot sizes for septic tanks in new housing developments and outright ban community septic systems.

Affordable housing

As the year draws to its end, the county is experiencing heartburn over its policy allowing tax incentives to encourage affordable housing projects. The problem is the number of projects seeking incentives far outstripped what the council expected and prompted a debate among members about what sorts of projects should actually qualify. The council is likely to revisit the policy next year and tighten the focus on the kinds of projects it wants to encourage.