Council approves open-space purchases, Greenline acquisition and $26M in state funding for cultural center

The Greenville City Council voted to authorize multiple land acquisitions and to appropriate state funds for a downtown cultural project as part of a broader push to preserve open space and support neighborhood investments under the Greenville 2040 plan.

For open space, council approved a resolution authorizing purchase of 16.81 acres and two undeveloped parcels at Willard Street and Reach Street from the Salvation Army for $420,000. The presenter said $300,000 of the purchase price comes from an anonymous donor and grants (including the South Carolina Conservation Bank and the Greenville County Historic and Natural Resources Trust) and the remaining $120,000 will be paid from the city's open-space acquisition project budget. Council members and staff said the parcels sit in floodplain along the Reedy River and Long Branch Creek and will remain protected as park/open-space (zoned PK) to reduce localized flooding and aid stormwater resilience.

On a related front, council approved a resolution to execute a purchase-and-sale agreement with Greenlink Greenline Park LLC to acquire parcels in the Greenline-Spartanburg neighborhood. Staff described a neighborhood master plan and a phased approach to acquiring land — including purchases from major landowners such as Russ Davis — to install infrastructure, support affordable housing, and deliver long-standing neighborhood priorities. Staff and council framed the procurement as an important step to convert planning work into built improvements and to secure contiguous acreage for resilience and recreational use.

Separately, the council voted on first reading to appropriate $26,000,000 in state funds for the Greenville Cultural and Arts Center/conference center project. Staff explained the funds arrived in two tranches — $7 million designated for Museum and Gallery Inc. and $19 million for the broader project — and that the appropriation follows state budget proviso language tied to the General Appropriations Act.

Council members who spoke praised the acquisitions as aligning with the Greenville 2040 comprehensive plan’s priorities — protecting remaining vacant land, increasing open space, and supporting affordable housing — and thanked staff and partner organizations for quick work to assemble the funding and partnerships. The council approved the measures on roll call.

What happens next: staff will complete contracts, record necessary easements and covenants, coordinate with partners for project implementation, and schedule any additional public-notice steps required for state-funded disbursements and land closings.