The Development Action Team is reviewing development opportunities within 10 different sites in the Knowledge Park area. The goal is to position the Knowledge Park area for continued development/redevelopment by focusing planning and attention in areas that may be difficult for private developers to attack without some assistance. A map of these targeted areas is below.
The Development Action Team will prioritize these development areas by looking at factors like:
The potential for new investment and the importance of that new investment to the success of Knowledge Park (are the opportunities obvious and clearly supportive of current Knowledge Park projects and investments?)
How quickly new investment could be realized within the area (sooner is better)
Whether private developers would be likely to make future investments in the area without support from the City or RHEDC (we place a higher priority on areas where conditions are not ripe for developers to invest immediately)
Some areas, like University Center and Fountain Park, have clear development plans, committed developers, initial successes and strong momentum for future growth. Other areas, like The Herald site, the West Main/West Black corridors, and the Saluda/Johnston area, are not well understood, do not have development plans and have no interest at present from developers. How do we strike an appropriate balance between supporting the success of current projects and beginning the challenge of spreading that success to nearby sites? Stay tuned: the Development Action Team clearly has some hard decisions to make.