In a tale of two projects, walls have come down and walls have gone up. Signs of economic development progress are obvious in Greenville, NC’s uptown district as two major developments are underway.

Walls for the new Federal bankruptcy courthouse are going up on Reade Circle, right across from Sheppard Memorial Library. The building will be privately owned, but leased to the Federal Government. This provides a permanent home to the travelling court, which also meets in cities across the East. The project is expected to consolidate more than a dozen jobs in Greenville as well as add a new building to the City’s tax rolls.

Just down the street, 1970’s era townhouses and an abandoned furniture store have been cleared away to make room for a new student-housing complex right next to the campus of East Carolina University. The luxury apartment suites will be housed in an area between the campus (next to the Recreation Center) and the uptown shopping and dining district. Included in the mixed-use complex will be ground floor commercial space for shops as well as restaurants and a parking deck. Pending final financial approvals for the project, construction is expected to start over the summer.

According to the City’s Economic Development Officer Carl Rees, “These projects are representative of the potential of Greenville’s Uptown Commercial District to evolve into one of the top tier college downtowns in the United States.”

Both projects are multi-million dollar projects which are continuing the trend of a growing, prospering Greenville. Another developer recently announced plans to renovate several buildings along Fifth Street in the uptown shopping and dining district.

Construction on the new Wal Mart on East 10^th Street and the accompanying shopping center continues to progress. Wal Mart’s hiring office has opened on the site with a promise to hire 300 full and part-time positions to staff the 24-hour super center. The new store is scheduled to open this summer.

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