Falls Park on the Reedy
Greenville, South Carolina is the mid-size city poster child and like many, has faced the challenges of a faltering economy and downtown exodus of many retailers. It wasn’t until the creation of Falls Park on the Reedy that things started to turn around. This award-winning urban park gave the city an iconic symbol (the Liberty Bridge), a beautiful urban community gathering spot, and a distinctively vibrant, and livable urban center.
But, like all good things, the project was no easy feat. This one took vision, guts…and the removal of a bridge built in the 1960s.
Despite objections from city leaders and predictions of traffic chaos, the bridge was removed, and the park was built containing a 355-foot (108 m) long pedestrian suspension bridge that curves around the waterfall and gives the public an unobstructed view of this natural and culturally historic site.
The $13 million investment to build Falls Park on the Reedy returned $150 million in private investment directly adjacent to the park in just 18 months. The condos, hotels, and restaurants draw tourists, and more importantly, young people to the city. They stay because of the vibrant atmosphere.
“‘Connection’ is an important theme of this project. Social connections among civic leaders made their collaboration more effective; now the park is viewed as a physical space that brings together people from all over the city and from all backgrounds—urban and suburban, various classes and races, locals and tourists—in what is referred to as ‘the city’s living room’.”
As the city says, the park is “the heart of downtown, and the reason you came.”
In 2015, Falls Park on the Reedy was the Silver Medalist in The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence (RBA), a national design award that uncovers and illuminates the subtle and difficult process of making beautiful, just, and resilient places.