Greenville Leaders Announce Plans For Piazza Bergamo

City of Greenville leaders announced the long awaited plans for a popular downtown attraction Wednesday night.  

After nearly two years of debate, sometimes contentious, developers showed off the plans for Piazza Bergamo, a large trek of land between the Project One development and several downtown businesses, on Main Street. The multi-million dollar project includes areas for outdoor events, new businesses and plenty of outdoor seating. City officials say it's going to be a big economist boost for downtown.

"This is an extremely important project that is going to be the anchor of downtown and revitalize the existing Piazza, said Public Works Director Mike Murphy.

City officials say the project is being paid for by tax dollars, but they believe it's money well spent. When completed, late in 2013, it will include a pedestrian only street and plenty of seats.

"I love these plans," said Sandy Wilson, a Greenville resident. "I was worried it would be too modern, but it has all the brick and fits right in with Greenville."

City officials say it the new Piazza Bergamo will have a huge economic impact on the area, especially North Main Street where council members say businesses have lost out on foot traffic.

"North Main has a tremendous amount of potential all the way up to Stone Avenue," said Greenville City Councilwoman Amy Ryberg-Doyle. "We believe reinvesting these economic dollars does yield a return on investment such as jobs, more development more construction."

So what does the extra money coming into the city  mean for Greenville residents? The project will cost tax payers $4 million dollars. So 7 On Your Side's Rachel Kent asked Ryberg-Doyle if city officials believe it will pay off.

"Are you confident the 4 million dollar investment will pay for itself?"

"It certainly has with Falls Park tenfold," she said. 'We had an amazing amount of development around there with condos amd offices."

The hope is that Piazza Bergamo will become a key part of the downtown and a landmark the way Falls Park has.

The plan has to be reviewed Thursday by the city's Development Review Board. If they approve the plans for Piazza Bergamo, construction can begin.

Piazza Bergamo and phase one of Project One are scheduled to be completed by this time next year.