The Haynie-Sirrine neighborhood is no stranger to change.
It is known as one of the first Black communities in Greenville, dating back to the late 19th century. Located south of downtown, Haynie-Sirrine is bordered by University Ridge to the north and Augusta Street to the west. Church Street also cuts through the center of the neighborhood.
In its history, Haynie-Sirrine experienced a period of decline in the mid-20th century with rising crime rates and deteriorating housing conditions. External factors, such as development and growth pressures, have also modified the geographic and demographic makeup of the community over the years.
Felsie Harris, a longtime resident and president of the Haynie-Sirrine Neighborhood Association, has been a witness to the neighborhood’s evolution since she was a little girl. She was born in Haynie-Sirrine in 1947.
“It’s amazing the way that it has changed,” Harris said. “My brothers and sisters, we all grew up here.”
Today, Haynie-Sirrine’s residents work to protect and improve the historic neighborhood as new development projects in the area are completed. To accomplish this goal, the Haynie-Sirrine Neighborhood Association, led by Harris, asked the city to rezone the neighborhood and create an updated master plan depicting the future vision for the community.
Greenville City Council approved the new Haynie-Sirrine Master Plan Sept. 23, replacing the neighborhood’s existing — and outdated — plan created in 2002. City officials said this step needed to be taken before the neighborhood could be rezoned under the Greenville Development Code.
Years in the making, city planning staff worked with neighborhood residents and business owners over the last several months to create the neighborhood’s updated master plan.
Development catalyst
Haynie-Sirrine is one of 13 special-emphasis neighborhoods in the city. To earn this federal designation, at least 51% of residents in a community must make below 80% of the area’s median income.
In 2018, Haynie-Sirrine residents learned of a more than $1 billion redevelopment project planned for construction on the neighborhood’s north side. The project, known as Greenville County Square, is expected to bring 3.5 million square feet of new commercial and residential space to the area.
“It was daunting at the very beginning. It was just something that we could hardly wrap our heads around what was coming,” said Becky Warth, co-vice president of the Haynie-Sirrine Neighborhood Association.
Residents of neighborhoods surrounding the development, including Haynie-Sirrine, Greater Sullivan and West End, had several concerns about the project. Some of the concerns included traffic and connectivity, building height and affordable housing. A coalition was formed of residents, land owners and business owners to share their thoughts with the developer, city and county officials.
“We had to fight for what we thought was right for the neighborhood and for the city of Greenville in terms of various things about the plan as it was being developed and approved,” Warth said.
A study was conducted in 2019 that looked at how the County Square project could be integrated into the neighborhood. Recommendations on how to accomplish this transition were outlined in the city’s South Downtown Small Area Plan created in 2020.
Mary Douglas Hirsch, the city’s planning administrator, said the small area plan wasn’t formally adopted because of the need for further traffic and infrastructure assessments. These assessments were completed in 2022.
City staff used the information gathered from these past planning efforts along with public input to create the updated Haynie-Sirrine Master Plan. The plan focuses on preserving and enhancing the existing neighborhood while balancing future development spurred by the redevelopment of County Square.
Read more about the Haynie-Sirrine Master Plan
“We accepted the fact that there’s going to be growth and development, but we wanted to see that managed well,” said John Slipke, co-vice president of the Haynie-Sirrine Neighborhood Association. “We wanted to maintain the character of the neighborhood.”
Haynie-Sirrine vision
The Haynie-Sirrine Master Plan provides detailed recommendations to address key issues and needs within the neighborhood. Two resources included in the plan are a future land-use map and a building-height map. The maps outline acceptable development patterns and building intensities within the neighborhood.
Transitional zones are strategically placed in the neighborhood to buffer between the residential and high-intensity commercial areas. For example, the strip of land along Wakefield Street on the south side of the County Square development would be a transition zone with lower-intensity development.
The master plan also outlines strategies for mitigating traffic pressures created by County Square such as the Dunbar Connector. This roadway would offer a direct connection from the development to Augusta Street to lessen cut-through traffic. The city intends to start work on this project once the logistics are worked out, according to Greenville City Councilmember Dorothy Dowe.
Harris and many other Haynie-Sirrine residents expressed a need for the preservation and creation of affordable housing in the community. The neighborhood president explained the community is transitioning as younger residents are moving into Haynie-Sirrine. According to the city, the median age of residents in the neighborhood is 33.1.
“I kind of look at it as being a starter neighborhood, or starter community with young children and it’s fine with me,” Harris said. “It didn’t use to be.”
Much of the existing affordable housing in the neighborhood was removed over the last seven decades which displaced many residents. Rezoning the neighborhood under the Greenville Development Code is expected to help incentivize the creation of affordable housing in Haynie-Sirrine.
Zoning upheaval
Haynie-Sirrine currently has a Planned Development zoning classification tied to the 2002 neighborhood master plan. Hirsch says this classification provides specific zoning tailored to the neighborhood.
A major modification was made to the neighborhood’s planned development which carved out the 40-acre County Square development site from the zoning district. According to the city, this modification included an agreement for specific traffic-mitigation improvements to be completed and a multimillion-dollar investment by the city and county in affordable housing for Haynie-Sirrine.
“As long as County Square people keep up their end of the bargain, Haynie-Sirrine will keep up ours,” Harris said.
In 2023, the city overhauled its development code, turning it into a form-based code that regulates the use, massing, height and setbacks of buildings constructed in the city. Greenville City Councilmember Ken Gibson explained that Haynie-Sirrine was exempt from the zoning process because it is a planned development.
However, Haynie-Sirrine leaders were interested in rezoning the neighborhood under the new development code. Slipke said there are elements of the new development code that the neighborhood viewed favorably, such as the incentives for affordable housing and green space. For example, the city’s code includes height and density bonuses for developers that include at least 15% of affordable units in their projects.
With the adoption of the neighborhood’s new master plan, the city can now move forward with creating a new zoning map for Haynie-Sirrine. City staff plan to start the zoning process in 2025.
Rezoning the neighborhood will help determine what can be built on the 36 parcels the city is purchasing in Haynie-Sirrine. City council authorized the purchase of the vacant properties for $10.7 million in August. Affordable housing and green space are envisioned to be built on the sites.
Read more about the city’s property purchase
“By buying the property, we’ve set the wheels in motion to be something that the city and particularly the surrounding neighborhoods and the actual neighbor itself will be proud of,” Dowe said.
Haynie-Sirrine: By the numbers
- 1,456 residents lived in Haynie-Sirrine in 2022
- 18% of Haynie-Sirrine’s population comprises Black residents, a decrease from 32% in 2012
- 76% of Haynie-Sirrine’s population comprises white residents, an increase from 61% in 2012
- $79,260 is the median income of residents in Haynie-Sirrine, an increase from $16,321 in 2012.
- 33.1 is the median age of residents in Haynie-Sirrine
- Approximately 890 housing units are located in Haynie-Sirrine
Source: Haynie-Sirrine Neighborhood Master Plan
Front porches
John Slipke and Becky Warth, co-vice presidents of the Haynie-Sirrine Neighborhood Association, said there is a deep social connection within the neighborhood.
“You walk up and down our street, you see people sitting out on their porches in the evening,” Slipke said. “It lends itself to connectivity there in the neighborhood.”
Said Warth, “The front-porch aspect of our neighbors is very appealing and it’s where I got to know some of the best friends of my life.”
Springer Street Tunnel
The Springer Street Tunnel was identified in the new Haynie-Sirrine Master Plan as an opportunity for increased pedestrian connectivity and a future trail connection to the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail. Felsie Harris, president of the Haynie-Sirrine Neighborhood Association, explained the neighborhood previously partnered with First Baptist Church to clean up the tunnel located under the Church Street bridge. However, the tunnel fell into disrepair.
The master plan recommends that the tunnel be dedicated as a protected pedestrian access and to be connected to a multi-use path through the neighborhood.
—
The post Residents look to preserve Haynie-Sirrine neighborhood, guide future development appeared first on GREENVILLE JOURNAL.