Imperial Tobacco District Brownfield Redevelopment Concept

Greenville, NC

Conducted as part of a 2-phased USEPA funded Brownfield project initiative, Rivers was engaged to conduct redevelopment visioning and conceptual land planning for the Imperial Tobacco District. Situated immediately southwest of the center city Uptown District, the Imperial Tobacco District is a 20-acre area that historically hosted a prominent tobacco processing and warehousing facility in addition to associated neighborhood commercial and relative residential uses. The District is located within the City’s certified redevelopment area. The site is adjacent to the CSXT railroad and historic railroad depot, as well as the recently completed Tenth Street Connector thoroughfare connecting the center city and East Carolina University’s main academic campus with the City’s Medical District, Vidant Medical Center and ECU’s Health Sciences campus. Two final concept plans, including 2-dimensional renderings and 3-dimensional mass models, resulted from a series of visioning workshops held with City staff. The two alternative vision plans provided the City with marketing tools to utilize in its economic development strategy to re-invent the District as a viable mixed-use area, expanding the City’s Uptown District through recruitment of private investment dollars.