After 25 years and more than $50 million, Greensboro’s ambitious Downtown Greenway project is complete.
Hundreds of residents, city leaders, and those who were part of the public/private partnership that brought the four-mile loop to fruition came together Saturday to celebrate.
”This is a special day for Greensboro,” said Mayor Marikay Abuzuaiter before the crowd gathered to cut a giant ribbon spanning the last leg of the Greenway. “This project represents community connection and the future of our city.”
“It is so much more than a trail,” Abuzuaiter said. “It is a place where neighbors can gather, families can walk and bike together. Where visitors can experience Greensboro and see all of the art. This is amazing.”
The four-mile loop, which circles downtown and connects eight separate neighborhoods, was conceived in 2001 as part of a Center City Master Plan. Over more than two decades, the project gained steam and support, becoming a project that reused abandoned Norfolk Southern railway infrastructure, spawned more than 40 public art projects, and brought together the city, state, charitable foundations, and private business.
Susan Schwartz was executive director of the economic and community development group Action Greensboro when the Greenway was being conceived. Now the executive director of the non-profit Cemela Foundation, she shared the early vision of the Greenway with those assembled to celebrate Saturday.
“We embarked on this Greenway thinking it would set Greensboro apart,” Schwartz said. “That it would make us more competitive, even more special. And that happened. But the other thing that happened is it brought us together.”
“We were able to complete the Greenway, even though it took a long time,” Schwartz said. “We are able to enjoy this collection of public art that graces our city. We have brought neighborhoods together with the trails around the city. We’re bringing people from far out to the four-mile loop into the heart of our community, our downtown.”
The Greenway is proof of what can happen when people pull together in the city, said City Manager Nathaniel “Trey” Davis.
“The downtown Greenway reflects years of vision, collaboration, and commitment from our community partners, our city staff, elected officials, advocates, donors, residents, and those who believe in creating a space that connects Greensboro,” Davis said.
It’s also been an economic boon to the city. More than $600 million in projects have come online or are in development for areas around the Greenway, the city estimates—much of it on disused or blighted property that lay fallow for years. That includes two thriving downtown apartment complexes and Deep Roots, the storied co-op grocery store that relocated to the Lo-Fi area just off the Greenway in 2013. The city estimates that every dollar invested in the Greenway has resulted in $14 in economic impact.
“This project represents more than a completed trail,” Davis said. “It represents the next chapter for our city.”