For years, the vacant field on the corner of Highway 14 and Woodruff Road (next to Graceland East Memorial Park/Cemetery) has been zoned residential, preventing commercial developers from adding to the Woodruff Road congestion. That’s about to change, says a recent report by WSPA.
According to the report, “A developer who purchased the land wants to put a Sprouts grocery store and other retail space on the land.” This has many residents angry at County Councilman Fred Payne for voting in favor of the rezoning, but he believes the plan for the new development will add quite a bit in terms of value and character to Woodruff Road.
How should we feel about it? Here are a few thoughts:
It’s time to admit defeat on the Woodruff Road traffic problem.
Like it or not, Woodruff Road traffic is here to stay. Residents can say what they want about trying to keep traffic away from the road, but there is already traffic, and it’s going to get worse before it gets better. Trying to block commercial development isn’t the answer. The only longterm solution is to add alternative/back roads to Woodruff Road so that not everybody has to travel on Woodruff at the same time. But the bottom line is, if you live near Woodruff Road and can’t handle the traffic, maybe it’s time to relocate. (I know a REALTOR® who can help you!)
Stretching out Woodruff Road shopping might not be as bad as you think.
Without doubt, the worst stretch of Woodruff Road is from the intersection of Verdae/Roper Mountain Road until Woodruff meets I-385. The reason is simple – the stretch from I-385 to Five Forks doesn’t have a whole lot of retail/shopping in comparison with the rest of Woodruff Road.
Thankfully, there will (hopefully) be some relief coming to the western stretch of Woodruff Road, but what if some attractive retail shopping landed in the eastern stretch (such as near Highway 14)? Is it possible that those who would normally be shopping at Greenridge or Magnolia Park might instead turn their gaze eastward (that almost sounds spiritual)? I’d like to think if there was shopping on the corner of Woodruff Road and Highway 14 that many would avoid Woodruff Road altogether and access the area through Highway 14. In theory, that could actually help the traffic problem rather than exacerbate it.
Is there a future where the commercial stretch of Woodruff Road in Greenville merges with Five Forks?
As the Greenville retail stretch of Woodruff Road pushes eastward, it seems inevitable that it will merge with the Five Forks region of the street. Already, it’s barely a five minute drive from one to the other. What if you could start at Roper Mountain and drive all the way to Five Forks with retail shopping the entire way? No doubt, to some that sounds like an apocalyptic scenario, but it seems like something that is bound to happen sooner or later. This latest move to develop Woodruff and 14 is just another move in that direction.
Another grocery store?
I have no idea what Sprouts is (a glance at their website gives me the impression that it’s a cross between Trader Joe’s and Fresh Market), but one has to ask, how many grocery stores do we need? We’ve already discussed on this blog the insane number of grocery store options we already have in the Upstate. Is there a market for yet another at this section of Woodruff Road? We’ll see.