Texas trip gives council ideas for downtown spaces

October 29,2016

A tour of a bustling downtown Fort Worth plaza gave members of Spartanburg City Council some ideas about how public spaces could be used here.

Council members Sterling Anderson, Erica Brown, Rosalyn Henderson Myers, Jerome Rice and Laura Stille were among the invited guests who traveled to the Texas city Thursday on behalf of Johnson Development.

The fact-finding trip involved a visit to Sundance Square, a 35-block business and entertainment district with offices, shops, restaurants and entertainment venues in downtown Fort Worth. The plaza also includes fountains, giant umbrellas, outdoor dining patios and a 2,000-square-foot pavilion.

Myers said she was impressed by the plaza’s blending of the past and present, and the various uses of the downtown space.

“They took an area of Fort Worth that had some historical significance and made it a space of enjoyment for all its residents and nonresidents that come to the city,” she said. “I thought that it was a very good mixed use of space that helps celebrate diversity in the city with all ages and all ethnicities.”

Anderson liked the cleanliness and safe atmosphere of Sundance Square. He also noted the free parking facilities and free valet shuttle service around the plaza.

“The plaza is an interactive, vibrant center and hub for activity in that city,” he said. “We got there around 10 in the morning and the plaza was alive with activity and people coming and going.”

Brown said what struck her was the open, inviting nature of Sundance Square and the activities taking place there.

“We’re a much smaller city, but it was awesome seeing what those larger cities do and how they program the square itself, and what benefits the business owners and community at large,” she said. “Downtown is kind of like a puzzle and you need to make all the pieces fit to make it a thriving downtown.”

Myers, Anderson and Brown agreed that aspects of Sundance Square could be translated to Spartanburg public spaces such as Morgan Square.

“It opened our eyes to possibly what we can do, maybe on a smaller scale, at the center of our city because we’re alive and growing,” Anderson said.

Chris Story, Spartanburg’s assistant city manager, said there have been some loose conversations in the community about ways to increase vibrancy and activity in the heart of downtown.

Story, who also was on the trip, said council members met with Sundance Square Management, which oversees and programs the Fort Worth plaza. Although no decisions were made by council members during the trip, the group discussed the programming and marketing of the plaza as well as the real estate development that has happened around it, Story said.

“This was a learning trip as we try to think about the next wave of growth and progress in the heart of downtown Spartanburg,” he said.

Story said what resonated with him the most is how Sundance Square’s programming supports and works with the surrounding area.

“Their approach to programming the spaces in a way that serves the bottom lines of the businesses adjacent is an important principal,” he said. “Great urban public spaces produce good results for businesses around them and vice versa."

By Alyssa Mulliger