ECU, Elliott Sidewalk Communities Announce Partnership to Create Nation’s First Pacesetter Urban Hub
GREENVILLE, North Carolina — A 19-acre master development project has been announced in the downtown Greenville area as a public-private partnership effort between East Carolina University and master developer Elliott Sidewalk Communities. Several other groups, including the Greenville — ENC Alliance, are involved in its long-term success.
“The more we can do to grow our research capabilities and development capabilities, the more jobs we’ll have here and the greater economic prosperity we’ll have here in Greenville and in Pitt County,” said Steve Weathers, President and CEO of the Greenville — ENC Alliance.
Intersect East, as it has been named, involves the Historic Warehouse District and includes three historic buildings on ECU’s campus. This project is part of the Innovation Campus, also known as the Millennial Campus, which includes the Warehouse District (22.3 acres), the Uptown area (19.04acres), the Health Science Campus (214.16 acres), and the Stratford Arms and Blount Fields (72.85 acres).
“I think research and development is really the foundational base of all economic development. Every product we have on our shelf, every machine we use, at some point was researched or developed at an academic institution and taken into the marketplace,” said Weathers.
The project will be the nation’s first Pacesetter Urban Hub, built upon the three foundational elements of business, downtown culture, and academic research.
“Together with ECU and the City, our vision will be a catalyst to let ECU flourish, propel downtown Greenville jobs, and move the east region of North Carolina in economic harmony with growing the central and west portions of the state,” said Tim Elliott, Master Developer and Managing Partner of Elliott Sidewalk Communities.
The real estate development company aligns the interest of municipalities and their University neighbors by creating vibrant Main Street environments that integrate campus life with town life. This long-vacant warehouse space will be transformed to a center for innovation, creativity, and research. This will develop a place where business and science will merge while growth-oriented businesses will thrive.
“We’re about to transform and pop about $150 million of investment over the next eight years,” said Elliott. He says economic development groups, including the Greenville — ENC Alliance, will be involved in identifying potential businesses and tenants for this new innovative workspace.
Elliott believes that the entire Intersect East project will take about a decade to complete. According to ECU Administration and Finance,this project will bring prosperity to the Greenville region. Studies show that it’s expected to bring $142 million to the area. The first three buildings,once developed in late 2022, will generate about $500,000 each year in new tax revenue while the total investment will generate more than $3 million in tax revenues.
“It will be an evolutionary development that’s never occurred here before. It will create more collaborative opportunities for us to come together and it will be a unifying part of our community,” said Weathers. “Evolutionary, Collaborative, and Unifying. The millennial campus really is E-C-U.”
*This article originally appeared on the Greenville — Eastern North Carolina Alliance website on October 6, 2020.
