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Some West Greenville residents oppose Woven project. Here’s what they would rather see.

Rendering of mixed-use development in West Greenville, Woven.

Last updated January 18, 2023

By Tina Underwood

A proposed new development in West Greenville consisting of two mixed-use buildings with 214 multifamily residential units and other spaces, a public plaza, a community park, public parking, and new sidewalks was approved by the Planning Commission in December. The project, Woven, went before the City Council for a vote January 9 and narrowly passed 4-3. The development plan has a downside some say.

Councilwoman and Furman University alumna Lillian Brock Flemming ’71 M’75 H’14 believes the project needs greater attention to the “missing middle,” or multiunit, higher-density housing, in addition to housing that enables residents to “rent to own,” she said in The Greenville News.

Furman’s Ken Kolb, chair and professor of the sociology department, also weighed in. Kolb said white households earn nearly three times more than Black households, “so if there’s any kind of competition for rental properties, there’s just no way that Black households can compete.

“You get rising housing costs, and the inequality is getting much worse,” he added. “Not so much that the Black population’s income is going down but that the white household income is going way up. So if there’s any kind of competition over limited resources like housing, then the folks with less money always lose.”

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