South Carolina Real Estate & Relocation Guide

Greenville, South Carolina

Population: 56,002

Located in Greenville County

Greenville, South Carolina is located in the I-85 mega-growth corridor, ideally situated between Atlanta and Charlotte. With a strong history of manufacturing and international business investment (more foreign manufacturing investment per capita than any other metro area), the region is home to such corporate powerhouses as BMW, Michelin, GE Energy, Fluor, Milliken, Scansource, Hubbell and Lockheed Martin. Located only minutes from downtown Greenville, the BMW manufacturing facility is currently undergoing a $750 million expansion, even during an economic downturn. BMW is the largest exporter of cars in the U.S., exporting to 100 worldwide markets. A premier corporate partner for a premier business community.

The economy is driven by innovation, with the City of Greenville home to Clemson University's International Center of Automotive Research. This world-renowned, 250-acre innovation campus was developed through a collaborative partnership between BMW, Michelin, the City of Greenville, the State of South Carolina and numerous other partners. Designed to be the worlds' premier automotive and motorsports research and educational center, it currently houses a graduate degree program with the four highest funded endowed chairs in the nation. BMW houses its Information Technology Research Center on campus and Timken has made a major investment in its future on the CU-ICAR campus. In the future, five distinct technology neighborhoods will round out the innovation climate on the project.

Greenville also has a thriving entrepreneurial community, served by a wide variety of organizations under the banner of NEXT, a resource collaborative. These smaller, high-potential technology firms are located in many sectors, from IT to advanced materials and medical devices. The infrastructure of support provided by NEXT and its partner organizations are designed to help take these firms to the next level, creating more jobs and wealth in the community. Coming online in the spring of 2009 will be the NEXT Innovation Center, a 60,000 square foot facility in downtown Greenville designed to serve as collaboration space/offices for NEXT firms. The facility was modeled after a similar space in Dublin, Ireland - the Digital Hub.

Housing values here are some of the best in America. You can get more for your money than any competitive city.

Greenville enjoys a wide variety of homes from which to choose. Every conceivable style of home is available in the Greenville area. As the old saying goes there is a home available that would suit the needs and tastes of any family. There is an excellent mix of all types of housing. Greenville is blessed with a great inventory of single family homes. It is not an over supply but a very adequate supply. There are homes here valued as low as one hundred thousand to $2 million plus. The area has a wonderful supply of condos downtown and throughout the community. The price ranges from $150,000 to more than $1 million. The areas have many outstanding apartment projects (many new) that priced from a moderate range to upscale apartments.

There is something for everyone in Greenville in regard to education and the community is dedicated to ensuring that quality options exist. Greenville is home to the 51st largest school district in the nation, serving nearly 70,000 students. The community recently put the finishing touches on the largest educational building project in the state's history a six-year, 70-school, $1.88 billion construction project.

Every public school student is now in either a completely new or an extensively remodeled facility.

In another example of how seriously the community takes its commitment to education, Greenville County Schools has been awarded National Accreditation from the AdvancED Accreditation Commission, recognizing the school system as a high quality school district and granting full accreditation to the school district and all of its schools. This is no small feat.

Greenville is also home to a number of charter schools, including the Greenville Tech Charter High School, ranked as one of the top 15 charter schools in the country. Aside from the public system, Greenville offers a number of private and parochial school options. St. Joseph's Catholic School is consistently rated as one of the top Catholic high schools in the nation.

Greenville is home to Greenville Technical College, the flagship of the state's technical college system. This school provides numerous opportunities for post-secondary education, from certificates and technical degrees to college transfer, Greenville Tech has touched the lives of countless Greenville residents since opening it doors many years ago. Post-secondary educational opportunities abound as Greenville is home to the University Center of Greenville. This unique state-of-the-art teaching and learning center is designed to serve the needs of working adults who want to pursue four-year graduate-level degrees, but without having to leave Greenville County. Most courses are offered in the evenings, for the convenience of working adults. Seven senior institutions are members in the University Center's consortium; Clemson, Furman, Lander, MUSC, SC State, USC, and USC Upstate. Greenville Tech is also a member. Other educational opportunities are available through Furman University, a private, liberal arts university located only a few minutes from downtown as well as from Bob Jones University, located in the heart of Greenville. Finally, North Greenville University is located in the northern environs of Greenville County. Many other options - including Clemson University - are available to Greenville residents as well. In fact, Clemson has located its Renaissance Center in the Central Business District in Greenville.

Greenville is committed to ensuring that growth occurs while maintaining a strong quality of life. A number of organizations are involved in this area, most noticeably Upstate Forever (www.upstateforever.org). Furman University is actively engaged in efforts to promote sustainability. LEEDS certification continues to grow in favor with new developments, including the CU-ICAR campus. Greenville continues to become more bike-friendly as it hosts the USA Pro-Cycling Championships annual event and also creates more bike lanes downtown. The City and County have worked together to convert an old rail line into a regional greenway system, the Swamp Rabbit Trail. Eventually, this will connect Travelers Rest (10 miles north of Greenville) to Lake Conestee south of the City. The trail is located in the Reedy River watershed system. Public transit is available through GreenLink. Recycling programs are strong both at the City and County level.

The Tourism, Recreation and Athletic (TRAC)Plan was passed in 2006 to provide resources to create a county wide network of destination parks & specialty attractions, to complete the Swamp Rabbit Trail, to upgrade existing parks, to preserve green space and to utilize landfill sites in a positive manner. This plan continues to guide the community leadership.

From April through September, weekly concerts ranging from folk to jazz entertain visitors three nights a week while larger Downtown celebrations mark the coming of each new season. With nearly 200 event days a year, Greenville leads the region in hosting visitors.

Greenville is home to the Artisphere International Arts Festival, recently ranked as 46th out of 600 shows in Greg Lawler's Art Fair SourceBook. Other community wide events include Greenville Open Studios, July 4th and many others too numerous to mention. Many of the events are dependent on a strong volunteer base. Main Street Events and Hands on Greenville provides many volunteers for events as well as for charitable organizations needing assistance throughout the year. The Corporation for National and Community Service recently ranked Greenville 4th out of 75 mid-size cities across the US for its level of volunteerism.

Greenville recently hosted the 2008 Bassmaster Classic tournament, a great success in the region. Greenville is proud to be home to the BMW Pro-Am Golf Tournament as well as to the USA Pro-Cycling Championships.

Greenville County has three state parks, comprising over 12,000 acres, offering traditional outdoor adventure ranging from hiking to camping and mountain biking.

A countywide park system provides 47 facilities that range from neighborhood pocket parks to ice skating and inline rinks, water parks, mega outdoor sports complexes for baseball and soccer, and indoor neighborhood based community centers. A greenway master plan includes over 150 miles of interconnected bike and walking trails. The county system also offers over 200 individual programs ranging from swim team to tennis, football to kayaking and rappelling. Programs are also offered for special populations including a state of the art residential camp that serves persons with disabilities.

Five incorporated municipalities in the county offer local based athletic leagues, senior citizen centers, and additional parks. All of the recreation providers offer annual seasonal programs and festivals.

The City of Greenville Police Department strives to make Greenville a safe and inviting place to visit, work or raise a family. The City is currently experiencing a steady downward trend in violent crimes. The department attributes the decline to a number of law enforcement initiatives, cooperation from other city departments, and community involvement.

Several years ago, more than 1,000 community volunteers worked to develop Vision 2025, a blueprint for where Greenville wanted to be in 20 years or so. This vision covered 16 major issue areas, which were identified as being critical to maintaining a strong quality of life in the community. The Vision continues to be a guiding document for the larger community. Greenville Forward, a non-profit organization, was created to shepherd the vision to fruition. More details can be found at www.greenvilleforward.com.