Sterling Community Master Plan - Greenville County
Sterling Community Master Plan - Greenville County
Sterling Community Master Plan - Greenville County
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<strong>Sterling</strong> Neighborhood <strong>Master</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> July 2010<br />
The church involvement in the community has been a key partnership that led to several<br />
meetings and retreats (in 2003 and 2006). The 2006 retreat involved five neighborhood<br />
churches, representatives from the <strong>Sterling</strong> <strong>Community</strong> Center and residents from the<br />
neighborhood. This retreat produced a strategic plan for <strong>Sterling</strong> whose elements form the basis<br />
for many of the elements in the request for a master plan in the neighborhood that would come in<br />
2009.<br />
In 2008, Bon Secours St. Francis Health System became actively engaged in the health of the<br />
<strong>Sterling</strong> neighborhood. For the first time, the <strong>Sterling</strong> <strong>Community</strong> had a dedicated professional<br />
whose purpose was to foster collaboration and create solutions to the challenges facing the<br />
neighborhood.<br />
Maxim Williams, Director of <strong>Community</strong> Relationship Building for Bon Secours St. Francis,<br />
brought together the many partners involved in <strong>Sterling</strong> to create the <strong>Sterling</strong> Phoenix League.<br />
The <strong>Sterling</strong> Phoenix league employed a ground up effort led by <strong>Sterling</strong> residents to assemble<br />
all of the stakeholders in <strong>Sterling</strong>. The Phoenix<br />
League’s purpose is to develop a strategy for ensuring<br />
that <strong>Sterling</strong> is an affordable and healthy<br />
neighborhood for diverse people of all ages.<br />
A “<strong>Sterling</strong> Summit of 2008” successfully assembled<br />
residents and community interests to address overall<br />
community spirit and wellness. As a result of the<br />
summit, eight “action teams” were formed to pursue<br />
various community issues, identify priority<br />
community improvements, and engage residents and<br />
partners in implementing changes to make a<br />
difference. Those teams are: health and wellness,<br />
going green/healthy environment, prosperity/economic<br />
development, housing and land use, peace and safety,<br />
senior advocacy, youth engagement, and community<br />
spirit.<br />
A direct by-product of the Summit was the suggestion<br />
that a master plan be created for the <strong>Sterling</strong><br />
<strong>Community</strong>. In early 2009, the <strong>Sterling</strong> Phoenix<br />
League and Bon Secours St. Francis approached the<br />
<strong>Greenville</strong> <strong>County</strong> Redevelopment Authority and the<br />
City of <strong>Greenville</strong> and requested funding for the<br />
development of a <strong>Master</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> for the <strong>Sterling</strong><br />
<strong>Community</strong>. The goals of the <strong>Master</strong> <strong>Plan</strong> would be<br />
to:<br />
• Promote sustainable and viable development measures;<br />
• Revitalize underutilized and vacant properties in the neighborhood and provide more park<br />
and green spaces;<br />
3<br />
Continuing the community legacy and leadership