After a quarter of a century, $54 million and a whole lot of planning, fundraising, land acquisition, construction and public art efforts, Greensboro’s Downtown Greenway is now officially a city responsibility.
The City of Greensboro announced on Monday, June 29, that management and oversight of the completed four-mile Downtown Greenway loop has transitioned from Action Greensboro to the city.
That means the Greensboro Parks and Recreation Department will now handle day-to-day management, operations, maintenance, programming and future planning for the greenway, with help from other city departments including Transportation, Water Resources and Engineering & Inspections.
The transition was part of the plan from the start of the public-private partnership that created the Downtown Greenway. Greensboro’s downtown has had various problems in recent years such as homelessness, business closures, a lack of good parking and other issues, but city leaders hope the completed Greenway will be a big draw.
The announcement comes after the final segment of the four-mile loop was completed in May, bringing an end to one of Greensboro’s longest-running civic improvement projects.
The Downtown Greenway was first conceived as part of the Center City Master Plan in 2001. It was later adopted as the signature project of Greensboro’s Bicentennial Commission and promoted as a way to connect downtown neighborhoods, encourage private investment, create public gathering spaces and add public art around the center city.
The Downtown Greenway ended up costing far more than early estimates. An early project profile listed the estimated cost of completion at about $26 million, with funding expected from federal and state grants, local foundations, transportation bond money and private donations. By 2019, when the city announced the final steps needed to complete the project, the estimated cost had grown to about $43 million — including roughly $13 million in private donations and $30 million in public funds.
By the time the greenway was completed this year, city officials and Action Greensboro were calling it a $54 million public-private investment — more than double the project’s original estimated cost.
Supporters of the project say the greenway has already paid dividends: Action Greensboro and city officials have credited the project with helping spur more than $612 million in completed and planned development along the corridor.
The project has also become known for its public art, neighborhood connections and unusual design. Rather than simply serving as a trail, the Downtown Greenway was designed as a loop around downtown with gathering spaces, public art installations, landscaping, stormwater features and connections to other trails and neighborhoods.
Downtown Greenway Project Manager Dabney Sanders of Action Greensboro will end her service with the project on Tuesday, June 30, after she worked nearly two decades leading the effort.
“Completing the Greensboro Downtown Greenway is both a professional milestone and a deeply personal one,” Sanders said in the city’s announcement. “Since 2007, I have had the privilege of working alongside visionary community leaders, dedicated staff, elected officials, generous donors, and countless residents who believed in this project from the very beginning.”
Cecelia Thompson, executive director of Action Greensboro, said Sanders’ effort was central to the project.
“Dabney’s leadership, persistence, and commitment have been instrumental in transforming a community vision into reality,” Thompson said.
Greensboro Parks and Recreation Director Phil Fleischmann said the city is now responsible for making sure the greenway remains a long-term community asset.
“The Downtown Greenway has become an important part of Greensboro’s identity and quality of life,” Fleischmann said. “Greensboro Parks and Recreation is honored to continue serving as a steward of this remarkable community asset and looks forward to ensuring it remains a vibrant, welcoming, and well-maintained destination for future generations to enjoy.”
The Downtown Greenway connects eight neighborhoods around downtown and ties into a larger trail network, including regional and national trail systems.
With the capital project finished, the job now shifts from building the greenway to maintaining it.
The city said maintenance, community programming, events, volunteer opportunities and public engagement will continue under the Parks and Recreation Department.
Action Greensboro is also encouraging people who want to support the greenway to contribute toward free community programming or the maintenance endowment.
