Cities Civil and Municipal November 2024

Travelers Rest, South Carolina – Greenville County

November 26, 2024

Travelers Rest, South Carolina

TR-Charming and Naturally Beautiful

A Vision for Growth and Community Connectivity

Known affectionately as TR by the locals, Travelers Rest, South Carolina, is a community celebrated for its charm and natural beauty. Once a stopover for those on route to other places, Travelers Rest has transformed into a destination that captivates people with its warm, welcoming atmosphere.

With the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail winding along Main Street, and a plethora of scenic landscapes and recreation amenities, Travelers Rest is working to become even more inviting and connected- creating an ideal place for both residents and visitors.

A Welcoming City

“We are a very caring, loving, community-minded group,” Says Mayor Brandy Amidon.

“People that visit are enthralled. You can go into the local coffee shop, meet the owner, they remember your name, and you feel connected to the community.”

This sense of belonging is a draw, but it’s not just about the people. Travelers Rest also boasts a vibrant downtown, where a linear park offers an open air haven. “We were very intentional about capitalizing on the Swamp Rabbit Trail and creating pocket parks and making people feel the outdoor connection,” says the mayor. “We’ve had more tourism in the last 10 or 15 years, bringing people who love the outdoors. They come here, they eat, shop, and find a place of rest.”

Downtown Travelers Rest is experiencing a renewal, bringing vibrancy to the community. “The city has done a good job of setting itself up with the Main Street that was sort of already in place,” reflects City Administrator, Shannon Herman. “Now Main Street is 90% occupied, and currently, we’re in the process of building out a central business district through a massive streetscaping project.” This development will extend the “downtown feel” to two additional streets, further connecting the area.

Recreation, Connection and Quality of Life

Planning Director, Jay Martin continues on the theme of connection, pointing out that greenspaces are a vital part of the city’s future plans. “Our goal is to activate both Gateway and Trailblazer Park. Right now, we have the Swamp Rabbit Trail running through, but we’re working on enhancing the connections to encourage more pedestrian traffic between these spaces,” he maintains.

Purposeful planning is a focus to ensure these recreational spaces remain true to the character of Travelers Rest. “It’s not just about adding trendy features like pickleball, but more about finding what makes sense for our community,” Martin notes.

The mayor underscores, “In the amphitheater, we don’t need the greatest flavor of the month to come, we’re trying to create community.” Whether it is Movies in the Park, the popular Saturday night music series, or the events and offerings of the Farmer’s Market, Travelers Rest has something for everyone, all of it showcasing the outdoor ambience of the city.

The attention to thoughtful design and community engagement are exemplified in a new natural playground that incorporates unique features such as a zipline. “It needed to fit within the landscape. You can see the Paris Mountain, and so it needed to be woodsy and green, with natural aesthetics to it. It’s a very unique playground,” Amidon recounts. Input from residents was part of the process, and TR reached out to organizations like the Moms of TR Group for feedback and ideas.

Economic Growth and Development

Herman spotlights the four main drivers of the local economy- service, manufacturing, retail and tourism. “The service industry actually is our dominating industry, and that’s largely the health and educational services. That’s really exciting, because those are things that are great to build out and to allow our residents to have those opportunities,” she portrays.

Home to two major health providers and a hospital, the small city is more than equipped to support the healthcare needs of the population, with room for growth. With Furman University and North Greenville University nearby, the community also benefits from an influx of educated residents.

True to its name, tourism plays a crucial role in the town’s economy. In the words of Herman, ” We are Travelers Rest. We are a place where you come to stop and rest and be.” The city is looking to grow this area, hoping to attract accommodations, food services and other tourist oriented businesses.

“Nature tourism is an opportunity. We’re near Paris mountain, we have the Swamp Rabbit, we’re right at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains with lots of hiking opportunities. And we’re working within our own city to connect our green spaces in a very naturalistic way,” she adds.

Travelers Rest is also looking at expanding its manufacturing sector, which currently makes up about 13% of the workforce. The hope is to bring in light industrial, smaller footprint operations, in keeping with the size and character of the community. “We do have a couple of industrial sites that currently exist, and we’re working with economic development arms that are within our community, to market them and to get out into the space,” Herman acknowledges.

She describes an area at the northern side of the city. “We see a great opportunity to build out a small industrial park there that has public access as well, so that the grounds still retain that local feel and invite the citizens to utilize them, while we’re bringing commerce, jobs, and things of that nature.”

Balancing Growth and Infrastructure

As it grows, Travelers Rest has a strong foundation of critical infrastructure to build upon, including partnerships with Duke Energy and Metro Connects, who manage the city sewer system.

“The city is at the top of the watershed for Greenville Water, and water is more than adequate around here,” details Martin. He explains that while Travelers Rest has adequate power, water, and gas infrastructure, the town’s vehicular connections through Highways 25 and 276 are crucial as the city works to attract smaller-scale manufacturing and industrial users.

When it comes to residential development, Travelers Rest is taking a deliberate approach to growth. Martin elaborates, “We don’t want to be in the subdivision business, but we want to develop communities.” Herman adds, “The city does utilize plan districts and flexible review districts, and that allows for the opportunity to really get the look and the feel, so that we retain the charm and the connectivity that is so vital to who the city of Travelers Rest is.”

Accessory dwelling units provide an option for increased density without large developments. “One of the things we already have in our code that Greenville County as a whole does not, is you can have two dwellings on a single piece of property,” Martin relays. “That gives us the ability to have some more density without creating these massive subdivisions and taking down all these trees and that sort of thing.”

A recent annexation of land brought forward a development designed for a 55 plus demographic. This community has been carefully planned around preserving a rare plant species called the Bunched Arrowhead. “We’re not in the annexation business. We don’t have utilities as our main revenue driver,” alleges Mayor Amidon. “This was the existing farmland that’s been there forever that will now have a housing development. It’s a very unique development. The density is for that particular group, but then the green space felt very TR and now we connect it and make it feel a part of the community.”

A Spirit of Collaboration

Travelers Rest places strong value on all of the local entities who help to create a vibrant and thriving community. Amidon mentions the TR Farmers Market as a significant contributor, sharing, “One of the best compliments that I’ve heard about the Farmers Market is that the vendors sell out of their things, and that definitely keeps them coming back. If you come to the farmers market, you’re getting TR.”

The Prisma Health hospital system is another important partner, sponsoring the Swamp Rabbit Trail, and paving the way for future opportunity. Additionally, Amidon remarks on the collaboration with Greenville County. She says, “It’s a great working relationship that we have with them around public spaces and recreation.”

Herman touches on the importance of economic development partnerships, including those with the Appalachian Council of Governments and the Greenville Area Development Corporation, highlighting their support for affordable housing and workforce development initiatives. In addition, Travelers Rest benefits from its longstanding businesses, such as T&S Brass, the city’s largest employer, and Sidewall Pizza, a beloved local establishment and a small business success story.

A Look Ahead

As for what comes next, Mayor Amidon says the focus over the next 18 months will be on “more of the same.” This includes strengthening connection points, ensuring intentional planning, and making sure future developments stand out as unique.

“Travelers Rest is not really worried about size. We want to maintain the quality rather than just growing for the benefit of growing,” concludes Martin.