From Youth Correctional Facility to Community Gateway

The Givens project is an approximately 57 acre retail, office, and multifamily development that transforms the site of the former Givens Youth Correctional Facility into a gateway for the City of Simpsonville. The property is located ¼ mile from the newly constructed I-385 and W. Georgia Road interchange, approximately two (2) miles from the newly constructed I-185 (Southern Connector), and at the northern border of the City of Simpsonville. 

The site provides a sensitive challenge due to a running stream bisecting the property. The Furman Co., Development, LLC realized this “challenge” as an opportunity to provide a new public park to the City of Simpsonville.  The fully landscaped park will consist of a permanent wet pond for storm water management as well as providing a buffer to the existing stream and recreational open space including a walking/jogging trail and picnic area. Furman Development  partnered  with the City of Simpsonville and SCDOT for the  project. Furman Development initiated partnerships with the City of Simpsonville to develop the site to  higher standards than those provided by local codes and regulations.  The elevated standards also affected the architectural design review (agreement regarding natural materials and earth tones as the preferred palette), landscape buffers, full-cut off lighting, and limits to the number of curb cuts. These standards are now being incorporated into Simpsonville’s development code. Furman Development even constructed the sidewalk along the newly widened W. Georgia Road gateway to create a pedestrian friendly sidewalk so that a curb lawn with plantings could be established for pedestrian safety. Furman Development also worked with the Metropolitan Sewer Sub-district to relocate a sewer trunk-line. The project incorporates sustainable and innovative design techniques, which include: 

• Landscape buffers utilizing native species
• Creation of new public park
• Pedestrian friendly sidewalks
• Full cutoff lighting
• Architectural review
• Canopy street trees
• Limited access to existing roads, utilizing interior circulation