We are the Northside Development Group.
a diverse group of people investing time, skills, and dollars for a safe and strong Northside Community.
We serve to encourage and manage the redevelopment of the City of Spartanburg’s Northside community, honoring its past and expanding the opportunities for a mix of affordable and market rate housing, economic, educational, recreational, health, and social opportunities for its residents.
Our Philosophy is that everyone who wants to live in the Northside Community should be able to live in the Northside Community. The solutions and improvements we bring to the table will always keep this philosophy in mind. It's the reason we're seeking ways to bring mixed-income housing and find ways of minimizing relocation efforts.
As a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation, our operations are funded and supported through partners, donors and volunteers.
Our Plan
A new foundation
One of the most noticeable improvements coming to the Northside will be infrastructure.
People of a strong community deserve safety both within their neighborhood and their own homes. Our goal is to help provide this through a variety of lighting and streetscape improvements.
Housing is also a key factor in the strength of a community. To ensure Northside families have safe structures in which to call home, we are working hard to bring improved single and multi family housing, both affordable and at market rate, to the Northside area. In 2013 NDG began the redevelopment phase by breaking ground on the Brawley Street Model Block, a set of 21 mixed-income townhomes. Since the initiative began, over 450 new or renovated homes have been created in the Northside.
We started by engaging northside residents and our partners to create the Northside Transformation Plan, a 400 page document detailing the rich history of the community, the change that the community would like to see, and hopes for future developments.
We also took great measures to reduce the number of abandoned and dilapidated buildings by purchasing strategic properties throughout the Northside area. This was a huge step forward in providing more housing and commercial real estate opportunities, as well as reducing the crime rate by almost 80% between 2011 and 2016 and maintaining a safe community in the years since.
With these steps, it is our goal to ensure every citizen of the Northside has access to safe and reliable housing, regardless of age or economic status.
Strengthening a community
Strong communities need vital public and commercial assets.
Along with infrastructure and housing, strong communities need vital public and commercial assets for families to thrive. These include access to things like grocery stores, banking, retail, recreation outlets and quality schools.
To begin this process, we raised approximately $1.6 million for Harvest Park – a healthy food hub for residents to eat and shop for fresh, healthy foods. The complex opened in 2014, providing space for the weekly Hub City Farmers Market, the Urban Farm, and the Monarch Café.
But it’s not all about physical assets – it’s about people and their connections to each other. To help facilitate this, we are creating outdoor recreational areas in which neighbors and community members can foster relationships and share family values. These efforts include Butterfly Creek Park and Greenway, a daylighted creek, paths and trails.
Just down the street, the Dr. T.K. Gregg center was completed in 2020, providing community space, a fitness center, and two pools. The center serves as the North end of the Butterfly Creek Park and Greenway.
Creating hope for generations to come.
Education extends far beyond schools.
Changes to the Northside will be a positive impact for current residents but we want to ensure that it remains a positive impact for generations of Northside residents to come. Therefore, we are focusing a lot of attention on making significant improvements to local schools – most notably, Cleveland Academy – so that quality education is accessible to all children.
Along with creating a strong partnership with Cleveland Academy, NDG, in partnership with the Mary Black Foundation, First Steps, and other key partners, facilitated the development of the Franklin School Early Learning Center. The center provides learning space for up to 200 students, age 6 weeks to 4 years old, to ensure that students enter kindergarten ready to learn.
While solid education begins with school, it extends far beyond. We are helping to provide quality educational resources ranging from cradle to college and/or career. Our hope is that access to these knowledge resources can help residents to grow as individuals, as well as strengthen the Northside Community.
The impact and success of the Northside relies heavily on its residents. Together, we can identify areas of need and set viable solutions in motion. In doing so, we hope to bring the Northside to its full potential – a place where current residents thrive and others wish to join.
Want to know more?
Take a look at our Transformation Plan to find out about everything we're currently doing to help make the Northside a stronger community.