The city of Greenville’s public transportation service Greenlink has long been looking to increase its services — including adding more routes and longer hours — by relocating from its outdated facility at 154 Augusta St.
But the transit authority now faces a $15 million snag in its plans for a new headquarters.
Greenlink had plans for a new $29 million facility in 2018 but now expects the project to cost upwards of between $49 million and $53 million, according to Greenlink Director James Keel.
A grant from the Federal Transportation Administration awarded Greenlink $11 million in 2018 for construction of the new facility. The grant requires a $2.75 million local fund match, of which the city of Greenville contributed $1.4 million. Greenville County donated 26.5 acres of property at 205 Arcadia Drive to be used for the new facility. The grant’s guidelines allowed the donated land’s value to count toward the local fund match. Greenlink was awarded other grants, including another FTA $5.3 million grant for a low- or no-emission vehicle program for six new electric buses at the new facility.
This was enough to cover the original project’s budget of $29 million. However, in the past couple of years, new expenses led to the cost of the facility ballooning by $15 million.
Keel said the $15 million shortfall exists for three reasons:
- Inflation played a larger role than anticipated, with an increase of $5 million to $7 million in overall project cost coming from higher costs in constructing the new facility.
- Stormwater mitigation will play a significant role as the nearby Washington Heights community suffers from runoff from the property. GTA will have to install improvements around the property to curtail runoff.
- The installation of a compressed natural gas station will add $3 million to $5 million to the project. CNG is an alternative fuel that will fit with Greenlink’s dedication to environmental responsibility. GTA is looking to diversity its fleet in instances where charging time or lack of power is affecting the electric buses.
GTA is looking to start construction in a couple of months, Keel said, and could be finished as soon as December 2023, although funding roadblocks could push that back another six months.
Still, Keel said there’s enough in the bank to start construction at least, and future federal and state grants could help close the budgetary gap without having to ask local governments for more money.
“One way or another, we’ll finish the project,” he said.
