This year brought many changes to the Greenville area with the City's emphasis on revitalization downtown and subsequent projects in the outer edges of the city. In 2003, the National Trust for Historic Preservation gave Greenville its Great American Main Street award, leading some real estate developers to call it "a model for urban redevelopment." Acclaim went to the emphasis put on parking and streetscapes which, while not glamorous, still drive the attractiveness. This year the Hayden Medal for outstanding achievement in bridge engineering was awarded to the West End's Liberty Bridge by the Engineers Society of Western Pennsylvania.

Outside the downtown area, we can expect to see progress on the Salvation Army's Joan Kroc endowed west side community center, redevelopment of the commercial corridor along Pleasantburg Drive, and renovation of the Palmetto Expo Center. Four large projects along I-85 are taking shape as well: The International Center for Automotive Research and next to it the Millennium Campus, the Verdae project and the Global Trade Center.

In residential real estate investments, a lot of national attention has been generated over the real estate bubble bursting or slipping back into just an expansion. This may be true of some sizzling metropolitan areas, but Greenville has been blessed with consistent and stable growth, the overall result being a more predictable appreciation rate of homes. This trend is expected to continue as our area grows in the upcoming years.

Lee Cunningham GRI, ABR, CRS http://GreenvilleSCRealEstate.net Lee was a professional mountaineering guide, climber and professional avalanche team/ski patroller for over 10 years.

Lee went to school at UNC Chapel Hill where he received a BS in Business with an emphasis in Real Estate. Lee moved to Washington State where he built custom homes in summer and in winter he worked on professional avalanche teams. Lee left Washington State deciding to seek a more challenging life as a guide on Kilimanjaro in Kenya Africa. When Lee came back to the states he transitioned into head of sales and marketing with Mountain Madness climbing/adventure travel guides. Sales and Marketing fit Lee's outgoing personality perfectly. Lee later worked with his father in industrial sales until he took a position as National Sales Manager for Rieter Corp. In Greenville Lee became a successful realtor with RE/MAX after purchasing a new home, investing in several rental properties and meeting and marrying Mechelle whose mother and brother are successful realtors in Atlanta, GA.