Meet Fredalyn Frasier, Spartanburg’s new planning director and guide for city’s evolution
Spartanburg city has appointed a new planning director, Fredalyn Frasier. The appointment has been quite pleasing to Frasier who has been seeking a role in South Carolina for some time now. Before moving to Spartanburg, she served as the planning and urban design senior director for the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District and Central Atlanta Progress. Interestingly, her first connection to South Carolina was when her father was stationed at Charleston Air Force Base during his service in the military.
Frasier’s journey into city planning
Frasier’s journey into city planning began from a string of experiences growing up on military installations and living abroad. In a recent interview, Frasier pointed out how these experiences made her think about the importance of walkability within communities. She attended the College of Charleston, studying under Mayor Joseph P. Riley, who served 40 years as a mayor and played an instrumental role in shaping Charleston into the city it is today. Frasier’s experiences with Mayor Riley strengthened her understanding of what makes communities thrive and vibrant, setting her on the path to urban planning.
Frasier underlined how the city of Spartanburg’s leadership team impressed her with their cooperation, support for each other and openness to new ideas, sparking her decision to move there.
In the fields of city planning and development
Throughout her career, Frasier has worked on hundreds of projects across different cities as a consultant. Of these, the BeltLine project in Atlanta holds meaningful significance to her. She led a multidisciplinary team of 10 firms in the early days to conduct a tax allocation feasibility study for the BeltLine. The project has since brought in almost $8 billion in investments and taught plenty of lessons regarding equality, affordable housing, and economic development to communities around it.
Plotting Spartanburg’s future
As Spartanburg’s new planning director, Frasier hopes to maintain a holistic approach towards achieving the desired results while also focusing on the day-to-day operations. She emphasized the importance of communication, especially making the community feel involved and part of the development process, rather than an outsider to it.
Balancing past with the future
Frasier plans to favor balance between historical preservation and new development, a balance she firmly believes can coexist beneficially for the community. When asked about achieving a balance between development and environmental conservation, Frasier stated that both could operate hand-in-hand and that development should critically consider its the impact on the environment.
Goals for Spartanburg
As for her plans for the city, Frasier’s immediate goal within the first six-month block is to embark on a ‘listening and learning’ tour, striving to understand the community’s concerns and aspirations and reconnecting the community to the planning team. While she continues to determining the long term goals, she pledged to maintain a clear set of internal and external goals for Spartanburg.
With Fredalyn Frasier at the helm of city planning, Spartanburg’s future appears to be in dedicated, capable hands that value community, balance, and authenticity. As the city evolves under Frasier’s guidance, the residents of Spartanburg can look forward to seeing their city thrive while preserving its historical charm and natural beauty.
Source: HERE News Network
Author: HERE News
