Major commercial real estate developments in Upstate South Carolina are in various stages of construction. Here we highlight the progress of some notable projects.
Story by Meghan Fitzgerald and Tiare Leiana Solis
Fifth Third Park
131 W. Main St., Spartanburg
In April 2024, the Spartanburg City Council voted to approve design plans for a future development centered around a new minor league baseball stadium.
The $425 million development will be built on the west side of downtown Spartanburg along West Henry and West Main streets. Fifth Third Park will be the new home of the current Downeast Wood Ducks, who are relocating from Kinston, North Carolina. The team will change its name and begin playing in Spartanburg for the 2025 season.
The development will also include 200,000 square feet of office space, more than 300 apartments, and a hotel with about 150 rooms across more than four city blocks. Construction on Fifth Third Park is currently underway.
Rendering: Johnston Design Group
Gracie Plaza
250 N. Church Street, Greenville
The mixed-use development at the former Greenville Memorial Auditorium site has been redesigned: Updated site plans show one 25-story tower instead of two interconnected towers. The tower would include 12,000 square feet of commercial space, 342 apartments, a pool deck, outdoor amenity terraces and a 363-car parking garage.
On April 18, the City of Greenville's Design Review Board postponed plans for the new site until its next meeting on May 16.
Architectural details, colors, materials, etc. for the Gracie Plaza project will be determined later in the design process and reviewed by the Board. Once design plans and permits are complete, construction on the project is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2025.
Photo: Tiare Leiana Solis
Commons Phase 2
147 Welborn Street, Greenville
The Commons, a food hall and office space development in Unity Park, is nearing completion on its second phase. For months, the second phase of The Commons was kept secret, covered and fenced off. Drew Parker, founder of Parker Group Development, said a date for a grand opening is planned for the near future.
Photo by Megan Fitzgerald
Bordenville
711 W. Washington Street, Greenville
Borden Ice Cream has completed renovations of its former headquarters. The two-story, mixed-use building features more than 40,000 square feet of commercial space. Furman is spearheading the more than $13 million project.
Blake Navarro, project manager for Furman Development, said the building received its permit for occupancy on Dec. 7, 2023. Allen Rand, a national transportation broker, currently operates out of about 5,600 square feet of space in the building.
Southern Tide will relocate its headquarters to Bordenville, leasing about 23,000 square feet of space. Navarro said the company plans to begin operations in the building in November after renovating the space.
Rendering by Workplace Architecture and Design
Crescent Startup Community
701 Poinsett Highway, Greenville
The initial phase of a larger mixed-use innovation district called Crescent Startup Community is currently under construction, with Hartness Development completing the project.
Flywheel is the anchor tenant of Crescent One, the project's first building. Renovations of the company's 23,000-square-foot space are underway, and the innovation center is scheduled to open in July.
Jim Barnes, chief operating officer of Hartness Development, said his company is in negotiations with four or five potential tenants for the Crescent One building, ranging from real estate companies to food and beverage businesses.
Photo: Jeannie Putnam
The Mill at Fountain Inn
100 Ellison Street, Fountain Inn
The Mill at Fountain Inn is scheduled to open in May. The project involves converting three historic mill buildings into Fountain Inn Brewing Company, common areas and a food hall. Large outdoor space with additional seating will also be available. All will open in May except the food hall, which is expected to open in the fall.
Rendering courtesy of Keene Development Group
The Verdley Residence by Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants
Rhett and North Markley Streets, Greenville
Vardry Residences is an upcoming development on Greenville's west end, near Fluor Field and the planned Trueline Music Venue.
There have been some updates to this development since we last checked in. The project now includes 26 condominiums and 133 hotel rooms. Condos range in size from 1,500 square feet to over 4,000 square feet.
The retail space will total approximately 9,500 square feet and include two food and beverage spaces (one restaurant and one cocktail bar). The development will eliminate the pool deck; instead, the space previously allocated to the pool will become an outdoor terrace.
Kyle Keene of Keene Development Group said construction could begin no later than fall and be completed by late summer.
Photo: Tiare Leiana Solis
American Spinning Mill
300 Hammett Street, Greenville
The renovation of Sanssouci's historic American Cotton Mill is nearing completion.
The mixed-use project already offers residential space with floor plans ranging from approximately 700 to 1,790 square feet within the sprawling 360,000-square-foot development.
David W. Schaffer, regional construction manager for Contour Development Group, said construction on all of the units is expected to be complete by the end of summer, when the food court and brewery will also be operational.
Hub City Bottleworks
500 W. Main St., Spartanburg
Construction has begun on the renovation of a former Coca-Cola distribution facility in downtown Spartanburg. The project is being developed by Coastal Partners LLC.
Andrew Babb, president of Roadstead Real Estate Advisors Upstate, said renovations on the 76,654-square-foot building began in late March or early April. The renovations are expected to take 14 months to complete.
The mixed-use development will include space for retail, restaurant, office and entertainment tenants, with future plans for apartment complexes to be built at the rear of the property.
Rendering: Johnston Design Group
PKL Park GVL
78 Mayberry Street, Greenville
Construction on PKL Park GVL, a $3 million pickleball complex near Unity Park, is moving forward after permitting delays. Nick Gilley, president of BASE 360, said construction officially began in early April and is expected to take six months to complete. The project is expected to be wrapped up around September.
The sports, entertainment and food and beverage complex will feature four restaurants and one bar, and Gilley said three to four tenants have already been booked.
“In lieu of a fourth restaurant, we're going to open a pro shop, a full-scale pickleball store,” Gilley said. “That's not decided yet.”
Rendering courtesy of McMillan Pazdan Smith
111 E. Main Street
111 E. Main St., Spartanburg
An upcoming mixed-use development at 111 E. Main St. in Spartanburg will create both residential and commercial space.
The development has undergone several changes since it was announced for 2022. The exterior of the building will remain unchanged given its historic status, with most of the renovations being made to the interior.
Andrew Babb, president of Roadstead Real Estate Advisors Upstate, said the design should be changed to prioritize the retail aspect of the project. The number of apartments would be reduced and parking would be eliminated. The retail space would total about 9,000 square feet, and the residential portion would include 28 apartments.
No completion date was given.
Rendering: Johnston Design Group
Aden Bonded
300 Aiden Street, Spartanburg
Aden Bonded is a development in Spartanburg's Northside neighborhood. Avison Young senior associate James MacKay said the 97,229-square-foot project was delayed a year but has retained its tenants.
“We have a fantastic group of tenants,” McKay said. “They really believe in the project, so we're happy to have them.”
Tenants include:
MacKay didn't give an exact completion date, but hopes to open in mid-summer 2025.