Greenville approves $130M Gateway project at Church Street

The Greenville City Council has approved a public-private partnership of up to $7.256 million as part of a new development agreement at 250 N. Church St., the former site of Memorial Auditorium.

As part of the agreement, the city will cover improvements to the pedestrian experience while the development group will invest more than $130 million into the project, according to a city news release.

Construction of Greenville Gateway is scheduled to begin in September.

Greenville visitors and residents will see direct benefits from this partnership, including improved sidewalks, crosswalks, landscaping, a public plaza and a public art gallery, according to the release. The auditorium site has been vacant for 28 years.

“By transforming a site that has sat vacant for nearly three decades into a lively, connected space, we are honoring Greenville’s history, while creating new opportunities for residents, businesses and visitors alike,” Mayor Knox White said in the release.

The 29-story building will be the tallest in South Carolina. It will include 327 apartments, roughly 8,500 square feet of commercial and rental space and a parking structure. The publicly funded improvements are designed to knit the new development into Greenville’s urban fabric, linking Bon Secours Wellness Arena more directly to downtown Greenville and improving the experience for event goers, the release stated. For drivers arriving on Interstate 385, Gateway will be a key element in the entrance to downtown.

“The project will serve as a bridge, better connecting the Bon Secours Wellness Arena to downtown and demonstrating that finding common ground between public and private priorities improves Greenville’s downtown for everyone,” White said in the release.

The work will extend beyond 250 N. Church St., to include areas along Church Street, North Street and Beattie Place. In addition to aesthetic upgrades, the funding will provide a public plaza and art gallery while also addressing essential infrastructure needs such as storm drainage improvements, underground utilities including a sanitary sewer extension and new public lighting, the release stated.

The majority of the city’s infrastructure funding, $6.4 million, will come through a mix of grants and economic development resources, according to the release. The remaining $850,000 will be paid from the wastewater fund. In turn, the development will strengthen the city’s tax base by generating new property taxes, business license revenue and likely hospitality taxes, the release said.

The city says the project is expected to generate more than 100 jobs. The Gateway is a venture of Miami-based NR Gateway Greenville LLC Investments, with design work by Johnston Design Group.