Historic Greenville bottling plant to become mixed-use hub with housing

A long vacant former bottling plant in Greenville will see new life as a mixed-use development with affordable housing and commercial space.

Greenville City Council approved a tax credit for Water Tower Crossing, a $21 million mixed-use project on historic property at 1007 Hampton Ave., according to a news release from the Greenville Economic Development Corp. The proposed development will bring affordable housing and new commercial space to Greenville’s Southernside community, the release stated.

The vote certifies the site as an abandoned textile mill under the South Carolina Textile Communities Revitalization Act, unlocking a tax credit on eligible expenses, according to the release. The building was formerly part of the American Textile Engraving Co.’s operations and is located within 1,000 feet of the Goodyear Waste Working Plant.

The project will include 52 multi-family rental units, 11 of which will be designated as affordable housing, according to the release. Five units will be reserved for households earning 60% of the area median income, and six for those earning up to 80%. The development will also feature 30 covered parking spaces and 44 surface spaces for residents and visitors.

The project is led by Greenville-based developer Steven Cohen of PHI Realty LLC, the release stated. Site work is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2025. Cohen credited the city of Greenville and the Greenville Housing Fund for supporting the project and making it financially viable.

“I wanted to do something good for this community, not something that we would just build and flip,” Cohen said in the release.

In the early 20th century, the site was home to Scales-Wilson Co., a soda bottling plant said to have produced beverages used to mask the taste of moonshine during Prohibition, according to the release. In later decades, the building operated as Thompson Automotive, a neighborhood repair shop that eventually closed. The building then  fell into disrepair.

The project includes the restoration of the 3,725-square-foot Thompson Automotive building, which will be converted into retail and office space. The site will also benefit from the state’s Bailey Bill program, which freezes property taxes at pre-redevelopment rates for up to 20 years. In 2021, the city’s Design Review Board designated the building a local historic landmark.