Inside the challenges of developing the ‘Greenville Gateway’ project

Plans for the former Greenville Memorial Auditorium site, the so-called Greenville Gateway, are moving full speed ahead.

The mixed-use development’s site and massing layout — that’s the three-dimensional design of the building — were approved by the city’s Design Review Board in May. Greenville’s Johnston Design Group submitted final plans for the architectural façade of the 250 N. Church Street development, formerly known as Gracie Plaza, in late July.

Despite the most recent traction, the site, at the intersection of Beattie Place, Church Street and East North Street that has sat vacant for more than two decades, poses a unique set of challenges.

According to Scott Johnston, founder and principal architect of the firm, May’s plans are the latest update to the structure. His team will not request any modifications moving forward, he said, and the project’s materials and color palette are the next details to be reviewed by the board, followed by architectural lighting and Seamon Whiteside and Associates’ landscaping designs.

The project’s Miami-based developer, NR Investments, aims to obtain a building permit from the city by March 2025, according to Johnston.

Previous blueprints for the development featured 294 apartments with a price tag between $100 million and $120 million in S.C. Biz News’ reports last year.

The 29-story, 250 N. Church Street development now features 342 apartments and 12,000 square feet of commercial space on the ground level spread across two towers, according to a proposal submitted to the city in June.

“One of the challenges for an apartment block is that it wants to be a rather long façade, which is not very elegant for a taller building, and so what we’ve done is work up the massing into two pieces with a recess — we like to call it the notch — between the two,” Johnston told SC Biz News. “It’s all one building, but we call it the North Tower and the South Tower.”

Early critics pinioned previous plans for a more imposing single tower, which brought Johnston and his team back to the drawing board, but he said there has been no pushback on the structure’s height.  The development’s North Tower is the tallest; the South Tower is broader and “designed to appear as though it is floating over the base of the building,” he said, which is set to include a 360-space parking garage and space for restaurants, entertainment venues and commercial store fronts.

Two plazas will to surround the structure. The largest, a tree-studded corridor at the corner of Beattie Street and Church Street, is expected to support a dining space with a 30-foot ceiling, Johnston said, while a smaller plaza, adjacent to a sculpture garden on the corner of E. North Street and N. Church Street, could hold a 6,000-square foot restaurant or store.  No tenants are currently lined up for the development, he said, but they will have the opportunity to expand the property’s commercial space to between 14,000 to 15,000 square feet.

“It’s really meant to be a pedestrian-oriented development with strong connectivity to the Wellness Arena, which as you probably know, is going through its own masterplan to create more entertainment opportunities on that site and of course, connectivity to downtown Greenville and Main Street,” he said.

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Johnston couldn’t speak to the name change from Gracie Plaza to 250 N. Church Street, but he said NR Investments is a developing a new brand concept for the project. NR Investments did not respond to requests for comment.

“We’re really excited about the plans that they have,” Beth Paul, general manager of Bon Secours Wellness Arena, told SC Biz News. “They want to ensure what the final product is on the Gracie Plaza is cohesive and coherent with what we want to do, so it’s a really great working relationship.”

Finance committee supports $70M for arena project

Another lynchpin of the “Greenville Gateway” quarter is one step closer toward realizing its $170 million expansion plans.

In July, the Greenville County Finance Committee voted to move forward on the Greenville Arena District’s request to issue general obligation bonds totaling $70 million.

If approved by county council in three upcoming meetings, the bonds will go toward renovations of the Bon Secours Center and surrounding areas.  The Greenville Arena District, formed in 1940 for the management of the Greenville Memorial Auditorium, owns and operates the Bon Secours Wellness Arena as a political subdivision of the state.

The following day, the district named architecture firms LS3P, LMN and Gensler Sports as co-designers of a 25-year strategy “reimagining the district as the gateway into the flourishing city of Greenville.”

The strategy, slated for a total $170 million price tag, includes the expansion and renovation of the 26-year-old events center, as well as the development of its campus as cultural hub with a strong sense of place and “neighborhood feel,” according to the arena’s general manager. After half-year planning period, she hopes to begin improvements as early as summer 2025.

Paul told SC Biz News that there isn’t a design on paper yet; instead, it will be shaped by conversations with the local community, feedback from users of the arena and the district’s overarching goals over six months.

“We’re going into it with a very open mind,” she said. “There are some goals to improve the fan experience, to improve the client experience, to increase the economic impact we have on this community by redesigning the arena, so that it will give us a competitive advantage. We’re really focused on safety and security. We will explore sustainability; we will explore how we can improve the experience for our ADA customers.”

In 2020 and 2021, the arena was one of the first to install Evolv weapons detection scanners, as well as other “behind the scenes” security systems, Paul said. She aims to build out additional evacuation and emergency communication strategies moving forward.

“Our facilities have not been upgraded significantly since the facility opened, so we’re just making sure that we’re an arena that is the right size for our market and that also has the most modern amenities,” she said.

Greenville’s LS3P will conduct a market study for the project in conjunction with San Francisco-based architecture firm Gensler. The two companies have collaborated on a number of projects including Clemson University’s Littlejohn Arena and renovations at the PNC Arena in Raleigh.

“Our team is ready to begin providing guidance for our hometown arena’s next chapter, ultimately positioning it for continued success in an increasingly competitive regional market,” John Edwards, LS3P’s Greenville officer, said in the July 9 announcement.

In 2020, the city of Greenville hired Miami urban design group Plusurbia to collect community input in a report of recommendations for a Greenville Gateway district. The district was set to include areas of E. North Street, the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, the Greenville County Law Enforcement Center, Lavinia Street, East Park Avenue and the Pettigru Historic District, according to a previous report.

The Plusurbia report determined that the district should aim to improve the quality of life for residents, workers and visitors by creating more housing and job opportunities closer to downtown and enhancing connectivity across the district.  The report also emphasized the protection of the Pettigru Historic District, revitalizing East North Street and improvements at the Bon Secours Arena.

Paul praised Plusurbia’s final vision for the district, which was presented in October 2022.

“We’re just trying to carry forward the plan and implement and execute the portions that we can,” she said.