Here is a recap of the Aug. 26 meeting of the Greenville City Council.
Initial approval: Public-private partnership with Three Falls LLC
Council approved the initial reading of an ordinance to enter into a development agreement with Three Falls LLC to design and complete enhancements along Falls Street and East McBee Avenue.
Three Falls LLC is currently redeveloping the office building at 300 E. McBee Ave. The $38 million project includes interior and exterior renovations that are expected to be completed by the end of the year.
The city would reimburse the developer for the completed streetscape and landscape improvements. Approximately $650,000 was approved to be appropriated from the economic development project fund.
The redevelopment project aims to make room for new office, retail and restaurant tenants. Prisma Health will remain the anchor tenant in the 163,157-square-foot building.
Sam Konduros, president and CEO of the Greenville City Economic Development Corp., shared during the presentation that one of the building’s confirmed new tenants is STIR Restaurants, a high-end restaurant chain with locations in Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina; and Chattanooga and Knoxville, Tennessee. It would be the chain’s first location in South Carolina.
Approved: Tax incentive for Kimpton Hotel development
The Vardry Residences by Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants is a planned development by Keene Development Group at 100 N. Markley St. in Greenville’s West End. The project will sit on the former site of three abandoned textile mills.
Council unanimously approved a resolution to certify the property as an abandoned textile mill site under the South Carolina Textile Communities Revitalization Act. The act grants income tax credits of 25% of the qualified rehabilitation expenses for the site.
Approximately $88.3 million has been recognized as qualifying expenditures for the project. The total project investment is expected to exceed $92 million.
Final approval: $10.7M for Haynie-Sirrine property purchase
Council gave final approval to the appropriation of $10.7 million from the capital projects fund to purchase more than six acres in the Haynie-Sirrine neighborhood. The property purchase was previously authorized by council on Aug. 12.
The funding is specifically allocated from:
- $6.56 million from the Capital Projects Fund
- $3.8 million from the Parking Enterprise Fund
- $244,790 from the Tree Fund
The city purchased the 36 parcels on Church and Haynie streets in order to control what will be developed on the site. Affordable housing and green space are two of the potential opportunities for the property.
Read more about the property purchase
Approved: Naming of the Greenville Zoo’s Africa Plaza
The Greenville Zoo is working to create a new Africa Plaza that will include new American with Disabilities Act-compliant pathways, upgraded landscaping and more. The Greenville Zoo Foundation raised $564,702 from private donations for the project.
One of the donors was the Community Foundation on behalf of the Rupert Huse Charitable Fund, which gifted $250,000 for the new plaza. For this donation, council approved naming the new plaza after the late Mary Huse, mother of Greenville City Councilmember Dorothy Dowe.
The plaza will officially be named the “Mary H. Huse Africa Plaza.”
Review: Development code annual review
The city of Greenville is completing the first annual review of its development code. During a work session on Aug. 26, council reviewed proposed updates to the code.
One proposed amendment is to only permit smoke and vape shops in Business Heavy (BH) and Industrial (IG) zoning districts. These businesses would also not be permitted within 1,500 feet of a similar store, school, day care, community center, religious assembly, park or recreational trail.
Some of the other proposed revisions include:
- Reducing development requirements to help new small businesses
- Alter residential building setbacks
- Increase maximum residential driveway width to 12 feet
- Require master plans for Campus zoning districts to be reviewed by the public
Michael Frixen, a principal development planner with the city, shard that no permits have been issued for the code’s development bonus which was created as an affordable housing incentive.
The code updates will be reviewed by the city’s Planning Commission on Sept. 5. If recommended, the amendments will go before City Council for final consideration.
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