Here are status updates for significant projects and property dealings involving the city of Greenville.
Public safety complex
Status: Renovating
Renovations are underway to prepare the city’s new public safety complex located at 204 Halton Road in Greenville. The 126,000-square-foot building will become a state-of-the-art complex used to consolidate various city departments.
“This has been our highest priority,” Greenville Mayor Knox White said.
The new building will house the:
- Greenville Police Department
- Greenville City Fire Department administration
- Municipal Court
- Human resource department
- Management and budget department
- Permitting center
The approximately 12.76-acre property on Halton Road was purchased by the city in 2021 for $18.9 million. Renovations are expected to cost an additional $21 million, said Loren Thomas, the city’s multimedia manager.
An enhanced entrance to the building will be built to provide easier access to the permitting department. A new 911 call dispatch center will also be built along with an updated traffic management center.
The complex’s renovations are anticipated to be complete by the end of 2023. Some of the city’s departments may be able to move in by spring 2024.
“It could take until the end of 2024 for all departments to move in,” Thomas said.
City Hall building and Bowater Building
Status: On hold
The future of City Hall is still up in the air.
Plans previously seemed to be moving forward in March with Greenville City Council authorizing the potential relocation to the Bowater Building at 55 E. Camperdown Way. The idea was to purchase the building’s first two floors to house City Council chambers and multiple city departments.
However, the site of the Bowater Building will soon be put on the market.
Charles Gouch, senior vice president CBRE’s Office Services team, explained the site is being sold through a bid process with a price guidence between low- to mid- $40 million. The property is currently owned by WCM Global Wealth, a local financial services firm.
“It’s arguably one of the most prominent sites in the city of Greenville, you know, with river frontage,” Gouch said. “I think it’s a site that definitely has a lot of attention, not only locally, regionally but even nationally. So we’re very excited about what could happen there.”
Gouch said they hope to identify a buyer by mid- to late-November.
With the property for sale, the city’s options are open, said Beth Brotherton, spokesperson for the city.
“The city did not intend to purchase the entire building at 55 Camperdown,” Brotherton said. “We will work with new ownership on pursuing an agreement, with ample parking as a primary objective.”
In March, council also approved the purchase-sale agreement for the current City Hall building at 206 S. Main St. with M Peters Group for $12.5 million. The real estate development company plans to complete significant exterior and interior renovations to the building and add six additional floors for condos.
If the deal to purchase space at the Bowater Building falls through, the city still reserves the right to retain ownership of the first five floors of the original building on South Main Street.
“We’ve always said we’re going to act in the best interest of the city, not just the City Hall,” Greenville Mayor Knox White said. “We think we’re in the best interest right now to watch what happens there.”
Greenville Transit Authority property
Status: Soon to be on the market
Greenville Transit Authority plans to sell its property located at 154 Augusta St. Greenlink’s maintenance facility currently resides on the site and will be moving to a new building at 205 Arcadia Drive.
The 2.93-acre property will be placed on the open market with the oversight of the Federal Transit Administration. James Keel, executive director of the Greenville Transit Authority, said an invitation for bid will hopefully be released in the next couple of weeks.
“The only thing we’re waiting on right now is a letter from the Federal Transit Administration authorizing the sale,” Keel said.
A mandated minimum bid price based on an appraisal of the site will be included in the invitation for bid.
Greenville City Council previously authorized the exploration of purchasing the site when it first became available. Beth Brotherton, spokesperson for the city of Greenville, said the intention was for the city to own the property to control future development and ensure it matched the character and uses in the area.
“With the passage of the development code, the city became confident that appropriate guidelines and protections were in place regardless of ownership and decided not to move forward with the purchase,” Brotherton said.
