Early plans have emerged for a major redevelopment of the former Conestee Mill in Greenville.
The historic textile mill on the Reedy River has been reimagined as a vibrant mixed-use community with up to 268 residential units and 8,000 square feet of commercial space. The project would restore the existing mill buildings while also creating new structures on the 8.75-acre site off Conestee Road.
The proposed redevelopment project was presented at the city of Greenville’s project preview meeting on Nov. 18. Leading the project will be John Pazdan with Kanasta LLC, the property owner, and Kenneth Reiter, president of Belmont Sayre LLC. Reiter’s real estate development company recently completed the multimillion-dollar redevelopment of the Judson Mill District in Greenville.
Conestee Mill was built in 1876 during Greenville’s textile industry boom. A dam was constructed on the Reedy River in 1892 to provide power to the mill. A $40 million project to replace the 133-year-old Conestee Dam was completed in October.
“This project has been a long time coming,” Reiter said. “I looked at this project maybe about six or seven years ago, and the dam was really in poor condition. The major impetus is now that the dam has been repaired, you can actually do something with the historic properties.”
Conestee Mill potential development phases
The development team is considering completing the redevelopment project in two phases. Reiter said the initial phase will involve renovating the historic Conestee Mill building into multi-family housing. The existing company store building will also be remodeled to house four residential units over ground-floor commercial space.
Phase two would include constructing more suburban-style multi-family housing on the site. Pazdan explained that it was more financially viable for the redeveloped site to be predominantly residential. He also believes it will be a transformative project for the surrounding community.
“For 20 years, I drove through Conestee day in and day out,” Pazdan said. “To me, it was such a good community that was lost in time. It just needed a catalyst.”
One of the parcels planned for the redevelopment project is currently located outside the Greenville city limits. The development team plans to submit an annexation request for the parcel to the city of Greenville in the near future.
Reiter said they are still in the early stages of planning and design for the redevelopment project. Design plans are expected to be submitted to the city of Greenville’s Historic Review Board in the late spring or early summer of 2026. Construction is hoped to start in the third quarter of next year.
