A mixed-use hotel and residential development proposed for downtown’s West End on Main Street remains a work in progress, with the developer going back to the planning stages to address community concerns.
New plans submitted to the city of Greenville’s Design Review Board were met with a mixed response from board members. The development, spearheaded by Focus Development LLC with architecture from Dynamik Design and Gateway Ventures, would sit at 319 Rhett St. but a portion of the building would also face Main Street.
The project at a glance
- 11-story multi-family residential, totaling 248 units
- 9-story hotel
- 1-story retail
- 4-level parking garage
- Rooftop pool
The building would be unique in its shape; when viewed from above, it appears as two rectangles, with one larger space sitting along Rhett Street between Wardlaw and Oneal Streets and an additional rectangle jutting out to fill the empty lot on Main Street between the Custom House condo building (which sits above Bex Cafe and Juice Bar) and Otto Izakaya sushi restaurant, as seen in the rendering below:
Citing “things we absolutely love and things we have serious concerns about,” DRB member John Edwards summed up the response from his fellow board members. Concerns included the building’s impact on pedestrian traffic flow along Main Street’s sidewalks, lack of clarity on the aesthetic quality of building materials, building height and setback from the street, as well as community concerns about increased automobile traffic.
The board suggested the project’s applicant defer to address these concerns rather than face a denial, which would bar future plans from being submitted for another year. To mitigate that delayed response, the applicant will meet informally with board members and community members to address concerns before making a formal appearance before the board next month.
