The Housing Authority of the City of Greenville (HACG) may finally have a plan for the old Scott Towers building on Augusta Street.
Multiple studies had showed that the Scott Towers building would be too costly to rehab. The building does not have sprinklers, the elevators are not pressurized and there are structural issues, officials say. In fact, estimates for the property value with the building are $775,000, but rise to $1.8 million without it, they say.
“The building is coming down. The question is who is going to pay for it,” said Andy Arnold, chairman of the HACG board. HACG worked over the past year to relocate residents and the building has been vacant since March.
After reviewing demolition bids and other proposals, HACG board members voted last week to enter into negotiations with McCormack Barron, a large development company out of St. Louis.
McCormack Barron’s goal is to “extend the vibrancy of Main Street,” developers told the board at last week’s meeting. Plans call for demolition of the existing Scott Towers building, followed by new construction of 197 family units consisting of studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units. The project would include a new parking deck, commercial space on the corner of Augusta and Thruston streets and outdoor amenity space for residents, developers said.
The $37 million project would be paid for with a combination of private investment, tax credits and HACG vouchers, said HACG Interim Director Cindi Herrera.
The proposal also envisions another 142 one-bedroom, senior garden apartments; of those, 62 would be new construction and 80 existing units located behind Scott Towers would be rehabilitated and modernized, officials said. The entire development would have 339 units and be a mixed-used, mixed-income community with about 80 percent at market rate and 20 percent affordable for lower-income seniors and families.
“It’s important there remains affordable housing on site,” Arnold said.
As part of the negotiations, HACG also will be talking to McCormack Barron about redevelopment opportunities at Woodside Mill that could potentially offer the community another 138 affordable senior units. Currently there is a request to annex the mill into the city, and HACG has an option to purchase the vacant property.
All in all, Arnold expects it will be about three years before there are new buildings on the site. The HACG expects a final decision to be made in September.
