If it seems as though construction will never end at BridgeWay Station, it is because of the sheer scale of the project.
More than 450,000-square-feet of mixed-use space will occupy the campus of what is modeled as an entire village in the city of Mauldin, all designed with a focus on old-world architecture. The mix of retail, office and residential offerings is one of the most anticipated commercial real estate projects in the Upstate’s recent memory.
It will also eventually be connected to the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail via a new pedestrian bridge over Interstate 385.
Coming with a price tag of about $150 million for its first phase alone, the project, which is spearheaded by Hughes Investments alongside McMillan Pazdan Smith, Johnston Design Group and Harper General Contractors, was originally set to be complete in early 2023 before delays pushed back the timeline.
But doubters of the project’s impending completion should take note — BridgeWay Station has just marked a major milestone.
One of its centerpiece towers is now fully complete. If this new tower doesn’t look so new, that’s by design. It is modeled after the classic bell tower at Furman University, which was constructed in 1854 on the former university campus overlooking the Reedy River.
“When Furman’s campus moved to its current home, the original desire was to move the bell tower brick by brick,” Hughes Investments said in a statement. “However, the original bricks made from the red clay of the Reedy River riverbank were deteriorating, and so an exact replica of the tower was recreated to what is now an iconic symbol of Furman University’s campus and of greater Greenville.”
While the BridgeWay tower is a replica, it does have its own unique aspects. It is made of stone and Italian terra cotta, for instance, and is connected to the future spot of The Plank restaurant by a second-story walkway — hence the name, as in “walking the plank.”
The Plank is just one of many restaurant and dining concepts that have announced plans to open in BridgeWay Station once the final terra cotta tile is meticulously placed.
Those restaurants include:
- Belladina’s Italian Market
- BridgeWay Brewing Co.
- City Market at BridgeWay
- Cocobowlz
- Cohesive Coffee
- El Guapo
- The Junkyard
- Old Europe Desserts
- Restaurant Rocco
- Stella’s Restaurant Group
- Table 301 (new concept)
- The Works @ BridgeWay
- Yogi’s Cups and Cones
The completion of the bell tower comes as the project is in the finishing stages of its main plaza, modeled partially after St. Peters Square in Rome.
For more information, visit BridgeWayStation.com.
