Greenville-based M Peters Group’s proposed $75 million mixed use development on East Main Street in Spartanburg is generating excitement for its potential to transform the downtown skyline.
The project is still being evaluated by the city’s design review board, but envisions three new towers across seven properties between 127 and 163 E. Main St., according to M Peters Group (MPG) partner and architect Jennifer Gosnell. The new central building would be 11 stories flanked to either side by two new seven-story buildings.
The project is the firm’s largest to date and will create 24,000 square feet of Class A retail space, 20,000 square feet of Class A office space, 160 market-rate apartments and 15,000 square feet of condominium shell space.
“The development of this project has been in direct response to what the city and the county have said they want,” Gosnell said.
In a city-produced podcast last December, Spartanburg City Manager Chris Story said the project shows that what was once considered one of downtown’s most significant challenges — its relatively large footprint — is now regarded as a source of new opportunities. He added that the deep nature of many downtown blocks like that between East Main and Broad streets where the MPG project is planned previously turned many developers off.
“If I had a magic wand and could pick up and place an infusion of positive activity, that block might be where I would have chosen,” Story said.
OneSpartanburg chief economic development officer Katherine O’Neill said the project is emblematic of the momentum that has been continuously building throughout the county in recent years. She said the project is generating significant buzz. “If there’s anyone in town that knows about it, they’re so excited about it.”
Gosnell said the project took several years to develop and, like all M Peters Group projects, involved working with community partners to identify crucial needs and develop a project customized to meet those needs. City and county leaders worked in close collaboration with the firm to shape the work.
“The city said, ‘We want a game-changer, we want something transformative,’ and that’s what we’re aiming to deliver,” Gosnell said.
Because the properties involved in the project are so deep between East Main and East. Broad streets, the project will include pedestrian throughways and smaller, intimate retail spaces reminiscent of a European streetscape.
After plans are finalized later this year, construction is expected to start in early 2023 and last about 20 months, Gosnell said.
For more information about the project and M Peters Group, visit mpetersgroup.com.
