Renovations continue to move forward on the first phase of Crescent Startup Community, a large-scale, mixed-use innovation district located on Poinsett Highway north of Greenville.
Hartness Development, the longtime owner of the site, plans to transform the seven-acre property into a hub for local startups and entrepreneurs to access development resources and capital.
The first phase of construction is anticipated to be completed in late spring of 2024.
The project’s initial phase consists of renovating the old Pepsi-Cola bottling plant into an innovation center called Crescent One. Flywheel, a company that designs and operates innovation centers for startups, will be the anchor tenant for the building. The company’s 23,000 square feet of space will include:
- Forty private office suites
- Several co-working areas
- A large event space
- Seminar rooms
- Indoor and outdoor social common spaces
- A fitness center operated by Fitness with a View
The remainder of the building will be occupied by startups or complementary tenets that are service providers to startups, including Furman University’s Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Jim Burns, chief operating officer for Hartness Development, said the initial phase is expected to cost $16 million to complete. The subsequent phases, which include 150,000 square feet of new mixed-use buildings, are estimated to put the project’s budget around $60 million to $75 million.
The project is currently in the rough stages of reconstructing the building after finishing demolition, Burns said. Walls have begun to be put back up, roofing is being finished and electrical conduit is being run.
“We took out the bad, which means some of the asbestos and all of those kinds of things that have to get out of the building,” Burns said.
Peter Marsh is the founding partner of Flywheel and an architect with Workplace Architecture and Design, which is designing the new innovation district. He said many elements of the building’s historic structure will be highlighted throughout the new design, such as the original steel structure and painted walls.
Burns said they are meeting with other potential partners that would spur Phase two of the project.
“Phase two is more dependent upon the needs and the great part of this is that we get to get into the revitalized historic building there and then determine what needs there are in the entrepreneurial world,” Burns said.
Historic value
The 56,000-square-foot Pepsi-Cola bottling plant building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in August 2023. It was constructed in 1940 and underwent expansions through the 1950s and 1960s.
More in store
Three additional buildings, each approximately 50,000 square feet, will be created in subsequent phases of the project to expand the activities within the innovation district.
Location
Crescent Startup Community will be located 1.4 miles from downtown Greenville at 701 Poinsett Highway.
