Renaissance Park Projects & Developments

[westsider28]

2 hours ago, Santi said:

It’s exciting to see how all of this is turning out.  However, it’s made me wonder, what is going to happen in the area between the apartments and N Dean Street? Have there been any proposed projects for that lately? If I remember correctly, that was going to be developed into a wet area initially; if so, I imagine there must be some big topological barrier to overcome. Still, it’d be awesome to see some development happen.  Maybe finally a downtown grocery store? I imagine the new homes/apartments would make it a more viable possibility. 
 

As an aside, I wonder if any of you know of any activity planned for the park area between Vic Bailey and Cribbs catering.  Seems like a great spot for further residential construction to take place as I have never seen that area used anytime I drive to the area. 

Some of the low area between the apartments and Dean Street is likely unbuildable (a creek runs through there).  It's also made up of dozens of different parcels (many of which don't even have public street access!), owned by a variety of people/entities (it's kind of a mess).  So I doubt we'll see much there, maybe a few single-family homes closer to Dean. 

The City has put out an RFP for that park area (and former TK Gregg site) a few times over the last several years (here's a PDF from 2018: Former TK Gregg Site - RFP Final Version.pdf), but seemingly nothing has come of it.  The plan was for mixed-income residential primarily.  Obviously the topography is pretty challenging, but there was housing there prior to the 1960s.  I hope we eventually get some development on that site, though I wouldn't mind some (better designed) greenspace remaining.

I noticed there's action on 8 parcels owned by "Deerfeet LLC" in the Dean Street area (see below).  Lots of dirt moving.  I assume it's for single-family homes.  I expect that area to change a lot over the coming years.

[NotNotSanti]

That’s unfortunate considering what an eye sore that area is with all the kudzu all over the place. It’d be cool if the creek could at least become a feature in the feature with that area turned into green space, but with how it’s owned by different owners, I bet that is simply not feasible.
 

In terms of those parcels, perhaps the home on that corner is a sign of things to come. There’s some remodeling taking place in the neighborhood between that one and Pine Street as well. I can’t imagine that park being left as is for much longer. 
 

Thanks for the quick reply and for keeping us here so we’ll informed, Westsider!

[westsider28]

On 12/23/2021 at 12:15 PM, westsider28 said:

I noticed there's action on 8 parcels owned by "Deerfeet LLC" in the Dean Street area (see below).  Lots of dirt moving.  I assume it's for single-family homes.  I expect that area to change a lot over the coming years.

Signage is up for 8 home sites between Woodward and Rudisal (not sure about the Dean corner parcels).  Builder is Hunter Quinn Homes.  Some photos:

Silverhill 3-story townhomes:

Foundation work ongoing for homes with basements at Silverhill:

Work continues on The Charles.  Liberty Street sidewalk paved about 2/3 of the block:

[westsider28]

The main corner building seems to be getting pretty close to being done at The Charles.  Still a lot of work happening at the buildings along DMA:

Silverhill:

[westsider28]

Silverhill:

The Charles (landscaping going in on Liberty, pool looks ready to use):

[westsider28]

At the March 1 DRB meeting, Silverhill developers will be asking for a modification of the approved site plan to convert Lot 11 from the originally planned single-family home, to a duplex with detached garages. This lot was always unusually-shaped (wider than deep), and since it directly borders The Charles apartments, the developers feel this would take better advantage of the lot and provide a smoother transition between the apts and SFHs.  Here's the packet (Agenda - DRB - 250 Morgan Silver Drive - 2.3.2022 DRB Presentation Silver Hill Development(1).pdf) which also contains info about the homes currently under-construction, and that 4 of 5 lots directly on Silverhill Street will be the next ones to be built.  Screenshots from the PDF:

I'm sure the street-facing garages will be a big topic of discussion at the meeting.  While that's not ideal, I don't mind it overall, and the additional housing unit is welcome.

[westsider28]

^BTW, the townhome unit was approved.^

Here's a 2-week-old pic of Silverhill.  Framing is underway on both basement homes now.  And it looks like residents have moved into all four new 3-story townhome units.

Liberty Street has finally been repaved in front of The Charles.  Work is still on-going on the buildings along DMA.

[westsider28]

At Monday's meeting, City Council will consider a development agreement with Liberty Street Investors, LLC for an office building (with retail/restaurant space) next to the St John deck (basically same place as the previous office proposal).  See the agenda, starting at page 10. 

The development would consist of no less than 45,000 square feet of Class A office space and an investment of no less than $20M. The developer would install public infrastructure improvements including streetscaping.  The project would begin construction within 24 months of the Effective Date (which I presume would be final reading of the agreement).

The City would receive fair market value ($1.5M) for the land and provide a FILOT, where the owner would pay $265,000 the first year, increasing after that.  The City would provide 3 parking spaces per 1000 SF (up to 300) in the St John deck at $25/month per space.

Based on the contact info in the contract, the developer appears to be INSITE Properties of Charlotte.  They've done some solid stuff.  Definitely a legitimate developer (unlike Gibbs).  Here's The Refinery, an office building in Charlotte they developed:

This project seems like it has a MUCH better chance of happening than the previous one.  Plus the dev agreement seems like a better deal for the City.  Hope we learn more soon, and that construction occurs relatively quickly.

[hub-city]

This is more encouraging than the Gibbs proposal.  I think he had great ideas, but not the funds/capital to make it happen.   I do hope they can align Silverhill Street and make it two way up to Church Street by the Marriott.

[mainonmain]

15 hours ago, hub-city said:

This is more encouraging than the Gibbs proposal.  I think he had great ideas, but not the funds/capital to make it happen.   I do hope they can align Silverhill Street and make it two way up to Church Street by the Marriott.

Hahaha. Jimmy Gibbs has the capital to make pretty much anything happen that he wants to happen. Whether he really wanted to get into the commercial real estate development game, or just control the land around his hotel until a developer he trusted came along, is another story.

Edited March 25, 2022 by mainonmain

[roads-scholar]

1 hour ago, mainonmain said:

Hahaha. Jimmy Gibbs has the capital to make pretty much anything happen that he wants to happen. Whether he really wanted to get into the commercial real estate development game, or just control the land around his hotel until a developer he trusted came along, is another story.

I think land speculation (and philanthropy) rather than development are his priorities.  

[gman430]

They hope to start construction by the end of the year: https://www.postandcourier.com/spartanburg/business/30m-plan-for-spartanburgs-north-liberty-street-includes-retail-office-space/article_268b5c7e-ac6f-11ec-8b8b-d31bdb59efb3.html

[Spartanburg Dude]

55 minutes ago, gman430 said:

They hope to start construction by the end of the year: https://www.postandcourier.com/spartanburg/business/30m-plan-for-spartanburgs-north-liberty-street-includes-retail-office-space/article_268b5c7e-ac6f-11ec-8b8b-d31bdb59efb3.html

Here's a rendering. 

[westsider28]

More details in this H-J article.

5-stories; 83,000 SF (20k SF per floor 1-4) with 10k SF retail (3-5 spots) and 10k SF lobby/office, and 3k SF rooftop restaurant + outdoor seating; $30-40M investment; 350 to 400 workers in the building daily; start end of 2022 / early-2023.

Not directly related, but the article also mentions "MP Cloud Technologies, currently at the Denny's building, has asked for another floor to be ready, as they will be at 150 employees by the end of 2022". Seems like a great candidate to anchor a new or renovated office building (this one, 234 N Church, Advance America, etc).

Edit: It appears that this was "Project Eagles Nest", so one "secret" project is now known.  Also, higher-res rendering here:

Edited March 29, 2022 by westsider28

[GvilleSC]

That looks pretty good! Happy to see something a bit out of the norm for Spartanburg! 

[hub-city]

Is there any talk of realigning Silver Hill Street?  I wish there was also a way to make it two way up to the Marriott.

[Spartanburg Guy]

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice looking rendering, but I feel like Spartanburg is trying to build a collection of 5-6 story buildings.

[roads-scholar]

6 minutes ago, Spartanburg Guy said:

Don’t get me wrong, it’s a nice looking rendering, but I feel like Spartanburg is trying to build a collection of 5-6 story buildings.

Agree but we have a lot of holes to fill downtown and I'm just fine with a collection 5-6 story buildings.  Sure, I'd love to see a signature skuscraper someday but this does signal progress. 

My only quibble with this rendering is it seems "suburban" rather than something for downtown.  But the rooftop restaurant is a bonus.  

[westsider28]

The Charles getting closer to completion. I think the buildings along DMA will likely be finished/open by the end of the month.  The DMA sidewalk is being poured with a generous setback from the street.

Silverhill homes from DMA:

[Spartanburg Dude]

11 hours ago, westsider28 said:

The Charles getting closer to completion. I think the buildings along DMA will likely be finished/open by the end of the month.  The DMA sidewalk is being poured with a generous setback from the street.

Silverhill homes from DMA:

I really like how this project came together. Love the design, the "traditional" look is very appealing to me and in a few years the landscaping they've done should look great. Overall such a great project for that part of downtown. I said it back when it was first announced, and keep to the statement that it would have been awesome if some of the buildings have commercial on the bottom. But even without that, I'm happy to see this get done! Now let's see what else gets built on all that empty land around it. 

Edited April 11, 2022 by Spartanburg Dude

[roads-scholar]

1 hour ago, Spartanburg Dude said:

I really like how this project came together. Love the design, the "traditional" look is very appealing to me and in a few years the landscaping they've done should look great. Overall such a great project for that part of downtown. I said it back when it was first announced, and keep to the statement that it would have been awesome if some of the buildings have commercial on the bottom. But even without that, I'm happy to see this get done! Now let's see what else gets built on all that empty land around it. 

What was really remarkable about this project is that the sloping and uneven land was a challenge to build on.  

[westsider28]

On 3/29/2022 at 11:24 AM, westsider28 said:

More details in this H-J article.

5-stories; 83,000 SF (20k SF per floor 1-4) with 10k SF retail (3-5 spots) and 10k SF lobby/office, and 3k SF rooftop restaurant + outdoor seating; $30-40M investment; 350 to 400 workers in the building daily; start end of 2022 / early-2023.

Not directly related, but the article also mentions "MP Cloud Technologies, currently at the Denny's building, has asked for another floor to be ready, as they will be at 150 employees by the end of 2022". Seems like a great candidate to anchor a new or renovated office building (this one, 234 N Church, Advance America, etc).

Edit: It appears that this was "Project Eagles Nest", so one "secret" project is now known.  Also, higher-res rendering here:

County Council will vote on first-reading of a "Special Source Credit Agreement" for this project at their Monday meeting.  The agreement would "provide infrastructure credit financing, secured by and payable solely from revenues of the County derived from payments in lieu of taxes [...] for the purpose of defraying the cost of designing, acquiring, constructing, improving, or expanding the infrastructure serving the County".  I read this as essentially reimbursing the developer for streetscaping improvements.  But anyway, this project seems to be moving along pretty quickly.  We'll probably see it before the DRB soon.

[gman430]

One of my good friends got a unit at the Charles and I got to see it today for the first time. They are definitely very nice with high ceilings. 

[westsider28]

Sidewalk along DMA is basically complete (minus landscaping).  I wish it was wider, but at least it's well-buffered from the street. Photos from Saturday:

[Spartan]

Great pics! DMA needs a road diet!