For more than 20 years, the site of the former Greenville Memorial Auditorium has been vacant. That could soon change. Last week, the city’s Design Review Board Urban Panel gave initial approval to a mixed-use project for that site. NR Investments in Miami is the developer behind the project, which calls for 300 apartments, 6,700 square feet of commercial space, 6,700 square feet of restaurant and amenities space and 335 parking spaces. “I’m just excited that they have a perspective on this development that’s very different from anything proposed by anyone in the past,” Greenville Mayor Knox White said. White said part of what makes the proposal unique is its focus on supporting the Bon Secours Wellness Arena area.”This is the first group to look at this site and say, you know, we could actually focus not so much in downtown Greenville, but focus on the arena area itself and make it part of the experience of attending an event — whether it’s a sports event or an entertainment event at the arena — a place to go before, a place to go afterwards,” White said. “So that’s going to be the exciting focus of this project.” The idea, White said, would ultimately be to build on an entertainment district around the Bon Secours Wellness Arena. “It’s so much more than just a residential development,” White said. “It’s an entertainment center, if you will, working in tandem with the area.”The plot of land has remained vacant after leaders imploded the auditorium back in 1997. In the early 2000s, it was thought to be the next federal courthouse. That didn’t work out. Then the recession hit. The property is not owned by the city and has changed hands multiple times in recent years. The process is in its early stages. It’s not yet clear when the proposal will go for additional approval.
For more than 20 years, the site of the former Greenville Memorial Auditorium has been vacant. That could soon change.
Last week, the city’s Design Review Board Urban Panel gave initial approval to a mixed-use project for that site.
NR Investments in Miami is the developer behind the project, which calls for 300 apartments, 6,700 square feet of commercial space, 6,700 square feet of restaurant and amenities space and 335 parking spaces.
“I’m just excited that they have a perspective on this development that’s very different from anything proposed by anyone in the past,” Greenville Mayor Knox White said.
White said part of what makes the proposal unique is its focus on supporting the Bon Secours Wellness Arena area.
“This is the first group to look at this site and say, you know, we could actually focus not so much in downtown Greenville, but focus on the arena area itself and make it part of the experience of attending an event — whether it’s a sports event or an entertainment event at the arena — a place to go before, a place to go afterwards,” White said. “So that’s going to be the exciting focus of this project.”
The idea, White said, would ultimately be to build on an entertainment district around the Bon Secours Wellness Arena.
“It’s so much more than just a residential development,” White said. “It’s an entertainment center, if you will, working in tandem with the area.”
The plot of land has remained vacant after leaders imploded the auditorium back in 1997. In the early 2000s, it was thought to be the next federal courthouse. That didn’t work out. Then the recession hit.
The property is not owned by the city and has changed hands multiple times in recent years.
The process is in its early stages. It’s not yet clear when the proposal will go for additional approval.
