Mortgage Broker in Greenville, SC

GREENVILLE, S.C. —

New tenants for Greenville County Square were announced Friday and include big names like Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma.

(Video above is previous coverage about Whole Food coming to the area)

Earlier this year, Greenville County moved into its new 262,000-square-foot state-of-the-art Administrative Building and 1,000-space parking deck, which means the previous structure is being demolished.

WYFF 4 Exclusive: An inside look at Greenville County's future administration facility

On Friday, RocaPoint announced that Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma will join the project and anchor the retail experience along with Whole Foods Market, which was signed earlier this year.

Sports & Social and PBR will also be joining the project. The 23,000-square-foot sports bar and entertainment venue will be The Cordish Company’s first in South Carolina.

Along with retail and entertainment uses, RocaPoint announced new food-and-beverage tenants.

Recently, Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar, signed on and will open its first restaurant in South Carolina.

Hawkers, which serves authentic Asian street food, and The Salty, a donut, baked goods and coffee shop, will also open at Greenville County Square.

These new restaurants will join the already announced restaurants, including Perch Kitchen and Tap, Agave Bandido, Jinya Ramen Bar and Ben & Jerry’s.

“Greenville County Square is moving full steam ahead,” said Patrick Leonard, Principal at RocaPoint Partners. “We’ve seen enormous interest in the project as Greenville continues to be a market that attracts high-quality tenants. With an upswing in population and a desirable quality of life for residents, it's no surprise companies and retailers are choosing to bring their businesses to this charming downtown, many for the first time.”

Located along University Ridge in downtown Greenville, the development will encompass approximately 3 million square feet of new buildings, creating $1.5 billion in market value upon completion.

To learn more, please visit https://rocapoint.com/project/greenville/.

GREENVILLE, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - Greenville County voters may be asked to pass a penny tax to pay for roads, but before it goes on the ballot, a special commission will recommend which projects get the funding.

“Not only are they limited under the law to what they could do but we could narrow that scope even further,” said Councilman Butch Kirven.

Now that the process has begun, county and Greenville City leaders are now preparing to appoint a 6-member commission. They’ll be in charge of deciding which projects to fund with $1 billion a penny tax could generate in 8 years.

“I could tell council was drifting around in different directions about how we know they’re gonna do what we want them to do,” said Kirven, speaking about Tuesday night’s vote.

So, he recommended council create a resolution that would guide commissioners to stick to road and bridge projects only.

The county staff collected a list of more than 100 roads and bridges in need of intersection, safety, corridor and paving improvements. The list was created with input from SCDOT and mayors from all the cities in the county. They’re looking at not only county-owned roads, but state roads too.

The high priority projects include intersection upgrades like on Fairview road, widening on Ashmore Bridge Road, safety measures on Pete Hollis Boulevard, bridge replacements like on Queen street and plenty of repaving needs. A map of the high priority projects can be found here, under the “Planning for the Future: section.

“At the end of the process we have to decide whether we agree with their report or not. I think it’s going to be a great process,” said Chairman Dan Tripp.

Applications are open right now for the county’s three appointed commission seats. The only requirement is you must be a registered voter. The commission will have about two months to create the project list and send it back to council. To download the application click here, then click Download Application.

Copyright 2024 WHNS. All rights reserved.

Downtown Greenville might have another tower in its skyline.

The Gateway Development, a plan that has been in the works for at least two years now, has been redesigned to be a single tower instead of two connected ones. The mixed-use project, now known as Gracie Plaza, will consist of a 25-story tower with a public plaza, residential and commercial units, and a proposed new pedestrian bridge.

Sitting in the site of the old Greenville Memorial Auditorium in downtown Greenville, an area Greenville Mayor Knox White once referred to as "the Bermuda Triangle of downtown development," the proposed plans could bring a tower just as tall as the 25-story tall Daniel Building, named after the owner of Daniel International Corporation's Charles Daniel. The Daniel building is currently the tallest in Greenville.

The project does not need approval from the city council, only the review board.

The site is landlocked by Beattie Place and East North Street, with Church Street running at the base of the triangle White refers to.

Developers have pitched plans for the land over the years, including a federal courthouse, an entertainment district, a high-rise hotel and multiple proposals for apartments, according to Greenville News archives.

When first envisioned, the project aimed to be an anchor for the Cultural Corridor, named as it encompasses Greenville's Hughes Main Library, multiple museums, and the Greenville Theatre, and act as a gateway from I-385 and west from downtown, along with providing a better pedestrian experience when connecting to the Bon Secours Wellness Arena, according to the project's application in 2023.

What will the Gracie Plaza include?

Although approved last July for two connected towers, the Gracie Plaza will visit Greenville's Design Review Board once again in April for approval for a single tower and 12,000 square feet of retail and commercial space, along with 342 residential units. Around 300 units were previously approved by the board last summer.

The project comes from Miami-based group NR Investments and Johnston Design Group for the architectural details.

As previously reported by The Greenville News, the old auditorium property sold for $3 million in 2017 to Clemson hotelier Rajesh Patel.

Savannah Moss covers Greenville County politics and growth/development. Reach her at smoss@gannett.com or follow her on X @Savmoss.

GREENVILLE COUNTY, S.C. —

Greenville County is moving forward on getting a list of projects for a proposed capital penny sales tax that could be on the November ballot, but it is who will decide what is worked on that's raised some concerns.

Greenville County Council voted 8-4 on Tuesday to establish the Capital Projects Sales Tax Commission. A panel of six people in the coming months will decide which projects could be funded by a potential penny sales tax in the county.

While the county will pick half of the commission, it's the other half that has concerned County Council Member Benton Blount. South Carolina law requires the city of Greenville, the county's largest municipality, to pick one person for the commission.

"But then, that person gets to nominate two people basically on their own," Blount said. "They don't have to have anybody else to vote. To me, that seems very municipality-heavy, and again, to me, with this being a county initiative, you would think the county had more stake in that."

Council Member Liz Seman said she trusts the city's pick will have the county's best interest in mind when it comes to fixing up its roads.

"If you want to change state law, then we should think about changing state law," Seman said. "There are plenty of counties across the state that have used this method and this method of picking commissioners successfully over the years."

The potential capital sales tax could add a penny to everyday purchases, except for groceries, gas and medicine, and bring in $131 million annually, county officials said.

Some drivers said they would not support it if it's on the November ballot, pointing to the road maintenance fee the county already collects on vehicles.

However, others, like Brian Huff said they would support it if it fixes the roads.

"North Pleasantburg right here? Yeah, it's a little tough there," Huff said. "That whole left lane, yeah, you gotta drive in the median. Basically, so yeah, if they could fix that, that would be the number one issue."

Blount said he would support the proposed sales tax if council passes a resolution stating the money would pay for only roads, bridges and sidewalks.

Seman said council can make that happen.

"Ultimately, the citizens get to vote on this, and I'm very confident they will get to vote on what needs to be done," Blount said.

Council said they will begin interviewing candidates to sit on the commission beginning next week. Applications on the county's website are open until March 14 at midnight.

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State getting set for its SEC Tournament opener against Texas A&M.

GREENVILLE, S.C. – It's Southeastern Conference Tournament time, and Mississippi State is gearing up to do big things in Greenville, South Carolina.

Although plenty of Bulldogs have had a few years of experience playing in the league's end-of-season event, some newcomers and transfer student-athletes are getting to experience the fun that comes with it for the first time. From getting to practice in a unique place to spending quality time with teammates and coaches, there is so much that the event has to offer behind the scenes.

Mjracle Sheppard is no stranger to big games, but this week marks the freshman's first time playing in a collegiate conference tournament. On Wednesday, she explained some of the opportunities that she has enjoyed and the emotions she has felt throughout her first day in the Palmetto State.

"I think it's really just the excitement, really the experience, just being here with my team and getting dialed in and getting shots up and getting ready for what's about to come," Sheppard said.

State went to work early on Wednesday morning, practicing at an area high school ahead of an evening opportunity to have a shoot-around at Bon Secours Wellness Arena. The players, including Sheppard, are highly anticipating what will come when they step foot on the tournament court for the first time.

"I'm just excited to see what everything's about," Sheppard said. "I'm excited to get in the real gym where we're going to be playing."

Sheppard and her fellow freshman teammates aren't the only ones who are new to one of the league's biggest events. Senior Darrione Rogers, who joined the Dawgs ahead of the 2023-2024 season, is overjoyed to be playing against tough SEC competitors.

"I'm feeling really excited for this opportunity that we have in front of us, so it's a blessing to be here," Rogers said.

Sure, the tournament gives programs unique opportunities to practice, win big games and continue to add to their resumes ahead of the postseason, but it also serves as an incredible bonding experience for everybody involved. It's one of the things that the guard has enjoyed the most so far.

"We're all in the same hotel on the same floor and stuff, so we've been able to go in each other's room, play Uno and Connect Four and things like that," Rogers said. "We've really just been enjoying this whole process."

That's not to say that the Dawgs haven't been putting all of their focus into being the best that they can be on the court. Each of the student-athletes has one goal in mind: winning. Sheppard, who is averaging 4.9 points per game and has totaled 45 steals on the year, is focusing on how she and her team can pick up some key wins.

"Personally, for me, it's just coming out with energy on and off the bench, and for my team, just punch from the first quarter to the last quarter," the Kent, Washington, native said.

Rogers believes that the experience will help her succeed away from the hardwood as well.

"I think overall our expectation — well, for me as a person — is just to continue to grow and be the best version of myself I can be on and off the court," Rogers said. "Whatever my team needs from me, I just want to be that person, be that voice for them."

The sharpshooting guard continued:

"The expectation is just that we stay together as one, we come out with urgency and control the things that we can control."

By mimicking Rogers' mindset, the team can certainly do that, but it won't be easy. The stakes are high as State is looking to solidify a spot in the NCAA Tournament by picking up as many more victories as it can. Each game will be a battle, but the Dawgs are eager to face whatever lies ahead.

"This is the SEC, so every game is going to be difficult," Rogers said. "It's March, so we're going to get everyone's best punch, but we have to take it one game at a time."

The final push for the big dance all starts on Thursday when eighth-seeded Mississippi State tips off against No. 9 seed Texas A&M at 11 a.m. CT. The game will be televised on SEC Network.