7/23/13 Update - Recipients of the City's first Capital Investment Grant broke ground on the new mixed-use project in Greenville's Uptown shopping and dining district.

More than 100 people gathered for the groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday, July 23, 2013. The project is being hailed as transformational as it will bring high-quality student housing into the Uptown with most of the students needs being within walking distance.

City Council to Consider First Capital Investment Grant Request

**6/14/13 Update - City Council approved the request and work on the project is slated to begin soon.

The Greenville City Council is set to consider the first request under their new Capital Investment Grant program at their Thursday, June 13, 2013 meeting. The program is designed to provide economic incentives for businesses and projects to start or grow here in Greenville.

The request for Capital Investment Grant funds from Taft-Ward ECU Campus Edge Apts., LLC, is in support of a mixed-use commercial development to be located in the block bounded by Reade Circle to the north, Evans Street to the west, Eighth Street to the south, and Cotanche Street to the east. The working title for the project is the “Georgetown Redevelopment Project.” The property is fully located within the Center City Revitalization Area and is also located within the Center City Economic Development Investment Zone.

Development plans for the site call for a commercial mixed-use development to include more than 300,000 square feet of commercial residential space (apartments), roughly 11,000 square feet of retail space, and a 429-space parking deck. The total investment in the project is expected to approach $42 million.

The City Council will be considering a capital investment grant from the City of Greenville to the developer equivalent to 49.5% of the incremental increase in tax revenue for the project. The dollar amount of such a grant would not exceed $75,000 per year. The developer is requesting that the grant be paid over a total of seven (7) years for a total grant amount not to exceed $525,000.

The City’s review of the project indicates that the market potential and financials for this project are sound and that the grant request is fully in compliance with the Capital Investment Grant policy. Capital Investment Grant funds are requested to support the high cost of structured parking required in this urban development as well as to assist with other site development costs to include urban streetscaping around the project and enhanced foundations systems required for the larger, urban style buildings that make up this development.  

For more information about this request, please contact Economic Development Officer Carl Rees at 329-4510.

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