GREENVILLE, S.C. — The city of Greenville is moving to turn a vacant tract it owns along Church Street into a mixed-use neighborhood anchored by affordable housing, inviting residents to weigh in on the design before the land is offered to a private developer.
The city hosted a drop-in session Oct. 22 at the Civic Design Center on South Main Street, where residents could review design concepts and talk with planners, according to Greenville Business Magazine and FOX Carolina. City Manager Shannon Lavrin told Greenville Business Magazine that attendees would place dots on displays to signal the architectural styles they prefer. The city has hired consulting firm Arcadis to prepare a comprehensive land development plan, which is expected to be finished in early 2027. Once the plan is complete, the city intends to sell the property to a developer that will be required to carry out the community-driven vision, the magazine reported.
The city bought the land in 2024 for $10.7 million, drawing on its capital projects, parking and tree funds, SCBIZ reported at the time. The purchase covered 36 parcels near Haynie and Chapin streets in the Haynie-Sirrine neighborhood, and Greenville Business Magazine described it as the first time the city has acquired land specifically to advance its GVL2040 comprehensive plan. Planned uses include a mix of housing types, retail, restaurants, green space and community amenities. FOX Carolina reported that city leaders envision a small, walkable community a short distance from County Square.
The project is a direct response to the affordability squeeze facing the Upstate’s largest city. The GVL2040 plan calls for at least 10% of new housing to be affordable and for 35% of vacant land to be preserved as open space, according to SCBIZ. The site also benefits from groundwork already laid: Greenville Business Magazine noted that the property is positioned for redevelopment following adoption of the Haynie-Sirrine Neighborhood Plan and City Council approval of updated zoning. Earlier plans for the area contemplated single-family homes, duplexes, multifamily housing and light retail, SCBIZ reported.
Location gives the tract added weight. It sits beside the County Square redevelopment, a roughly $1 billion, 37-acre mixed-use project along University Ridge that is converting the county’s former administrative campus, according to Hoodline. That project is expected to add millions of square feet of commercial and residential space, which could lift land values and demand for housing on surrounding blocks.
For developers, the Church Street site represents a rare city-controlled, pre-zoned infill parcel close to downtown, though the eventual buyer will inherit design and affordability expectations set through the public process. Key details remain unsettled, including how many units will be income-restricted and what incentives will keep them affordable. For buyers and renters priced out of downtown Greenville, the project offers a potential new supply of attainable housing, but with the plan not due until 2027 and a developer yet to be chosen, new homes on the site are likely several years away.
Sources: Greenville Business Magazine, FOX Carolina, SCBIZ, Hoodline
Leave a Reply