SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Spartanburg City Council has unanimously approved a revised agreement with developer EquityPlus that requires the company to set aside $1.75 million for problems at its Robert Smalls townhomes and the vacant Norris Ridge apartment site, and gives the city the option to take control of Norris Ridge for future housing, according to the Post and Courier.
The Oct. 26 vote reworks a 2020 deal in which the city agreed to let EquityPlus build the Robert Smalls townhomes on largely city-owned land to replace the aging Norris Ridge complex in the Highland neighborhood. Under the new terms, EquityPlus must deposit $1.75 million into an account the city controls, and the city must sign off on any spending from it, the Post and Courier reported. The agreement budgets about $1.2 million for repairs at Robert Smalls and roughly $100,000 to secure and repair the Norris Ridge property. If the money is deposited within 15 days of signing, the developer will no longer be required to tear down Norris Ridge. The city also gains a one-year option to buy that site for $1.8 million, roughly what remains on its mortgage.
The Robert Smalls townhomes have been dogged by problems, including failed heating and air conditioning, and a 2024 report described a resident who fell through her floor and broke her ankle, according to the Post and Courier. City Manager Chris Story told council there were two major departures from what was envisioned in 2020, including that Norris Ridge was never demolished, WSPA reported. Story described the revised deal as the “best of a bad situation,” according to the station. Several council members, including Meghan Smith, Erica Brown, Jamie Fulmer and Mayor Jerome Rice, voiced concerns but backed the agreement, WSPA said. Fulmer was blunter about the developer: “I don’t trust them,” he said, according to the Post and Courier. Brown pushed to clarify the 15-day deadline, and that language was added.
The Norris Ridge site has become a stalled piece of Spartanburg’s housing supply. EquityPlus originally planned 110 rental townhouses there, but after state incentive rules changed in 2022 it sought a builder for for-sale townhouses instead, the Post and Courier reported. McGuinn Homes withdrew its application in June, and progress stopped after Mungo Homes acquired McGuinn. The vacant property is now overgrown and has drawn people sleeping on site. Story said experienced developers have expressed interest in it.
For the Spartanburg market, the settlement could move a long-idle residential site in the city back toward new housing production. If the city exercises its purchase option, it would control the land and the terms of any new project, potentially giving builders and affordable housing developers a clearer path than the stalled private deal offered. For investors and public partners, the episode is also a cautionary tale about public-private housing agreements: the city is now relying on a city-controlled account and its own inspectors, who Story said will check the repair work, to protect residents and the public land it contributed.
Sources: The Post and Courier, WSPA 7News
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