Wildcatters update Greenville 'Greenbelt' plan; conference center financing still uncertain

Wildcatters representatives updated the Greenville City Council on the firm’s multi‑phase Greenbelt development and said a proposed conference center and hotel are not financially feasible for private lenders at current interest‑rate levels without public participation.

The developers presented a site map and progress report on the Greenbelt — a 325‑acre master‑plan development along Interstate 30 and Wesley Street that includes retail pads, a 300‑unit apartment project, 168 built‑for‑rent units, single‑family lots, parks, trails and a planned disc‑golf park. They also described ongoing public‑infrastructure work, including Monty Stratton Parkway, Traders Road Phase 1 and off‑site water and sewer construction.

The update matters to residents and businesses because the project includes new roads and utilities that city staff and the developers say are necessary to attract retail, senior living and hotel/conference users. Developers said financing for a conference center that would host large events requires some form of public participation or risk‑sharing; lenders will not finance the full project on private terms, they told the council.

At the presentation, a Wildcatters…