Greenville council schedules vote on abandoned textile-mill certification for Water Tower Crossing redevelopment

City staff recommended that the Greenville City Council place on its June 9 agenda a request to certify the Water Tower Crossing redevelopment at 1007 Hampton Avenue as an abandoned textile mill, a designation the developer says would allow the project to use historic-preservation incentives and a 20-year special tax assessment.

The recommendation, presented at a June 2 work session, said the $21,000,000 project would renovate a locally designated historic building into a mixed-use development with 52 multifamily units (including 11 affordable units), renovated office space, and neighborhood-serving commercial space. Sam Condors, representing the city’s economic development interests, said the developer, PHI Realty, has sought certification through the city’s economic development corporation and that the project has already received certain approvals and permits.

The developer and owner, Steve Cohen of PHI Realty, attended the work session. Cohen and staff described the proposal as a restoration of a former textile engraving facility on a site that has local historic landmark designation. Condors said the existing locally designated building is 3,725 square feet and that the overall development qualifies for the abandoned textile-mill certification under current law, citing legal counsel’s opinion.

Project details presented at the meeting included 52 residential units with 11 income-restricted units split between units at 60% and 80% of area median income, 30 covered parking spaces and 44 surface spaces, an estimated 275 temporary construction jobs and eight permanent positions, and a total project cost of $21 million. Condors said the Appalachian Council of Governments certified the site in March 2025 and that the project area has been designated economically distressed. He also said a final development plan (No. 2-303-20201) and a land-disturbance permit have been approved.

Council member Dowell and other council members asked clarification questions about previous conditions tied to the site. Dowell noted the property’s status as a voluntary cleanup site and said, for the record, that individually owned properties had been disallowed under the voluntary cleanup terms; she said that is why the project is rental rather than for-sale housing. Dowell also reminded council members that earlier local legislation (referred to at the meeting as the “Bailey bill”) had specified permitted commercial uses for portions of the property and that the council had added small grocery and after-school childcare to that list when that legislation passed.

Council discussion also touched on incentives the city has used to attract desired businesses since the Bailey bill passed, including a rebate of initial business license fees for targeted recruits (the city refunds the fee at the time of certificate of occupancy, according to staff). Condors said the city has implemented the tools available to encourage the development, referencing the Bailey bill’s passage in 2022.

No formal certification vote occurred at the work session. With no objection, council members placed the certification request on the formal June 9 council agenda for consideration. The developer and city staff said they would be available to respond when the item is considered formally.

At the end of the meeting council members moved to go into executive session; no substantive votes on the certification were taken during the work session.