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vicupstate Metropolitan Area

vicupstate

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Update on Woodside Mills from Gville News:

Q: What happened to the plans to redevelop the old Woodside Mill into apartments, cafes, etc.?

Amy in short: At one time a record-setting cotton mill, Woodside Mill closed in 1984. Past plans to revitalize the massive building have faltered, but the owner says new talks are underway to redevelop the mill.

A bit more: Greenville’s Woodside Mill was founded in 1902, the work of a family of brothers led by John T. Woodside.

The mill underwent a series of expansions in the ensuing years, eventually becoming the largest U.S. cotton mill under one roof, according to A.V. Huff’s local history, “Greenville: The History of the City and County in the South Carolina Piedmont.”

It was the “undisputed flagship of Greenville’s major cotton mills,” according to the National Register of Historic Places’ mill nomination form.

The Woodside Mills parent company would also grow, building a mill in Simpsonville and acquiring another in Fountain Inn within its first decade. Woodside Mills eventually included 10 plants at the height of its operation in the 1960s, including ones in Easley, Norris and the state-of-the-art Beattie Plant constructed in 1962.

The Greenville plant remained the largest operation, churning out 40,000 miles of cloth per year, according to “Inside Woodside: The Story of Woodside Mills,” a short company survey published sometime after 1963.

John Woodside would lose control of the business he founded during the Great Depression, and the company became part of Dan River Inc. in 1956.

The West Greenville Woodside Mill operated until 1984, when the once-bustling looms were silenced.

The mill and surrounding village were included on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

The mill was owned and used for a few years in the late-1980s by Stone Manufacturing. It has been owned since 2000 by Armando Delgado, an Atlanta businessman, or by a corporation affiliated with him. It was purchased for $925,000 according to county property records.

A plan was announced in November 2012 to redevelop the empty four-story mill.

Reliance Housing Development, which then had offices in Asheville, proposed a $55 million project to create 300 apartments, as well as commercial space for artists’ studios and galleries, a cyber café, dog park, fitness center, playground, pond and walking trail.

Within months, the plan fell apart.

“Unfortunately, the level of financing available, either through federal, state or local programs, did not make the project feasible,” said Tom Bluth, acting CEO of what is now known as Reliance Housing Foundation.

Several months later, Reliance partnered with St. Louis-based developer McCormack Baron Salazar for a possible resurrection of a Woodside Mills project, according to aGreenville News story at the time. Developers sought to build 138 affordable senior housing units in partnership with Greenville Housing Authority, the story reported.

That plan, too, fell victim to insufficient financing, said a McCormack Baron representative.

Delgado would speak only briefly about Woodside Mill but said his plan remains to sell the property for redevelopment. Talks are currently underway for a possible project, but he would not disclose any details.

Previous project proposals included a request to annex the site, which sits just outside city limits, into the city of Greenville. That annexation was never completed, and city spokeswoman Leslie Fletcher said the city’s planning department is aware of no current redevelopment or annexation plans.

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vicupstate
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I agree that Greenville is not only becoming unaffordable for the working class and lower income workers but even most of the middle class.  At the same time we are spending millions on providing affo

gman430
gman430
vicupstate
vicupstate

The Handee Mart shopping center in the heart of the commercial village (across from the Flat Iron building now under renovation) has survey stakes on every corner of the parcel.  I have also hear

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Greenville City

Greenville

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While I love the idea of the mill being redeveloped, and see it is a huge catalyst for further redevelopment in West Greenville, I question the idea that enough people would be willing to pay the money to live in what is currently a pretty rough area. Sure, there are some cool art studios and other things happening there, but it is largely a not-so-great area where crime has to be a concern. This would be much more of a leap of faith than Mills Mill was when it was built (that area wasn't as bad as West Greenville).

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ausrutherford Burg

ausrutherford

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While I love the idea of the mill being redeveloped, and see it is a huge catalyst for further redevelopment in West Greenville, I question the idea that enough people would be willing to pay the money to live in what is currently a pretty rough area. Sure, there are some cool art studios and other things happening there, but it is largely a not-so-great area where crime has to be a concern. This would be much more of a leap of faith than Mills Mill was when it was built (that area wasn't as bad as West Greenville).

Exactly why any plans will have to include the neighborhood. From what Ive heard, thats exactly the plan being discussed. 

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gvegascple Hamlet

gvegascple

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54 minutes ago, vicupstate said:

Perry Ave and Branwood St.

Does anyone know what is planned for this parcel? 

 

no clue, might make a good spot for something like the Handlebar ( Ha, maybe Platinum Plus is relocating, scary)

I heard a few days ago of a plan change the name of Pendleton St to Main St effectively extending Main St all the way to the struggling arts district and making the new parts of main more live venue friendly. Anyone else hear of this?

 

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gvegascple Hamlet

gvegascple

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12 hours ago, olrob said:

I would say the Arts District is "emerging", not "struggling". Guess it's a glass half full thing...

Just venting I suppose.  Artists dont carry regular hours so they dont make for the best anchor tenants to draw people to the area which is what other shops need to happen to make the area viable.  That and better street scaping and parking which I know is planned. I've been to that part of town on multiple occasions only to find just about every shop closed in the middle of the day.  I've been wanting to see that slice of downtown come alive for so long, its great on first Fridays and I know it will happen, just frustrated at the current pace.  I would love to see even more shops that sold items that were more accessible to those who dont have "art-collector" budgets that could be counted on to be open when you make the trip over there.  Main St had shops like this before rents went up and internet competition drove them away.  Anyway, just really looking forward to seeing this part of town wake up more and thrive.  This could be our "weird" part of town like Athens etc with comic book shops, vintage clothing stores, places that sold vinyl records still.  So much potential....

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distortedlogic Town

distortedlogic

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On 12/1/2015 at 9:19 AM, gvegascple said:

Just venting I suppose.  Artists dont carry regular hours so they dont make for the best anchor tenants to draw people to the area which is what other shops need to happen to make the area viable.  That and better street scaping and parking which I know is planned. I've been to that part of town on multiple occasions only to find just about every shop closed in the middle of the day.  I've been wanting to see that slice of downtown come alive for so long, its great on first Fridays and I know it will happen, just frustrated at the current pace.  I would love to see even more shops that sold items that were more accessible to those who dont have "art-collector" budgets that could be counted on to be open when you make the trip over there.  Main St had shops like this before rents went up and internet competition drove them away.  Anyway, just really looking forward to seeing this part of town wake up more and thrive.  This could be our "weird" part of town like Athens etc with comic book shops, vintage clothing stores, places that sold vinyl records still.  So much potential....

I have trouble understanding this area as well. I love the "quaintness" of it and the character of some of the older buildings, and also the idea that there could be another node of activity within the city. I also applaud the revitalization efforts over the years and the opportunity to expand the city, so I am all for it. BUT, I have no idea how these art shops stay afloat. I NEVER see them open whenever I drive by, and I can't imagine they sell enough of anything to pay rents. Do they get some sort of tax breaks for opening in a "strained" area or grants? If the area could either diversify or become a hub, then it seems like it could draw enought to take off, but it just doesn't seem that way now. 

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