Greenville project rising on ruins of controversy

Two national retailers may soon open stores at a downtown site where a controversy over historic preservation came to a permanent end with the demolition of two buildings dating to the 1800s.

Developer Stephen Mack said he expects the retailers to take space in a four-story building he's planning at the intersection of South Main and River streets in the West End. He made way for the development this month by demolishing the older buildings.

Greenville architect Jeff Dishner called the loss of the historic buildings a "tragedy."

"Those were architecturally significant buildings, historically significant buildings," said Dishner, one of two members of the city's Design and Preservation Commission who voted against the development plans in 2008.

Historian and Furman University professor Judy Bainbridge said the buildings, constructed in 1870 and 1882 to house stores, were among the oldest in Greenville, and she called their demolition a "major loss."

Still, Bainbridge said the buildings were deteriorating and that renovating them "would have been extremely expensive."

"Assuming that money is your prime concern, the expense would probably never have paid for itself, although it would certainly have added value to the West End," Bainbridge said.

The buildings were so-called "contributing" buildings to the West End Commercial Historic District, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Concerns about preserving them figured in two votes against the development plans by the Design and Preservation Commission.

Mack said the buildings had structural problems and that renovating them wasn't economically feasible. He took the issue to court before negotiating a revised version of his plan with commissioners.

Demolition crews are searching through the rubble for bricks to incorporate into the interior of the new building.

Dishner said the city needs to have a "demolition by neglect" rule that would bar owners of historic buildings from letting them fall into disrepair. He is no longer a member of the Design and Preservation Commission.

Brad Sauls, supervisor of registration, grants and outreach at the State Historic Preservation Office, said historic districts such as the one in the West End can be removed from the National Register of Historic Places if they lose the qualities that made them eligible to be in it in the first place.

In the 21-property West End district, "The loss of one or two buildings is very unfortunate but probably not enough to justify removal from the National Register," Sauls said. He said there is no formula for determining "how much demolition is too much."

Mack said the retailers, neither of which is a restaurant, would occupy about 12,000 square feet of space in the building. He plans to construct it in the second half of this year on the prominent corner across from a statue of baseball legend Shoeless Joe Jackson.

He declined to identify the retailers but said they would likely announce the new stores in June.

Property owner Jeff Zaglin couldn't be reached for comment.

This story was originally published January 23, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Greenville project rising on ruins of controversy."