Greenville poised to realize a long-held dream — with a $500M price tag. Here’s what to know

If you think downtown Greenville is built out, think again.

Greenville City Council took the first steps toward redevelopment of what is essentially a large parking lot a couple of blocks from City Hall for a conference center, hotel, restaurant, residential, retail district and a new gateway to Falls Park.

The council approved $26 million to purchase four tracts totalling six acres on Falls Street, which is adjacent to the Camperdown development on the site of the former Greenville News building.

It is tentatively called Falls Park Conference District and is estimated to be a $500 million project at build out.

The various tracts are owned by Timberland Holding Company, United Community Bank, Design Development and Thryothorus Ludavicianus.

“It fits what downtown Greenville is all about, with the water and the trees, the park space,” Mayor Knox White said in a news release. White has worked for more than a decade to get a convention center downtown.

He said the hotel conference center will be operated by a luxury hotel that will be announced soon.

It will be larger than the conference center at the Hyatt and smaller than the 400,000 square-foot Greenville Convention Center, which is about 3 miles away from downtown on Pleasantburg Drive.

The city will use income from bonds against hospitality tax, state and local accommodations tax, parking revenues, and, possibly cash on hand to pay for the land.

“The conference center will support small business,” Councilmember John DeWorken said during the council meeting Monday when the land purchase was approved. “Our Mom and Pops are going to thrive.”

Council member Tina Belge said, “I’m excited about the concrete that we are turning into active green space.”

Mayor Pro Tem Dorothy Dowe called it a “real game changer for Greenville.”

Greenville’s downtown revitalization began with a reimagining of its Main Street streetscape in 1979 and continued with city-private investment of hundreds of millions of dollars. Several major developments included the Hyatt, the Peace Center, Falls Park, Fluor Field baseball stadium. Numerous hotels have been built as have condominiums and apartment complexes.

This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 6:00 AM.