Massive Changes For Greenville SC's $2.6 BILLION Downtown Plan

Right now, more than $2.6 billion in development is moving at the same time across three big projects in Greenville: Bolden Street District on Laurens Road (roughly a billion dollars of investment), the Falls Park Conference District (a public-private deal worth more than $500 million), and County Square on the south side of downtown (around $1.1 billion). County Square is the furthest along of the three, Falls Park moves the slowest, and Bolden Street is a 10 to 15-year build. Together they bring hotels, housing, brand new districts, a Whole Foods, and South Carolina's first JW Marriott. Being close to all this cuts both ways, because living near something announced and living near something open are two different experiences, and the gap between them can run years. If you own near any of these and you're thinking about making a move in the next few years, timing is the whole ballgame, so reach out and I'll give you a straight answer on what makes sense.

Here's the whole breakdown, all three of the big developments and what they mean for your house if you own anything close to them:

Bolden Street District is the biggest of the three by land size, and it will bring together roughly a billion dollars of investment. Six months ago, though, it barely showed up on anybody's radar.

On September 23, Verdae Development broke ground. No golden shovels either. They took sledgehammers to concrete slabs on the old Sam's Club lot, and it covers 92 acres.

It runs down the east side of Laurens Road from around Haywood Road past Verdae Commons, backing right up to the Swamp Rabbit Trail. The first neighborhood is Bolden Square, about 30 acres around Verdae Commons Drive, running from Big O Dodge down to Marketplace Shopping Center. SeamonWhiteside is the firm prepping that first phase.

Here's the timeline as it stands:

• Demolition: runs through the end of this year
• Infrastructure: starts early in 2027
• Pad sites for buildings: should be ready by the end of 2027
• Residential: the master plan outlines residential phases, with some of those multifamily residences targeted to become move-in ready around 2028

The full district is a 10 to 15-year build across 3 neighborhoods, with shops, restaurants, entertainment, grocery options, and medical and professional offices in the plan. No grocery store or anchor tenant has been named out loud yet, though.

How are the Laurens Road roads and utilities being paid for?

The city's been working on Laurens Road itself, and that matters as much as the buildings do. As always, I'm sticking to policy only, not politics.

Back in December of 2024, council created a 223-acre tax district between Haywood Road and Verdae Boulevard. The developer pays for the public roads, utilities, sidewalks, and trail access up front. The city buys that infrastructure back later with bonds, paid down out of the new tax money the district brings in.

How does the Swamp Rabbit Trail fit in?

Close to a mile and a half of this property fronts the Swamp Rabbit Trail, and the Legacy Connector spur is already built and open.

The bet is whether a car-first stretch of Laurens Road can turn into somewhere you'd actually walk on a Saturday. Call it a city within a city. Nobody's going to know for a long while.

What makes this exciting is that we're starting to see Greenville develop these districts around the city and the city proper, much like you'll find in larger metros like Charlotte, which has NoDa, Plaza Midwood, South End and more. This district, the West End, and the other two projects in this post are bringing more of those districts to life.

The Falls Park Conference District is technically the newest of the three, and it's where the big brand name news dropped.

Auro Hotels is turning the Bowater Building into South Carolina's first JW Marriott: 335 rooms, food and drink spots, a rooftop bar, and terraces looking right out over the Reedy River and Falls Park. That's Marriott's top tier, and no other city in this state has one. For a market our size, that says plenty about where Greenville sits now.

How is the city paying its share?

When I talk about how the city is paying its share, I'm sticking to what the policy does and leaving the politics alone.

The whole district is a public-private deal worth more than $500 million. The city's piece runs around $135 million, and it comes out of accommodations tax, hospitality tax, and parking money.

City Council signed off on the development agreement with The Furman Co. for the conference center, garage, park space, and other public infrastructure. The city also approved purchase agreements for about 6 acres on the east side of Falls Park for around $26 million.

What's in the Falls Park site plan?

On September 22, we finally got to see the site plan. It includes:

• A conference center
• The hotel
• Around 250 residences
• 2 office buildings
• Retail
• Green space
• A garage with more than 1,200 spaces
• A skybridge tying the hotel to the conference center

What's the timeline for Falls Park and the JW Marriott?

A site plan and a permit are two different animals. The designs still have to clear the city's Design Review Board.

Site permits are expected in January or February, with site demolition starting by the end of this year, and utility work right behind it.

The hotel runs on its own clock. Construction is aimed at the middle of 2027 and takes 18 to 24 months, which puts you at 2029 if the approvals land on time.

Why build a conference center at all?

VisitGreenvilleSC says Greenville's lost close to 70,000 hotel room nights over the past three years from meetings we couldn't host. The city's been chasing that for more than a decade, and this is the swing at it.

This one moves the slowest of the three, and it's got the most partners attached to it. I'll keep the channel updated as pieces get approved.

County Square is the furthest along of the three, and it's got the most news. This project runs around $1.1 billion, and it sits on the south side of downtown Greenville, close enough to walk to the West End.

If you've driven University Ridge the last couple of years, you've watched a whole lot of nothing apart from the new county building and parking garage. Fences, dirt, trucks, repeat. That's because so much of the early money went underground where you can't see it.

City staff told council in August that the roads and utilities inside the site wrapped up back in March. That's what clears the way for real buildings.

Phase one is 10 mixed-use buildings and 3 parking decks. The county administrator put a roughly 3-year clock on it. I want to be careful there, though. That's phase one only, not the whole thing.

When is Whole Foods coming to County Square?

Whole Foods is the piece a lot of people are watching. The lease is real, the store is coming, but nobody's given us an opening date for the whole development. RocaPoint told city officials that Whole Foods starts building when some of the other buildings do, and those are sitting on design approval and permits.

Who else is leasing at County Square?

On the leasing side, the county said about 200,000 square feet of retail space is leased, with 36 retail tenants and 2 office tenants in negotiation across it. Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn are the other names that keep coming up.

That tells you how the mix is being planned: groceries and lifestyle brands, not the tourist stuff.

A 155-room hotel, a condo project, and a build-to-suit office building are all sitting at the letter of intent stage. That means they're talking. Nobody's pouring footings yet.

What can you actually see at County Square today?

Here's where it hits home for you. Solaire is the townhome community on that site, and the city reported 16 homes in phase one already presold. That's the one piece of all this you can go put your eyes on today.

There's a public garage going up on Howe Street too, aimed at the West End and the Fluor Field crowd. It's due around May of next year. You don't build a garage that size for a project that's falling apart. I'll be straight with you, though: that garage has already slid. The first target on it was early 2026, so let's see how that goes.

What does County Square mean if you own nearby?

If you own around University Ridge, the West End, or Augusta Street, you're getting a grocery store, shops at street level, and new neighbors within an easy walk. You're also getting years of trucks while it happens.

Put all three side by side, and more than $2.6 billion is moving at the same time. In a city our size, that doesn't happen often, so for Greenville, having projects this big moving at once is a huge deal.

For some context, and this sits apart from these developments, Greenville County booked $725 million in announced investment and 1,293 new job opportunities in 2025. Those are countywide wins, and those jobs didn't come from these 3 projects.

Is this a supply shock for Greenville housing?

On housing, you could call this a supply shock: thousands of homes landing on top of folks still moving to the Upstate. What I'm seeing is more of a long build. Those homes get phased in over many years, and Bolden has the longest runway of the bunch.

What will Whole Foods and a JW Marriott do for nearby values?

On retail, big names like Whole Foods and a JW Marriott usually pull other tenants in behind them. Nobody can measure what that does to rents or nearby values yet, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise.

What about traffic and infrastructure?

The thing I'd keep an eye on is infrastructure. New roads, sidewalks, and garages are going in alongside all this. But Laurens Road, Church Street, University Ridge, and Falls Street are all going to get tested while County Square and Bolden Street are tearing up ground and Falls Park is getting ready to join them.

Should you sell now if you live near one of these projects?

Being close to all this cuts both ways. Living near something announced and living near something open are two different experiences, and the gap between them can run years.

So if you own near any of these and you're thinking about making a move in the next few years, timing is the whole ballgame. I track which phase is funded, permitted, and under construction, because that's what a buyer's going to ask you about when your house hits the market.

There are three things worth keeping an eye on:

1. County Square: the first mixed-use buildings coming out of the ground, and a real construction and opening schedule from Whole Foods.
2. Falls Park: clearing design review and pulling those site permits in January or February.
3. Bolden Street: the first pad-ready sites at the end of 2027, and the first partners they name for that grocery and retail lineup.

What are the three big developments in Greenville, SC?

Bolden Street District on the east side of Laurens Road (roughly a billion dollars of investment), the Falls Park Conference District (a public-private deal worth more than $500 million), and County Square on the south side of downtown Greenville (around $1.1 billion). Together, that's more than $2.6 billion moving at the same time.

When will the JW Marriott in Greenville be built?

Hotel construction is aimed at the middle of 2027 and takes 18 to 24 months, which puts you at 2029 if the approvals land on time. The designs still have to clear the city's Design Review Board.

When is Whole Foods opening at County Square?

The lease is real and the store is coming, but nobody's given an opening date for the whole development. RocaPoint told city officials that Whole Foods starts building when some of the other buildings do, and those are sitting on design approval and permits.

Is there anything I can actually see today?

Yes. Solaire is the townhome community at County Square, and the city reported 16 homes in phase one already presold. That's the one piece of all this you can go put your eyes on today.

Will these projects raise home values nearby?

Big names like Whole Foods and a JW Marriott usually pull other tenants in behind them, but nobody can measure what that does to rents or nearby values yet. Living near something announced and living near something open are two different experiences, and the gap between them can run years.

How is the city paying for its part?

For Falls Park, the city's piece runs around $135 million, and it comes out of accommodations tax, hospitality tax, and parking money. For Bolden Street, council created a 223-acre tax district in December of 2024. The developer pays for public roads, utilities, sidewalks, and trail access up front, and the city buys that infrastructure back later with bonds, paid down out of the new tax money the district brings in.

Did the 1,293 new jobs in Greenville County come from these projects?

No. Greenville County booked $725 million in announced investment and 1,293 new job opportunities in 2025, but those are countywide wins, and those jobs didn't come from these 3 projects.

If you're ready to list now or you want to know what your house is worth with all this going on around it, reach out. Email us at [email protected], or call or text at (864) 688-9738. We'll look at your situation and give you a straight answer on what makes sense.

If you want to keep going on new developments, this video covers another kind of change that'll impact anyone who's driving around Greenville.

As always, I'm Will Sawyer, your friend in real estate. Until next time, stay safe.