Greenville abandons big plans to move City Hall. Here’s why and what the SC city will do instead

The city of Greenville has abandoned the idea of moving City Hall from Main Street to a retrofitted office building beside the Reedy River, which has been a centerpiece of Greenville’s redevelopment.

Instead, the city will retain ownership of five to six floors of the 10-story City Hall with the remainder redeveloped for residential, office and restaurant space.

The city has been negotiating with the owners of the former headquarters of Bowater, a pulp and paper company that merged with

Canada-based Abitibi-Consolidated in 2007 to become Resolute Forest Products.

The four-story building has expansive views of the Reedy, Reedy River Falls, and Falls Park, but in the end the price was too high and there was not enough parking. It was built on three acres in 1992 at the end of what is now Liberty Bridge, a one-of-a-kind pedestrian bridge over the Reedy River.

The city had intended to occupy two floors.

At the time the project was proposed , Mayor Knox White called it a “once in a generation opportunity.”

The building was attractive because it would allow for better communication between departments and be more conducive to serving the public.

Now, city departments are spread throughout the various floors.

On Monday, Greenville City Council authorized negotiations to begin with M. Peters Group for the upper floors of City Hall, located at 206 South Main. Initially, the city wanted to sell the entire building to J. Peters for $12.5 million. A new deal is being worked out, according to a city press release.

Several city departments are moving to the new Public Safety and Municipal Complex at 204 Halton Road this fall, which means the city needs less space in City Hall. The departments moving out are police, municipal court, fire administration and a one-stop service center for business licenses and building permits.

The city initially estimated the cost to renovate City Hall at just under $16 million.

City Council chambers, now located on the 10th floor, would be moved to the first floor to allow citizens easier access to public meetings and a larger waiting area.

City departments remaining in City Hall are the Mayor’s Office, City Manager’s Office, City Attorney, Economic Development, Communications & Engagement and Parks, Recreation and & Tourism.

City Hall was built in the 1970s amid a contentious debate over demolishing the historic building built in 1909 by the U.S Department of the Treasury and used as a federal courthouse. City government traded a piece of land for the building in 1938 and used it until the existing City Hall was built next door.