Plans to transform the former site of Union Bleachery into a massive, mixed-use development site are now underway.
The 240-acre site at 3335 Old Buncombe Rd. a few minutes from downtown Greenville has been abandoned for nearly two decades after being partially destroyed by fire in 2003. Now, it is being transformed into an “On The Trail” development district that will combine multi-family residences (garden homes, townhomes, lofts and mid-rises) with retail, office, hospitality, and educational and research campuses.
Project breakdown
- 240 acres
- Multi-family residences
- 100 acres of green space
- 10 miles of trails, including Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail extension
- Potential corporate headquarters
- Retail
- Restaurants
- Hotel Space
The development from Dean Warhaft and Warren Zinn, could run in the $3 billion range and is already bisected by the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail. About 100 acres of green space will allow for a mile-long extension of the trail within the development footprint, thus maximizing the district’s walkability and livability.
“It’s complicated as hell, but we knew if we could get through it, we had so much to tap into here,” said Warhaft.
Today, stepping into the shadows of gutted buildings on site brings its own risks: pipes and metal barbs jut out from graffiti-tagged walls, holes pockmark floors, broken glass glints in the sunlight gleaming through shorn roofs. Meanwhile, the site is contaminated in some areas by environmental toxins, the cleanup of which is its own challenge.
But Zinn and Warhaft see beyond the chaos into a plan that will preserve as much of the original structures as possible, all while cleaning up an area that has been contaminated by hazardous chemicals after the fire.
The plan is to start with multi-family residences and the broader infrastructure of the district, including parks and trails and green space, establishing a bedrock for the development that will then serve to pique the interest of corporate elements. Avison Young is handling the listing of the property.
The design, as it currently stands, is equal parts conceptual and practical, according to Zinn.
“We’re not going to go ahead and build a shell 300,000-square-foot office building and just wait to see if somebody comes, because maybe somebody wants a full research campus and wants, say, four buildings,” Zinn said. “We’re nimble enough that we can accommodate any of those needs, so it’s conceptual but with a pretty good design structure.”
The project will be years in development, with construction set to begin in July or August. The first phase will be the spine road running through the site, while table-topping all the building pads and restoring the streams on the site. That will be conducted in tandem with infrastructure work to ensure proper utility accessibility. The first vertical developments will begin in spring 2023, consisting of multi-family residences.
“In a perfect world, we would be able to find our first cooperate tenants and get them building — or us building for them — at or around the same time,” Warhaft said.
About the developers
Warhaft is a licensed professional land surveyor and real estate development lawyer, while Zinn has years of experience acquiring, developing and managing commercial properties. Both are from Miami, Florida.
