Three major partners in Greenville’s planned Falls Park Conference District were announced March 12, including a local hotel developer and a Greenville-based bank expanding its headquarters.
The city previously selected The Furman Co. as the project’s master developer. The firm, which is based in downtown’s Falls Tower, will oversee the transformation of about six acres of real estate on the east side of Falls Park into a dynamic, mixed-use district. More than $500 million in public and private investment is expected to develop the area, which will feature meeting, hotel, residential, retail, office and parking components.
Greenville City Council approved agreements to purchase the properties during its March 9 meeting. The land is located along Falls Street and East Camperdown Way, bordered to the north by Vivian Street and to the east by Church Street. Most of the property is currently surface-level parking lots.
The Furman Co. hosted a news conference March 12 to announce partnerships with Auro Hotels and United Community, both based in Greenville, as well as global real estate investment firm Hines. Steve Navarro, president and CEO of The Furman Co., said they sought partners that were not only additive to the project but to the overall Greenville community.
“It’s a momentous occasion for Greenville. Greenville has been talking about this project for over 10 years,” Navarro said.
The centerpiece of the proposed Falls Park Conference District will be a conference center for business meetings and mid-sized conferences. According to the city, the conference center would include approximately 84,000 square feet of total programmed meeting space. Navarro said the single-story center would sit on approximately three of the six acres within the project area.
Greenville-based McMillan Pazdan Smith was selected as the lead architect for the conference center.
The conference center will connect to a high-end hotel tower developed by Auro Hotels. The hotel operator and builder plans to redevelop the Bowater Building and adjacent parking garage bordering Falls Park for the project. It purchased the property featuring the 92,960-square-foot office building at 55 E. Camperdown Way in December 2024.
“Bowater Building will be an extension with the Falls Park Conference District, and we’re excited to be a part of it,” said DJ Rama, president and CEO of Auro Hotels.
Both the conference center and hotel are expected to feature direct entrances to Falls Park. Another component of the proposed development will be adding new public green space to extend Falls Park across Falls Street. Navarro said a half-acre to an acre of green space lined with curated retail is envisioned. The Furman Co. will serve as the retail partner for the development.
United Community also plans to create new Class-A office space for its employees within the district. In 2024, the bank opened its $65 million headquarters at 200 E. Camperdown Way – adjacent to properties being developed. Lynn Harton, chairman and CEO of United Community, said in a statement that the project will strengthen the Greenville community and create a more connected, energized environment for the company’s team.
In addition, the project will include a multi-story residential building with approximately 250 multi-family units developed by Hines. Paul Zarian, managing director at Hines, said the company was thrilled to be invited to join the development team.
“Greenville is a market that we’ve looked at for a long time,” Zarian said. “This was an opportunity not to just participate in one project, but also be part of something that’s bigger than ourselves.”
The city plans to invest an estimated $135 million from visitor-supported revenue sources to build the conference center and a 1,420-space parking garage. Local and state accommodations tax funding, parking revenue and hospitality tax funding would be used to cover the cost of the public infrastructure.
Read more about the Falls Park Conference District
The purchase-and-sale agreements approved by City Council for the approximately six acres have a total value of $26 million. The properties are currently owned by Timberland Holding Company LLC, United Community Bank, Design Development LLC, and Thryothorus Ludovicianus LLC.
The South Carolina General Assembly previously allocated about $19 million to create a conference center in downtown Greenville. Greenville County is not currently involved in the project.
Greenville City Manager Shannon Lavrin said the anticipated year-long design process for the Falls Park Conference District will soon begin and feature opportunities for public engagement. The project is expected to go through the city’s Design Review Board process. Construction could begin in early 2027 with an estimated completion in 2029.
Meeting Greenville’s Need
Creating a conference center in downtown Greenville has been more than a decade in the making. According to VisitGreenvilleSC, nearly 70,000 hotel room nights tied to meetings and events were lost due to Greenville’s inability to accommodate certain business meetings and mid-sized conferences.
By the Numbers – Conference Center
The downtown conference center created as part of Greenville’s Falls Park Conference District would include approximately 84,000 square feet of total programmed meeting space made up of around 55,000 square feet of net rentable meeting space and additional pre-function and circulation spaces. Additional meeting space will also be available in the hotel connected to the conference center.
The center’s meeting spaces will specifically consist of:
- A 30,000-square-foot grand ballroom that could be divided into six spaces
- A 12,000-square-foot junior ballroom
- Breakout meeting rooms and boardrooms
- Flexible pre-function spaces for receptions, networking and registration
Source: City of Greenville
Quotes
“Partnerships, again, are part of the ingredients that made downtown Greenville what it is today,” said Greenville Mayor Knox White.
“This has been almost a year in the making to get us here today, and we’re very excited that we have such a great development team that’s going to make this project a reality for the city of Greenville,” said Greenville City Manager Shannon Lavrin.
“We believe the Falls Park Conference District will transform our downtown and create even more opportunities that support United’s long-term growth – and we’re excited to be part of it,” said Lynn Harton, chairman and CEO of United Community, in a statement.
