Dallas developer raises Greenville profile

At least eight out-of-town developers have announced projects for downtown Greenville over the past 2½ years, but none is more prominent than Trammell Crow Co.

The Dallas-based firm, which has put The Greenville News property under contract, was founded in 1948 by the late Trammell Crow, a legend in the business whose many high-profile developments include Peachtree Center in Atlanta.

Today the company has offices in 16 U.S. cities and has developed or acquired nearly 2,600 buildings, according to its website.

Its long list of developments includes a two-building, 1.3 million-square-foot complex along Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., a 29-story office tower in Houston occupied by Hess Corp., and an industrial building near Portland that houses The Boeing Co.'s drone subsidiary.

And now Trammell Crow has plans for downtown Greenville.

It is proposing a big mixed-use development on nearly four acres fronting Main Street directly across from the Peace Center and next to Falls Park.

The Greenville News, which has been located on the property since 1937, plans to occupy other space downtown, though it has not yet said where.

Larry Pantlin, managing director in Trammell Crow's Atlanta office, said he wasn't at liberty to disclose details of his company's development plans because talks are at a "very fluid and sensitive point."

But he did say major retailers are involved.

Asked what drew Trammell Crow's attention to the property, Pantlin said, "Certain major retailers in particular have indicated to me some serious interest in this downtown, and that perked me up in a big way."

The proposed development would also include a hotel, offices and housing, Pantlin said.

He also said it has the potential to draw a corporate headquarters and that he hopes to have construction under way by early summer of next year.

"My team and I need to have more conversations with the city, make sure what we have as a vision and a concept squares with their vision and their desires," he said. "I'm very, very sensitive to that."

Pantlin said Trammell Crow was drawn to Greenville by its "special" downtown, its robust business community and its position halfway between Charlotte and Atlanta on Interstate 85. He also said he expects Greenville to benefit from the "reshoring" trend of companies bringing factories back to the United States from overseas.

Market validation

Local developers and an academic expert said Trammell Crow's arrival is a vote of confidence in Greenville's potential by an iconic developer with a national perspective.

"They are really among the brightest real estate minds in the business, and they develop in tons of big markets and have seen a lot of stuff," said Greenville developer Russ Davis, who used to run the Midwest and Northeast operations of Trammell Crow Residential, a different company founded by the late Trammell Crow. "So I would expect whatever they did there would absolutely be a first-class project."

Davis said he figures Trammell Crow Co. wouldn't have put The Greenville News property under contract unless it was already in touch with firms interested in establishing a presence on the site.

"They don't just go out and buy a piece of land and then try to figure out a project on it," Davis said. "They may be representing a core user who is, basically, the investment capital behind the deal and who has a specific use in mind for it. I could be completely wrong about all of that."

Robert Benedict, director of Clemson University's Master of Real Estate Development program, said Trammell Crow comes to town with a national network of companies it has done business with in other markets.

"They certainly have some relationships with major hotel operators," he said. "They're attuned to what is going on with office tenants on a national platform, and that's true also with retail."

Conference center?

Greenville Mayor Knox White, speculating about what might be part of the development, said he thinks one of the missing pieces downtown is an entertainment option such as a movie theater or bowling alley.

White also said the city would be happy to see more "destination retail" along Main Street and would cooperate with Trammell Crow to bring a major corporate office to the property.

"That would be a real home run," White said.

Asked about talks between Greenville city and county about developing a downtown conference center, White said he could see the proposed meeting facility being part of the Trammell Crow development in conjunction with a "headquarters" hotel that would handle food service.

White said he envisions the conference center hosting business and nonprofit association meetings, but not certain kinds of events that take place now at the TD Convention Center such as home and garden shows and car shows.

"We have not had any discussions with Trammell Crow, but if they're looking at a hotel, I would think they would want to talk about whether or not that might fit into our thinking about a conference center," White said.

Other out-of-town developers

At least seven other out-of-town developers have announced major projects for downtown over the past 2½ years.

The Beach Co. of Charleston is building, or planning, apartment complexes combined with commercial space and parking garages at two sites: the corner of Church Street and University Ridge and the corner of North Main Street and Stone Avenue.

Also active downtown are developers from North Carolina and Georgia.

Three Charlotte developers are building, or have announced, apartment complexes at the corner of Rhett and Wardlaw streets, the corner of River and Rhett streets and along East Broad Street near the headquarters of the Elliott Davis accounting firm.

One Georgia developer plans an Aloft Hotel along Washington Street and another, an apartment complex just across the Reedy River from Linky Stone Park.

At another downtown site, where Memorial Auditorium stood until 1997, a national apartment developer from Phoenix announced, then backed away from, plans for a four-story complex.

Despite the interest shown by outside developers, Greenville is not a significant market for most big institutional real estate investors, according to local developer Bogue Wallin.

Wallin, who used to manage the South Carolina portfolio of Liberty Property Trust, a real estate investment trust from the Philadelphia area, said Trammell Crow's arrival validates downtown's revitalization.

"But we have not shown up on the institutional investors' radar screen yet in a significant way," said Wallin, now a principal in Blue Wall Real Estate.

He noted that Highwoods Properties, a real estate investment trust based in Raleigh, recently finished selling nine office buildings it owned in Greenville's suburban market.

"By selling here, they're telling you they can do better in other markets," Wallin said.