The Historic Train Depot building has been sold and a railroad company will become a new tenant.
The 7,442 square foot building at 300 Randall Street was sold for $628,960 to Letchworth Properties, a limited liability company with its agent in Greenville.
Western Carolina Railway Service (WCRS) will become a tenant at a vacant suite on July 1. “I think it’s fitting, with the Depot being a former railroad stop, that a railroad company will become a tenant of the building,” said Robbie Romeiser, a broker with Spencer/Hines Properties in Spartanburg, who handled the transaction.
“The new owner intends to keep the property as a multi-tenant investment property,” said Romeiser.
WCRS will put its Greenville & Western Railway Company and Aiken Railway Company general and administrative offices in Suite A of the Depot.
“We are excited to become a part of the building’s history by returning railroad offices to a building built for that very purpose,” stated Corporation President and CEO Steven C. Hawkins.
Other tenants include Foodies Farm Shop, Sautem Organic Massage, Worldwide Staffing, Some Prix Piercing and La Boutille Wine & Beer Boutique. The depot hosts a farmer market on Thursday.
“While it will take time and significant funding to complete the various stages of restoration to the building, we hope to work with various agencies to pursue all available financial options to make that restoration a reality sooner rather than later,” stated Hawkins. “Although a sizable task, it is an exhilarating prospect to have the opportunity to preserve such a significant piece of railroad and community history.”
The depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Hawkins stated it’s the company’s purpose to continue preservation of the Depot, to its original, as constructed condition.
The depot was constructed in 1913. Charles Christian Hook of Charlotte, N.C., designed the depot as a combination passenger station and freight warehouse for the Piedmont & Northern Railway, later used by the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad, Seaboard System Railroad and finally CSX Transportation, before facing potential demolition in 1984.
County Redevelopment Authority saved the building from demolition and it was sold to Station One Partnership in 1987 and redeveloped as retail and office space.