Jim Fair
100 Trade Street is undergoing a $200,000 upfit with two offices on the first floor and two residences on the second floor.
Jim Fair
Completion of the upfit at 100 Trade Street, by ALA Constructive and Restoration, is expected to be completed in the summer.
Two business offices on the first floor and two upstairs residential apartments – one studio and a one bedroom unit – are being constructed at 100 Trade Street.
“All this is purely market driven,” Jay Arrowood, of ALA Constructive and Restoration, said. “There is a demand for residential space and there’s a demand for office space and that is what the market is providing right now.”
Brian Martin, an attorney at 212 Trade Street, rents two apartments above his office. Both units are leased virtually year-round. Only days separate vacancies from occupants.
“That’s what the owners hope for,” Arrowood said. “Those residential places are great for young folks wanting to be around downtown.
By the end of this year there will be nearly a dozen residences in the central business district.
“It’s about quality of life. You go into an area where there may be (older) folks and they want to be able to walk to restaurants, maybe do a little bit of shopping and go to the park,” Arrowood said. “You can possibly work in downtown Greer and not have to commute. It’s generally everything you can find in a well-rounded city.”
Downtown Greer’s revitalization has captured the imagination of business owners and government and economic leaders.
The city of Greer has invested $1 million in replacing aging infrastructure, contributed $50,000 to the Greer Station Association for the beautification of downtown and the Partnership For Tomorrow, a think tank of leaders steering Greer’s future, announces its 2030, 15-year plan, next Thursday.
The $200,000 renovation at 100 Trade Street will continue the integrity of the historic district. David Langley, the project’s architect of Langley and Associates, is a member of Greer’s Architectural Board of Review.
“There has to be a little research done when you work in a historical environment,” Arrowood said. You want to try to match up the exteriors to what they were.”
The earliest historical reference to the property dates to 1890-1910. It shows a brick building and to its left a wooden house with wide sidewalks and poles to secure horses. “The brick building appeared to be mixed use with some sort of market on the first floor and residences on the second,” Arrowood said. “It’s the same kind of cycle coming around again in Greer."
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