‘First of its kind’ hotel in downtown Clemson coming to life
January 27, 2020
Clemson, S.C. — The newest upscale boutique hotel is coming to life in Clemson, South Carolina. Mashburn Construction broke ground on the new building on November 14, 2019. Since then, Mashburn crews have been working on site to construct the 67-room hotel. The building will be located at 389 College Avenue in downtown Clemson.
The historic ground-breaking event featured a casual facilitated ‘fire-side chat’ with key stakeholders and local leaders including the CEO of Mashburn Construction, Paul Mashburn, the Mayor of Clemson, Head Football Coach Dabo Swinney and his wife Kathleen, the Dean of the College of Education, George Petersen, ClemsonLIFE leaders Joe Ryan and Erica Walters, and Shepherd Hotel Founders and partners, Rick Hayduk and Rich Davies. Topics addressed included the architecture and design of the hotel, the restaurant and hotel amenities, the unique staff, which will be anchored by the ClemsonLIFE students and the sponsor groups who have brought the hotel to life.
Mashburn was selected to construct the Shepherd Hotel due to the general contractors’ ability to work within and around a complicated site. The project has no area for laydown and equipment. Additionally, the building is located only 8 inches from the property line. The Mashburn team has worked closely with the community and merchants surrounding the downtown property to communicate construction plans and schedule.
Berry Ponder, Vice President of the Upstate Division for Mashburn Construction says, “Mashburn Construction is honored to be leading the construction of this truly remarkable project. The Shepherd Hotel will have a positive impact on the community in many ways. This is one of several projects we are currently constructing out of our new satellite office located in Downtown Clemson.”
The Shepherd Hotel is sponsoring the Clemson LIFE program by offering collective employment to their students and alumni, continuing to foster the caring, family culture embraced by the university and the city. These special people with a special gift of hospitality will represent most of the employee base. The hotel will be the first hotel in downtown Clemson and the first of its kind in the country to partner with a college program that engages those with intellectual and developmental challenges.
The 50,738 SF hotel, its lobby restaurant, terrace bar and rooftop event space are scheduled to open in the Summer of 2021. Following an immersion initiative to connect with community residents and businesses, the hotel’s architecture and interior design were meticulously crafted to celebrate southern hospitality and the culture of Clemson family, an aspect Mashburn embraces and supports through their vision of “building better communities”.
Mashburn Construction
Construction is a full-service construction company providing construction management, design-build, preconstruction and general contracting services. For over four decades, the company has exemplified Building with Integrity by providing superior service and quality to clients across many markets. Headquartered in Columbia, Mashburn also has offices in Charleston, Greenville, and Myrtle Beach, SC. For more information, please visit www.MashburnConstruction.com.
