Crescent Startup Community designated a national historic site
August 21, 2023
Photo credit: Hartness Development
Crescent Startup Community, a large-scale mixed-use Innovation District that will provide a dedicated space for startups, entrepreneurs, and the development of innovative ideas and projects, announces its designation as a historic site by the State Historic Preservation Office and the National Parks Service. Crescent will sit on seven acres of land on Poinsett Highway and open in late Spring 2024 with the completion of Phase One.
Following a review and approval by the State Historic Preservation Office and the National Parks Service, Crescent will be named to the National Register of Historic Places, which is the official list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation and part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America’s historic and archeological resources.
Crescent’s Historic Location
Crescent’s location on Poinsett Highway is a site rich with innovation history as the former home of the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company. The renovation and historic designation of the bottling facility is Phase One of the project and the restored building, named Crescent One, will be an anchor of the Innovation District.
Led by Thomas S. Hartness, the Pepsi-Cola Bottling Company was a driving force in the bottling industry and overall economic growth of mid-twentieth century Greenville. Hartness was a leader in the Pepsi company, having purchased the Pepsi-Cola Bottling rights in Greenville in 1940, and in technological innovations within the soft drink and bottling industry.
The site was also home to The Piedmont Shirt Factory, which was a hub of the textile industry when Greenville was known as the textile capital of the world. The location of the factory was within the city’s “Textile Crescent,” an area known for its innovation. The Piedmont Shirt Factory is also where Max Heller, an entrepreneur who would later be the mayor of Greenville, first worked as an immigrant from war-torn Austria during the Second World War.
In addition to supporting and retaining the area’s entrepreneurs, Crescent is the start of Hartness Development’s strategy to rekindle and continue the location’s innovation history, attract companies and institutions who can bring opportunities that further build the community, and continue the revitalization 0f Greenville’s Poinsett Corridor.
About Crescent Startup Community
Through Hartness Development’s partnerships with Flywheel, Furman University’s Hill Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and other institutional partners, entrepreneur support organizations, and accelerator programs, Crescent will operate as an Innovation District offering the Upstate’s entrepreneur community opportunities to live, work, play, and innovate in one central space that provides access to all the resources necessary to successfully launch and grow a business venture. This includes connecting early and growth-stage companies with capital, professional services, and universities; supplying coworking, and collaborative common area spaces; and offering special programming such as pitch competitions, educational events, professional networking and mentorship, and entrepreneurship study away programs designed to stimulate ideation and structured development. Crescent will also feature a curated mix of amenities including a fitness studio and an outdoor gathering space and covered entertainment venue.
Crescent will open in late Spring 2024 with the completion of Phase One’s Crescent One building. The remainder of the district will open in phases with new construction and the creation of green space. To inquire about available leasable space, contact Shelby Dodson, Blaine Hart, or Charles Gouch at 864-242-6169.
Crescent Startup Community will be located at 701 Poinsett Highway. For more information on Crescent, please visit www.crescentscgvl.com or contact Fred Dilworth at [email protected]
About Hartness Development
Hartness Development is a collection of experienced planning, design, construction, real estate, and finance professionals who create legacy projects that stand the test of time and seek better solutions for the challenges of today. Hartness, an award-winning urban village located on Greenville’s Eastside and home to the new Hotel Hartness, is the company’s latest project and Hartness Development has also announced Crescent Startup Community, a large-scale mixed-use Innovation District launching on Poinsett Highway in 2024. Hartness Development has experience in commercial, residential, and hospitality projects and combines innovative new ways of financing and designing to bring to life community-minded legacy projects.
