Groundbreaking for historic Greenville Summit rehabilitation

The City of Greenville joined development partners, community leaders and residents for a ceremonial groundbreaking at the Greenville Summit, marking the start of a major rehabilitation of the 114-year-old building and the continuation of its longstanding mission to serve seniors with affordable housing. The Summit is located at 201 W. Washington St. in downtown Greenville. (See map below).

The event comes on the heels of City Council’s February 9 approval of a new 20-year Affordable Housing Special Tax Assessment — a move that ensures the Summit will remain affordable through at least 2046 and enables the project’s financing and construction to move forward.

“Today’s groundbreaking shows what’s possible when a city commits to preserving affordability as part of its growth,” said Mayor Knox White. “Earlier this year, Council took an important step by extending the Summit’s special tax assessment for another 20 years — ensuring that seniors can continue living in the heart of our city. This building is a Greenville landmark, but more importantly, it’s a home.”

Built in 1911–1912 as the Imperial Hotel, the Greenville Summit was the city’s first skyscraper and remains listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Over the decades, it transformed from a grand hotel into a 101-unit affordable senior community, where residents pay no more than 30 percent of their income in rent. Last year alone, 381 seniors applied for one of the units; more than 90 percent of current residents earn below 30 percent of the area median income, and roughly 20 percent were previously homeless.

The $10 million rehabilitation project — supported by federal, state and local partners including the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the state’s SC Housing and the City of Greenville — will restore the building’s historic cornice, repoint brickwork, replace windows, upgrade mechanical systems and renovate kitchens, bathrooms and flooring in every unit. It also represents the first time in South Carolina that an existing Bailey Bill tax assessment has been extended to preserve affordable housing.