Poe Mill: Greenville’s Next Big Project

There’s a corner of Greenville that’s been quietly waiting its turn. Wedged between the North Main community and the Swamp Rabbit Trail, just left of 276 on the map (and often mislabeled “Park Place”), sits an old brick relic with a new storyline coming: Poe Mill. The plan on the table is big, cohesive, and—if it follows the pattern of other Upstate mill revivals—transformational.

What makes this different from yet another trendy redevelopment headline is the scale, the timing, and the deliberate tie-in to the Swamp Rabbit Trail. Think homes, food, retail, and bikeable connectivity stitched together, not sprinkled at random. That kind of orchestration tends to pull a neighborhood forward all at once rather than inch by inch.

Poe Mill: Greenville’s next big project is on everyone’s radar

The episode zeros in on a simple truth: almost every area around Poe Mill has already seen dramatic improvement—downtown Greenville, North Main, and the west-side pockets hugging the Reedy River and Swamp Rabbit Trail. Poe Mill (and nearby Brutontown) have felt like holdouts despite being roughly two miles—often less—from downtown. The question hasn’t been if change would reach this pocket; it’s been when and how fast.

That “when” just got an answer. The Greenville County Redevelopment Authority sold the Poe Mill site to Contour Companies, and the “how fast” looks like breaking ground as soon as this summer—not a land-banking exercise, but a move-now plan.

The vision: “The Village at Poe Mill” plus a food hall anchor

The project is ambitious and specific:

• An 11-acre redevelopment at the mill site, branded as The Village at Poe Mill

• Approximately 428 residential units

• Commercial space for shopping and dining

• A spur extension of the Swamp Rabbit Trail that ties the site into the trail network

• A major companion project at 300 Hammond Street by the same developer—envisioned as a food hall (fast-casual to chef-driven stalls, under one roof) with other mixed uses

It’s the same mill-to-lifestyle-hub playbook that worked at places like Mills Mill—repurposing defunct industrial bones into modern living. Only here, the trail connection acts like jet fuel for daily foot and bike traffic.

Location matters: why this pocket is primed

Poe Mill sits right between North Main and the Swamp Rabbit Trail corridor. On good days (and Greenville has plenty), the trail is packed—cyclists, joggers, baby strollers, and destination diners. People go for a ride and come home with a meal, a coffee, or a story about a new place they found along the way. Pulling a spur directly into the heart of the project turns the trail into the neighborhood’s front porch.

And yes, there’s a bit of local lore built in: the Poe Mill Skate Park, a well-loved graffiti-speckled hangout, has been the area’s informal calling card. As the plan moves forward, expect that identity to evolve from “skate park zone” to “mill village with eats, retail, and trail access.”

What this could change (and for whom)

1) Property values and perception

Mill-house streets, tired rentals, and long-held family properties have kept this area in a holding pattern. A coordinated, multi-pronged redevelopment tends to lift both values and expectations—cleaner streets, more eyes on the block, and a clearer sense of place. For longtime owners thinking of selling, that can mean a stronger exit. For landlords, modern demand plus nearby amenities generally support reinvestment.

2) Daily life & mobility

A food hall, local shops, and the Swamp Rabbit spur make short bike rides to downtown feel normal, not novel. That’s a subtle but meaningful shift in how people use the city—work downtown, live near the trail, and opt for spokes over spark plugs.

3) Timeline & momentum

The plan isn’t theoretical. The intent is to break ground quickly. That urgency matters: it compresses “maybe someday” into “watch this year.”

The gentrification question (and the affordability note)

The episode doesn’t dodge the hard part: gentrification will accelerate. In truth, it’s already underway through investor activity, as many long-held properties have been sold to non-owner occupants. New development speeds that process. Rents can climb as demand clusters around lifestyle features like a trail spur and food hall.

There is a workforce housing component contemplated: about half of the apartments are likely to be reserved for residents earning just below the county median income, with estimated monthly housing costs roughly in the $1,291–$1,613 range. That’s the stated affordability guardrail within the project. What market-rate units price at is an open question—and one the market will answer as the neighborhood becomes more desirable.

Why the Swamp Rabbit Trail keeps showing up in this story

The trail isn’t a backdrop; it’s an engine. When a path connects neighborhoods to good food, coffee, and parks, it quietly changes cash flow patterns. People spend where they can stroll or ride. That’s why a spur into the site is more than a nice-to-have—it’s a loyalty loop. Get the loop right, and it sustains the local businesses that make a district feel alive.

Investment lens: reading the tea leaves in Poe Mill

For buyers eyeing the area, the signals are unmistakable:

• Scale: 428 units, plus a commercial and a food hall, is big enough to reset expectations block by block.

• Connectivity: A direct trail spur folds the site into Greenville’s most beloved corridor.

• Proximity: Two miles or less to downtown is an easy bike commute—exactly the use case the plan imagines.

• Sequence: Multiple projects and parcels moving in tandem create a lift that’s hard to generate with one-off rehabs.

If you’ve been waiting for a clear catalyst, this is it.

Community trade-offs: real talk

Revitalization brings what many want—new life for an idled mill, safer streets, retail energy, and public-facing amenities. It also brings harder choices—rising rents, shifting demographics, and a speed of change that can feel destabilizing. The episode acknowledges both realities. The hope is that workforce units, thoughtful planning, and trail-first mobility can widen the on-ramp for existing residents while the neighborhood evolves.

What to watch next

• Shovels in the ground. The earliest visible signal that this is real.

• Food hall tenancy. The better the mix, the stronger the anchor.

• Trail spur execution. Smooth access equals repeat visits.

• Follow-on rehabs. Expect nearby mill houses and small warehouses to jump into the slipstream.

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Bottom Line

Poe Mill: Greenville’s next big project isn’t a one-building bet; it’s a coordinated push—homes, retail, a food hall at 300 Hammond, and a plug-in to the Swamp Rabbit Trail—aimed at converting a long-stalled pocket into a lived-in, biked-through destination. Expect rising attention, rising values, and real debate about affordability. For a part of the city that has lagged while everything around it surged, this is the long-awaited nudge into the future.

Ien Araneta

Journal & Podcast Editor | Selling Greenville