GREENVILLE, S.C. — Greenville City Council on Monday gave unanimous approval to spending $10.7 million on land for the Falls Park Conference District, a downtown project the city values at roughly half a billion dollars.
The money will not come from property taxes. It is drawn from the city’s parking fund, which is fed by garage revenue and other parking fees, and it will cover property purchases for the district.
Plans call for a 100,000-square-foot conference center on more than six acres just east of Falls Park. Its main hall would be a grand ballroom of 30,000 square feet, backed by a smaller 12,000-square-foot room. The design also shows two office buildings, an apartment building, street-level shops and an acre of green space.
A new garage of about 1,250 spaces would become the largest in the city. Today the biggest is the Church Street garage, at 978 spaces.
A hotel piece is planned too. Auro Hotels, based in Greenville, aims to remake the old Bowater Building on East Camperdown Way as a JW Marriott, a brand the state does not yet have.
City estimates show the district could bring in more than $37 million in direct spending a year by its fifth year, and close to $63 million in total annual economic output. Councilmember John DeWorken said the visitors it draws would help keep locally owned shops and restaurants on Main Street busy.
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