Plaza becoming downtown Greenville tech hub

The Iron Yard's recent relocation has elevated downtown Greenville's tech-savvy, the first of in a wave of software-related companies moving to the third and fourth floors of a Main Street building.

The Bank of America Plaza continues to renovate office space for mostly startup companies with expertise in computer software, coding and programming, and others focused on public relations and hand crafting.

The Iron Yard, a computer code and software teaching company, completed the move in recent days after leasing the entire fourth floor of the 101 N. Main St. building. The change of scenery provides 12,000 square feet of space, four times the space the company occupied inside the NEXT Innovation Center at 411 University Ridge.

More business activity at the Bank of America Plaza complements major public and private renovations on adjoining adjoining properties.

Chamber of Commerce program NEXT also will expand beyond its current University Ridge location to create a significant presence in the 15-floor Main Street building. Methodical Coffee continues renovation on the ground floor of the Bank of America building, which includes a bank branch and TAZ Boutique. Its lure has even convinced the iStore, an existing downtown business, to move less than a half-mile from 550 S. Main St.

Eric Dodds, a partner at The Iron Yard who handles branding and operations, said the Main Street building seems natural for the 2-year-old company's headquarters, a place for long-term growth, along with walkable access to businesses and restaurants.

Employees for the company work at the 10 teaching campuses scattered in cities from Austin, Texas, to Washington, D.C., and Tampa, Fla. The company plans to add up to four new employees to the Greenville location, adding to the 60 employees total.

The move to Main Street offers more than practical benefits and amenities. Dodd sees the new address as having "plenty of elbow room" and as permanent.

"It definitely represents the maturing of the company," Dodds said while showing off the rooms with hardwood floors and natural lighting. "We're really part of Greenville and want to be in the middle of it."

The Iron Yard's relocation also involves subleasing space to three other businesses on the same floor, including special events nonprofit Indie Craft Parade and Haskins PR & Marketing, expected to move in February. The other company hasn't been disclosed.

NEXT's planned workspace on the third floor, expected to open in May, will focus mostly on business support for computer software companies, said NEXT CEO John Moore. NEXT operates as a function of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce to convince innovation-based companies with a national or international scope to choose the Upstate as the headquarters location. It currently serves about 100 companies.

The economic development organization's area inside the Bank of America building will be called NEXT on Main.

NEXT will still have office space at the University Ridge location, which can accommodate work areas for about 25 companies.

"The vast amount of our companies are in buildings all around Greenville and the Upstate," Moore said. "Some want to locate together."

Greenville developer Bob Hughes and other investors bought the Bank of America Plaza about a year ago for $9.8 million.

Hughes Development Corp. owns Project One, separate nine-story and 11-story office towers with ground floor retail space adjacent to the Bank of America Plaza. The One building on Main Street provides retail, office or restaurant space for Anthropologie, Tupelo Honey Cafe, Orvis, Clemson University, Centus, Brooks Brothers, Vann & Liv and Cone & Coleman. The city of Greenville also renovated the former Piazza Bergamo plaza into the $4 million public space now called One Plaza.

Hughes Development Corp. also owns the NEXT Innovation Center on University Ridge, which also leases office space to knowledge-based companies.

Architectural renderings for NEXT on Main show shared areas for companies, separate office space and other perks. Jon-Michial Carter, co-founder and CEO of ChartSpan, a medical application company, said the planned setup for software companies clustered in the downtown building offers synergy and a vibrant downtown scene.

ChartSpan originally located in the NEXT Innovation Center after completing The Iron Yard's digital health accelerator program and plans to follow the company by leasing third-floor space in the Bank of America building.

"For us, it's about culture and it's about feeding from the energy that you get when you're around a lot of smart people, especially engineers, developers and technicians," Carter said.

ChartSpan plans to move in May when NEXT on Main opens and has already started promoting the new location when recruiting new employees.

"Our snazzy, new office is being built in downtown Greenville (May 15th completion date) and will include a gym, cafe, bike barn, coffee shop, lounge ... and is just steps from more than 100 great restaurants located in the downtown district" the company included in an iOS app developer job description posted last week on LinkedIn.

Moore said other NEXT-affiliated companies located elsewhere in Greenville and the Upstate will likely fill vacant space in the NEXT Innovation Center.

"We expect it to be net neutral to the NEXT Innovation Center," Moore said.

However, Moore said companies that locate to NEXT on Main will have access to connect with other companies on a regular basis, business related functions and benefit from potential funding opportunities and resources through NEXT.

Related renovations continue in Bank of America building. Work will likely continue for months on the third floor, while Dodds said he anticipated work in areas leased by The Iron Yard within a month.

Not all changes to the Bank of America building will happen above ground level. Downtown's iStore has already closed its 550 S. Main St. location and plans to open this week next to the Bank of America branch on the first floor.

Two companies not associated with high-tech industries also said their relocation among the tech companies is significant for them, but in different ways. The Indie Craft Parade, the move provides a physical address the nonprofit has never had for planning and logistics related annual handcraft events.

"Basically, this gives us a home base which we've never had!" Lib Ramos, co-founder of the organization told The Greenville News via Twitter.

David Haskins said his public relations business will unveil a website redesign and other significant rebranding to overlap with the move.

Viewing the open space at The Iron Yard's new home, Dodds said he and others still hadn't decided locations where everyone will work.

"We may try several configurations," he said. "We're open to change."