After a long silence, stops and starts and a retooling, the 40,000 square feet of abandoned warehouse space along the banks of the Reedy River and within the future home of Unity Park is coming to life. The Commons, which was first announced in 2015, and set to open in 2018, is different than first envisioned, but it is fueled by the same spirit of community that inspired three friends-turned developers four years ago.

What is being called Phase two of The Commons, which is slated to open to the public in September, is a decidedly local and a decidedly delicious development. Of nine tenants in the 20,000-square-foot building located at 147 Welborn St., five are food and beverage related, all are Greenville grown.

Some have been a part of the project from the beginning, but others are new, and collectively they represent Greenville’s unique creative entrepreneurial spirit.

The owners of The Community Tap will open a second retail and bar location called The Tap Trailside.

Wade Taylor, owner of Bake Room, will move his artisan bakery from The Village of West Greenville, expanding his retail operation tenfold.

Methodical Coffee, which has two locations (downtown and Stone's Point), will move its roasting operations and create a more education-focused public space along with a coffee and food-focused café.

Automatic Taco food truck owners Nick and Chrissy Thomas will open their first brick and mortar, expanding upon their highly thoughtful taco menu with larger plates and smaller ones.

And Alex George, owner and chef of GB&D, will move his restaurant known for inspired familiar food from it's current Village of West Greenville location, expanding on the menu and offering both quick service and full-service dining.

“Everybody gathers around food,” said Drew Parker, a partner in The Commons, along with Rion Smith and Ray Foral. “So it was a natural to say, let’s get the best food we can, and make sure it’s done right.”

Other tenants in the building include: Parker’s The Parker Group, which will move from the building next door, Yield Group, a tech incubator led by Peter Barth and Eric Dodds, X-Agency, a creative marketing and branding firm and Billiam, a custom clothing and accessories company known for its denim and leather products that will move operations from Stone’s Point.

A bumpy start leads to success

On a recent Wednesday afternoon, the storied warehouse building at 147 Welborn Street is taking shape. Windows are in place and interior framing is emerging, revealing the integrated nature of the space itself. Each business will have its own unique area, all of which can be closed and locked, but also open to a common space in the middle.

Given the setup, the mix of businesses had to be unique but symbiotic in spirit, Parker said. The partners sought brands with a proven track record, a commitment to community and who needed more room to grow.

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“I feel like our design has been an amoeba,” Parker said after some thought. “Sure, some of the roads we went down turned into dead-ends, but at the end of the day I think we will come through with the best of a lot of collaboration.”

It wasn’t an easy path to bring The Commons to life. When the three partners purchased the buildings in 2015, they had no idea the city was simultaneously working on plans to tear down the buildings to make way for Unity Park.

Not to mention there was DHEC to work with and FEMA, since the property was considered a flood zone.

“So, there were a lot of challenges to us being here initially,” Smith admitted. “We really had to want it badly.”

While there was a year of uncertainty, particularly with the city, Smith said, slowly, they've overcome each hurdle. Now, Smith considers Mayor Knox White and the City Council integral allies, without which the full vision for The Commons could not be reached.

Currently, the development partners are under contract with the city to purchase two buildings on the end, 159 Welborn Street. They are also under contract to purchase another building on the opposite end that is home to a woodworking shop. Collectively, it would add about 36,000 square feet more.

The Commons partners see opportunity

Some look at challenges as signs to drop everything and move on; The Commons partners chose to see challenges as opportunities. What the delays, the pushback, the changes have meant is an even more thoughtful development, they said, and a perfect mix of tenants, partnership with the city and the county, each of which brings a previously unmatched spirit to the project.

“We’re not trying to tell the same story,” Bill Mitchell , owner of the custom clothing and accessories brand, Billiam, said of his fellow tenants.

Mitchell had no real interest in moving his operations, but he sees something very different in The Commons, particularly because of his fellow tenants and because of the location near Unity Park.

"For me, it’s all giving Greenville a very homegrown retelling of a story in a new way.”

Mitchell, who grew his highly specialized fashion brand from a single sewing machine in his parents’ basement 10 years ago to a multi-person, multi-pronged company, has growth plans for his new home. Those include re-framing the store space to create a more distinct customer experience and expanding the product line to include leather accessories like handbags and wallets, as well as custom t-shirts. made with Carolinas-sourced cotton.

Mitchell also has plans for an activewear line within the next year or two.

Similarly, the owners of Methodical are taking their business in a new direction with their Commons space. The cafe will be heavily focused on specialty coffee from bean to cup, but will also provide a more public space for Methodical's roasting outfit.

Plans call for holding public cuppings and classes there as well.

In addition, Methodical will be growing its food offerings. The company hired a full-time chef in December of last year, Sydney Taylor, who has slowly been crafting a scratch-made menu. Methodical's Commons space, will have a full kitchen and will serve both breakfast and lunch.

"What's cool about this space is all the other people are like minded, and all we knew and were friends with outside of this," said Methodical co-owner, Marco Suarez. "If we could pick neighbors it would be them."

Phase three and the future

If you’re facing 147 Welborn, it’s hard not to notice the buildings to the right of the space. These, collectively known as 159 Welborn, are currently owned by the city, but they will be the home of phase three of the Commons and of Feed & Seed.

Feed & Seed was originally slated to be a piece of Phase Two, including a food hub, a market, a restaurant and a butchery, along with food stalls, but as Smith put it, “our timing didn’t quite line up.”

While the collaborative nonprofit has been out of the spotlight over the last year or so, its leaders have been hard at work, Smith said, and it will play an integral role in making The Commons a space for everyone.

Plans for 159 Welborn include space for more restaurants and offices, as well as more community gathering space. The Commons partners are committed to providing Feed & Seed ample area to set up a market. That market will focus primarily on providing locally grown, fresh products, at a range of price points.

“That is how we hope to keep them involved,” Smith said. “And we hope to create a place where farmers could have a tailgate market that is a little more casual.”

Plans for Phase Three also include creating a health and wellness-focused facility that would service the community at large, no matter socio-economic level, health level or ability level. One piece under consideration is also opening a free medical clinic there.

The Partners of The Commons are in talks with a major partner.

“We want to be good stewards of this neighborhood and do what we can and not just say we’re here deal with it. That’s not what we’re about,” Parker said.

He paused to reflect on the word developer.

“I don’t even like that word, really,” Parker said. “It describes what I guess we do, but it’s been misused, or maybe it’s not been misused, maybe that’s how it is. I don’t know, that’s not who we are.”

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