**PEACOCK HOTEL ON 20-MONTH CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE**
-City sees 12-story hotel as Main Street extension-
Mark Kent admits he had no real idea what he planned for the corner of Spring Street and McBee Avenue when he purchased a little less than an acre there three years ago. The site contained a gas station, and the other corners at the intersection featured a bank building, a surface parking and an aging city-owned garage, but Kent knew something grand could happen at the site, and soon came upon an idea.
"Someone said, 'what about a great five-star hotel,' " Kent said. "It went from there." Kent and his business partner Grant Peacock broke ground this week on the 12-story Peacock Hotel and Spa, which should be completed in 20 months, Kent said Wednesday. The luxury hotel will feature 116 rooms, two 1,000-square foot-suites, a full-service spa and restaurant. The top three floors will house 12 condominiums known as 98 East McBee.
The groundbreaking brought out a who's who of the Greenville community and business leaders. Kent led a group of people, including his mother and sister, into a muddy rut of red clay in the middle of the lot. They used gold-colored shovels adorned with large gold bows to dig up the first pieces of dirt.
All the utilities have been moved and grading work will begin next, Kent said. Depending on the winter weather, foundations will follow. The original goal was to open in spring 2008, but Kent admits that is an aggressive schedule. It likely will be closer to 20 months, he said.
Mayor Knox White said hotel construction has often meshed with boom times in downtown. In the 1920s, downtown flourished as hotels such as the Ottoray and the Poinsett opened. The construction of the Hyatt Regency in the early 1980s signaled the start of the downtown renaissance. The reopening of the Poinsett in 2000 led to the latest growth.
The opening of the Hampton Inn and Suites during the summer coincided with the West End revitalization. Developer Bo Aughtry has plans for a hotel at the intersection of Main and Broad Streets, which is about two blocks from the Peacock. There are persistent rumors of other developers looking to add hotels downtown. "This is a bold move," White said.
Hotels are significant developments downtown for several reasons. They help bring tourists who spend what is known as clean money - out-of-town funds spent in restaurants, stores, and on gas. Main Street's renaissance in the last few years has garnered a lot of attention. Many weekends it is tough to find a vacant hotel room downtown because the demand is so high, White said.
In addition, owners of many downtown retail stores say people staying in hotels are the backbones of their business. The Peacock will become a major factor in the growth of downtown. Main Street and the West End are filled with pedestrians most days of the weeks, but side streets and especially the roads that run parallel to Main don't see as much foot traffic.
The idea is the hotel will be an anchor off of Main Street that will send crowds back and forth. The intersection around the proposed hotel site has grown dramatically since Kent bought the land in 2002. The surface parking lot is now a bank building and the old city garage was demolished. It has been replaced by a state-of-the-art facility that includes condos and street level shops know as the Bookends.
__________________
GO CLEMSON TIGERS!!!!
Last edited by g-man435; Dec 3, 2006 at 6:33 AM.
|