Mauldin City Council made a major move on Monday, October 21 toward realizing its long-held vision for City Center when it tentatively selected a firm to redevelop downtown creating an urban core to boost business and enhance community connections.
Council’s selection is contingent upon the sale of ±7.6 acres of City-owned property located within City Center for $3,250,000. First reading of an ordinance authorizing the agreement and the sale of property to Contour Development for the development of City Center was approved by City Council on Monday. Pending second reading approval by City Council, Contour Development will be the City’s developer for the project which is expected to break ground in 2020.
“This is an important first step in achieving the City’s goal of creating a downtown that is anticipated to deliver a mix of development that serves the commercial, office, hospitality, cultural and residential needs of our growing community,” said Mayor Dennis Raines. “The City Center concept has been a vision for the City’s leadership that we have been diligently working to bring to fruition.”
Contour Development is joined by SeamonWhiteside and SVN Blackstream to form the development team on the project. Second reading of the ordinance is scheduled for November 18, 2019. Prior to second reading, a public meeting will be held where the development team will be in attendance to meet City residents and provide conceptual renderings of the development.
“We’ve been diligent in looking for the right development partner and with a matched level of enthusiasm, we feel we found the right one in the combination of Contour Development, SVN BlackStream, and SeamonWhiteside. City Center has been a long-standing vision for City Council and more importantly, the residents we serve, and we are excited about working together to finally make our new live-work-shop-dine-play downtown a reality,” said Councilman Taft Matney, Chair of City Council’s Economic Planning and Development Committee.
The City Center Master Plan was envisioned as a sustainable mixed-use project providing great walkability to connect adjacent sites that include the Mauldin Cultural Center on East Butler Road and the Mauldin Sports Center on City Center Drive. Since the conceptual approval of City Center in 2009, City Council has, strategically, taken steps to lay the framework to facilitate this development project, including the purchase of properties and the implementation of a zoning overlay for the designated ±24 acres that make up the City Center area. In 2017, the future site of City Center was designated as a Multi County Park to encourage additional investment within City Center.
“We are excited to be a part of this project, and our team looks forward to creating a City Center that can serve as a catalyst for continuing the recent economic growth experienced by the City,” says Pete Dedvukaj, CEO for Contour Development..
