NMTC Case Study for Poe West
May 25, 2021
ProjectDating back to April 12, 1946, the property located at 556 Perry Avenue originally served as the office, yard and warehouse for Poe Hardware & Supply Company – one of Greenville’s first incorporated businesses. Poe Hardware relocated to the site from their downtown Greenville Main Street location in pursuit of affordable space to support expansion. Decades later with the cost of business once again rising in downtown Greenville, many businesses are in search of more affordable occupancy options. The Furman Co. Development, LLC in conjunction with a real estate partnership, Perry Avenue Investors, LLC, spearheaded the renovation of the approximately 57,000 square feet, split between two mid-century buildings, into a thoughtfully planned mixed-use community, Poe West, where existing West Greenville residents together with both existing and new businesses can flourish. The project is expected to create 25 construction jobs and 131 direct permanent jobs in a census tract that demonstrates a poverty rate of 54.30% and an unemployment rate that is 2.07 times the national average. Poe West will be anchored by Greenville Technical College’s Center for Culinary and Hospitality Innovation (CHI). CHI is a collaborative approach that includes private sector, government and education partners working together to bring inclusive economic mobility and workforce development to one of Greenville’s most distressed neighborhoods. CHI will provide a neighborhood-based venue at Poe West to deliver education, job training, and small business and start-up incubator space. CHI’s goals include developing a skilled workforce for Greenville’s rapidly expanding restaurant and hospitality industry and creating pathways for economic mobility for the residents of West Greenville. Training at CHI will be available at no cost or low cost to students through its partnership with SC Works and Greenville Technical College’s Workforce Pathways Scholarships will also be available to students in job training and academic credit programs. The FinancingWith total project costs of $12.6 million, Perry Avenue Investors received $11.5 million in NMTC Allocation from The Innovate Fund, with NMTC equity from Capital One. Project debt was provided by United Community Bank. As a condition of the NMTC funding, the Project Sponsor committed to providing below-market rental rates to locally owned, minority owned, or non-profit owned tenant businesses.
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