Greenville Exploring Relocation of Public Works to Former Hitachi Site

GREENVILLE (SC) The City has identified a potential relocation site for its Public Works Operations Center and tonight, City Council will consider a resolution at its regular formal meeting authorizing the city manager to enter into a purchase agreement for the former Hitachi building, located at 575 Mauldin Road. The resolution would authorize payment of a $50,000 refundable deposit and the contract would give the City approximately 45 days to perform its due diligence, including conducting an environmental assessment, developing a detailed financing plan and programming the site to determine the most efficient use of space. If the resolution passes, City Council will make a decision by January 29, and if they decide to proceed with the purchase, the closing will take place within 60 days.

Located on 53 acres, the former Hitachi building is approximately 550,390 square feet, with 40,762 square feet of office space and 509,628 square feet of shop or warehouse space. The purchase price for the City would be $10 million and the site’s convenient location, ample acreage and available square footage would enable the City to relocate Public Works and possibly additional departments and/or divisions.

In 2004, the City was forced to relocate the Traffic Engineering Division from Hudson Street because of flooding, which also affected the Public Works Operations Center, so the City has had an equally pressing need to relocate the Operations Center from its current location in a flood-prone area on South Hudson Street; however, with no suitable existing facilities and with cost estimates of $25-30 million (not including land costs) for construction of a new facility, to-date there have been no viable options.

In addition to relocating Public Works out of the floodplain, the move would also greatly aid redevelopment of the area where the A.J. Whittenberg Academy and Salvation Army Kroc Center are currently under construction.

According to City Manager Jim Bourey, the opportunity to purchase an existing facility at a third of the cost to build a new one is not only a good business deal, but a unique opportunity to save taxpayers’ money. “While City Council’s ultimate decision will depend on our findings over the next 45 days, council members felt that the attractive price of the former Hitachi site and the potential opportunities it offers for streamlining City operations and increasing service efficiencies warranted further exploration,” said Bourey.