Greenville City Hall closed its doors this week for a renovation expected to cost $35 million and take more than two years, sending council meetings and city departments scattering to temporary homes around downtown. The 53-year-old, 10-story building on South Main Street held its final council meeting Monday night before crews move in to begin gutting the inside.
According to The Greenville News, the building opened in 1973 and has served as the council's meeting place ever since. That run paused Monday, when council member Lillian Brock Flemming, who has served on council for 46 years, told colleagues the meeting marked a new beginning. City offices have since moved temporarily to the NoMa Square office building at 220 N. Main Street, and starting November 9, council meetings will be held at the Greenville Convention Center at 1 Exposition Drive.
Councilman John DeWorken said the aging tower needs substantial work and that employees deserve a good workplace. He added that the renovated building is intended to help the city recruit and retain talented workers and deliver very good services to citizens. City officials have also framed the project as a chance to give City Hall a more welcoming presence on Main Street.
What's Actually Changing Inside
The renovation will include interior demolition during its first months, with exterior work expected to begin in mid-2027, per the city. The project's most visible shift may be where the public actually watches government happen: renovated council chambers will move from the 10th floor down to the first floor, replacing the setup that's been in place since the building opened.
City officials say putting chambers at street level will make public participation in meetings more accessible, a goal echoed in earlier coverage from Greenville Online, which reported the broader project is estimated to cost between $35 and $40 million. That outlet's earlier reporting described construction starting in early 2027 and wrapping by the end of 2028, while the city's new design pairs a rear addition housing the first-floor chambers with a modernized glass facade replacing the building's current dark exterior.
Design Still Taking Shape
Not every detail has been locked down. The Post and Courier reported that renderings shown earlier this year were not final and were expected to change before further review. Those renderings did show an addition on the building's rear creating space for the new first-floor chambers. The Design Review Board later approved designs for the 10-story building, according to WSPA.
Money has moved in stages. The Greenville Journal reported that city council gave final approval to appropriating $3 million from the capital project reserve fund, covering design, engineering and other startup costs. That outlet also reported that Greenville-based DP3 Architects was hired as project architect, with Reeves Young LLC brought on as construction manager; DP3 has said on its own site that it is partnering with Perkins & Will on the project.
The city hasn't nailed down a final construction price tag. The Upstate Business Journal reported that final construction costs for the project have yet to be determined, even as other estimates have put the range at $35 million to $40 million. Reports have also varied slightly on the building's exact age, with some describing it as 53 years old and others as 54, though all agree it dates to 1973.
A Similar Playbook Up North
Greenville isn't the only city betting on a gutted-and-rebuilt civic headquarters. In Moorhead, Minnesota, city departments only just began moving back into their own City Hall from a temporary location this month after a $21.5 million renovation and addition, according to Inforum. That building had closed in October 2024 while a neighboring mall was demolished, and its council kept meeting elsewhere, at the Hjemkomst Center, while the work finished. Moorhead's finished building now includes a first-floor service desk where residents can access all city services in one stop, a layout echoing the accessibility goals Greenville officials have cited for their own project.
Back in Greenville, the plan calls for floors one through six to house city departments once renovated, while upper floors are being held for future growth or potential tenant rental space. For now, the focus is on survival logistics: city staff settling into NoMa Square, council preparing for its first Convention Center meeting, and a decades-old tower on Main Street bracing for demolition crews.
