Poe West

Dating back to April 12, 1946, the property located at 556 Perry Avenue in the heart of West Greenville 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 again in search of more affordable options. The Furman Co., Development LLC in conjunction with a real estate partnership, Perry Avenue Investors, LLC, spearheaded the renovation of 57,277 sq. ft., split between two mid-century buildings, into a thoughtfully planned mixed-use community where existing West Greenville residents together with both existing and new businesses can flourish. 

Through an $11.5 million investment from The Innovate Fund, the $12.6 million project supports 25 construction jobs and 131 direct permanent jobs in an Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) Distressed Area that demonstrates Poverty rate of 54.30% and an unemployment rate that is 2.07 times the national average. 

Poe West is 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 provides 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. 

Poe West also has a variety of other tenants supporting the space such as Brains On Fire (a marketing company), 6M City (a fast growing news organization), and ShineOM (a yoga studio). 

“When we acquired the property, Poe West was imagined to offer unique and creative space to some of Greenville’s innovative non-profit and locally owned businesses at affordable, below market rental rates. We also wanted to carefully plan for a healthy mix of user types, trying to be sensitive to the unique eco-system of the Village and surrounding community. The New Markets Tax Credit program was instrumental in our ability to meet that goal.” 

– Steve Navarro, President of The Furman Co. Inc (Developer) and Manager of Perry Avenue Investors, LLC (Owner)