Converse Mill Lofts near completion east of Spartanburg

Dec 19, 2023

Reporter - Spartanburg

SPARTANBURG — Converse Mill Lofts east of Spartanburg is near completion offering a new housing option in an area that is expected to continue to experience growth.

Site work began in May 2021 after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved financing for the project at S.C. Highway 29.

A former mill in Spartanburg County is being redeveloped into 173 loft apartments. The project is scheduled to be complete by late 2023. Chris Lavender/staff

The mill, built in 1896, once employed 1,300 workers and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Flooded in 1903, the mill was rebuilt at the same site near the Pacolet River.

The former textile mill will include 173 loft apartments including one-and-two bedroom units. It's on pace to be completed by late 2023. Natural light through the roof will be used inside the building, and the hallways will be designed to provide more space for residents.

The bricks with paint on them will be kept to showcase the former textile mill's history. Several of the former mill's fire suppression doors are being refurbished and will be included as part of the interior design.

"It's close to being done," developer Britt Weaver said. "We are working around the last shortages of materials and hope to have people moving in by the end of this year."

The windows have been replaced with windows sized to meet historical standards. Parking spaces will be located around the building with 208 spaces for residents, 25 spaces for access to the river and 35 spaces for visitors.

Some of the development's features include a fitness center, outdoor pool area with lounge chairs and pool benches on the sides of the pool, an outdoor grilling area and a dog washing station. A water tower at the former mill site will be renovated with new fencing and shrubs added.

Weaver said walls in the development's common areas were repainted to match the same color used in 1903 and a loading dock at the front of the site was kept to help preserve the mill's history.

"We want residents to feel like they are living in history and that is what this does," Weaver said.

The main five-story building will include 137 loft apartments while the former mill's annex building will have 36 loft apartments. A new roof was installed in 2021. Weaver said artifacts from the mill will be displayed, including a chalkboard from 1965 that kept track of worker's utilization rates.

City Communications and Marketing Manager Christopher George has a personal connection to the former mill. His grandmother Ethel Towery was raised in the former mill village and worked at Converse Mill along with her siblings before moving closer to Spartanburg.

"It was among one of the largest mills in the Spartanburg area," George said. "It was a tight-knit community."

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Reporter - Spartanburg

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