The city of Greenville cut the ribbon on its new downtown civic design center on May 12.
The Greenville Civic Design Center is located on the ground floor of the former Wells Fargo Center at 15 S. Main St. It houses the offices of the city’s Planning and Development Department.
Greenville City Manager Shannon Lavrin said the civic design center aims to be a welcoming space to foster creativity and connection with the community. Residents, business owners and construction professionals are invited to visit the center with questions or to discuss future projects and plans with staff.
“This space will be an information hub and community resource for best practices in planning and design,” Lavrin said.
Greenville Mayor Knox White and Lavrin visited other design centers in the Southeast, including those in Charleston and Chattanooga, to gather inspiration for the Greenville Civic Design Center. The city leased the 6,132-square-foot downtown office space for the civic design center in 2025.
City staff collaborated with DP3 Architects, PMC Furnishings, LCK and Rescom Construction to create the civic design center. It features flexible meeting spaces and seating areas, along with private workspaces for staff.
The Greenville Civic Design Center will also host the city’s project preview meetings starting in May. The monthly meetings provide an opportunity for the public to learn about proposed planning and development projects in the city.
“This is supposed to be a place where you kind of take a step back…and look at the big picture of where we want to go next,” White said. “I can’t think of a better motto that perhaps ought to be emblazoned on the wall than, ‘What’s next?’ That this be a place where that question is asked every single day.”
Office hours for the Greenville Civic Design Center will be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. For more information, visit greenvillesc.gov/2762/Civic-Design-Center.
