Staff Report
Published July 30, 2012

Chuck Watson, co-owner of West End North LLC, announced plans Monday to renovate a building at 508 Rhett St. in Greenville’s West End.

The 17,000-square-foot building will be renovated for office and retail space and will also include one executive apartment.

The West End neighborhood has become popular for commercial investment, with several apartments and mixed-use developments in the works this summer.

Watson’s building was constructed in 1923 but sits on a foundation that dates prior to 1888. The original wooden structure burned around 1921 with the foundation surviving. West End North acquired the property in December for $515,000, according to Greenville County records.

"Despite heavy industrial use for almost 100 years, it's in relatively great shape and will complement the many other projects under way along Rhett Street and in the West End,” Watson said in a news release.

The building contains architecture and materials dating to the early 1900’s industrial era of the city. Heavy timbers, heart-pine floors, sliding railway loading doors and large-paned windows are intact through much of the building, according to the press release.

Renovation is expected to begin this fall with occupancy by early 2013.