Endowment Deepens Roots in Greenville

First generation Turkish immigrant Alex Kiriakides opened his Little Princess Restaurant in Greenville in 1975. For more than 15 years it was an icon for the breakfast and lunch crowd in a small city with relatively few eating establishments. What once was an easy-to-access restaurant location became a hard-to-enter site as highways were realigned. In 1990 the Little Princess closed for the last time. The building that had housed a once vibrant eatery sat vacant for more than two decades. Poor access and zoning changes seemed to doom the location to remain just another deteriorating eyesore. But then something changed.

On June 1, 2011, the U.S. Endowment for Forestry and Communities opened its new headquarters in the repurposed building. The added space – double that of the organization’s previous leased space just a half block away –better meets the needs of Greenville’s largest foundation.

Doing Well While Doing Good
The long-vacant restaurant building sitting on a quarter-acre along the city’s primary gateway offered the Endowment the chance to advance three causes with a single action: 1. Better meet space needs of the growing organization; 2. Live the organization’s values by showcasing sustainably produced wood products and an environmentally-friendly footprint; and 3. Give back to our hometown through rehabilitation of a highly-visible property.

Meeting Space Needs While Stewarding Financial Resources
The Endowment’s leased space served the original three employees well for four years. But, with the addition of two new team members and a continuing commitment to an Internship Program, there was little question that added space was a must. The new plan doubles to 2500 the Endowment’s space. A dedicated conference room, break space, and adequate room for all of the team, is welcome by all.

But what of the decision to purchase versus rent? Is that a good decision for an Endowment that should be focusing its resources on mission? The Endowment’s staff and Board studied and debated that issue long and hard. We believe the decision to purchase is extraordinarily sound on a number of fronts.

First, rented space still costs money and it is rarely configured or flexible enough to meet an organization’s needs. That’s surely been the case for the Endowment. While we looked at many options, few fit well and many came with high per foot price tags and added costs for parking. Too, leased facilities often necessitate fairly frequent moves either to meet the organization’s changing needs or to address plans of the landlord. Moves are highly disruptive and extremely expensive.

Second, the Endowment was able to not only take advantage of deeply depressed real estate prices but to also help pump needed jobs and cash into the local economy as part of the rehab initiative. Low interest rates made a loan even more attractive than using funds from the Endowment’s corpus. In fact, monthly mortgage payments will be less – about 23% less on a square foot equivalent basis – than renting even if the Endowment could have obtained similar sized space at the same attractive rate. But, there is a significant upside. In 15 years the Endowment will own the building free and clear and one would expect that its value would be significantly greater than the purchase price. So, on the numbers side alone, purchase was clearly the better option.

Living Light on the Land
The opportunity to repurpose and bring new and better life to an old building, has been greeted with excitement by staff and the community. Rather than implode the old structure we opted to reuse and recycle all that we could to reduce our overall impact on the environment.

On the “reuse” side after assessing the value of old cooler units and kitchen equipment, we opted to donate most of the fixtures to a family-owned restaurant – Manna Deli – that was relocating and rehabbing its own facility. We retained a few items for our own use. We also opted to retain the original tile floors so as to avoid addition of carpet and associated upkeep and health issues (allergy factories) that follow.

We had a strong commitment to recycling all that we could. After a search we found a facility that would accept the old ceiling tiles and we reclaimed all metal for sale to a scrap yard.

Right-sized heating and cooling systems with high-efficiency ratings along with an upgraded roof and interior insulation will significantly reduce overall energy use. Skylights will enhance employee use while further cutting need for artificial light.

A roof-top rainwater harvesting system will ensure non-potable water for all exterior needs as the impervious surface and parking was cut by more than two-thirds to soften environmental impact. Among the gains will be a “cooler” property – both in terms of look and summer temperatures due to native tree and shrub plantings – and significantly reduced stormwater run-off.

On the materials front the Endowment opted for a very functional look and feel to minimize costs and to offer maximum flexibility. Open ceilings give an eclectic warehouse look but significant use of wood in the form of hardwood panels and a custom front door, add warmth and beauty from the forest. For the few walls that would have been built using steel studs, we opted for locally-grown and milled pine 2x4s.

We can’t thank our wood products friends enough for their generosity. Their donations helped keep down the cost while allowing the Endowment to showcase sustainably produced wood products. In that regard, Columbia Forest Products provided walnut and maple hardwood panels that were used throughout the office space and conference room; Cox Industries provided all softwood lumber for behind the scenes construction and screening; Norbord added oriented strand board (OSB) to support the new façade; and Sweeney Hardwoods/ResDoor and the National Hardwood Lumber Association provided the custom walnut door that serves as our primary entrance. Lowe’s Home Improvement via its Cherrydale location provided miscellaneous wood products to complete the job.

We couldn’t have done the job without support of the Greenville Water System that led to the rainwater harvesting system.

Playing an Active Role with our Community
Greenville is our home and we want to give back where we can – something not likely on the grant front. The once “Textile Capital of the World” has over the last quarter century seen a rebirth that City Manager John Castile calls “the magic of Greenville.” The transition from city in decline to renaissance is founded on vision and a broad public-private partnership.

The Endowment’s decision to purchase what some considered a white elephant and give it new life as an office complex was viewed by some with skepticism but by City leaders with gusto. In fact, the Greenville Local Development Corporation, a non-profit entity working with the City and the private sector, provided a significant financial grant that helped off-set some of the costs for the building’s new face and front yard.

Greenville is a series of stories and events where one action has led others to pick up the cause and aid in the overall rejuvenation. The Endowment‘s decision has already led to one potential spill-over effect on a neighboring property. The Kiriakides family used funds from the sale of the Little Princess to purchase of an adjoining office building that when combined with abutting property that they already owned, offers a parcel large enough for future redevelopment.

Next time you are in Greenville, please stop in. We’ll be happy to show you our “home.”