Renovation of the PALS Building

Project Overview

The project will involve renovating an existing City-owned building on Main Street in Uptown Greenwood into a Destination Center for tourists.

Discover Greenwood has been working with its Agency of Record, Design Sensory, along with Davis and Floyd, Inc., on Destination Center plans and designs over the last few years with the end goal of providing Discover Greenwood with a more visible space for visitor services. In addition, the space will serve as the gateway/anchor to the city center providing a centralized location to welcome visitors and newcomers.

Serving as the true sales center and official first stop for all visitors, the renovation of 104 Main Street will afford any visitor the opportunity to learn much about our community, featuring key selling areas, including collateral, touch screen tv monitors featuring Stories of Greenwood videos, and a retail market area offering Greenwood souvenirs. The designated area for children will allow youth an interactive opportunity to enjoy the space through local partnerships with neighboring cultural organizations such as The Museum and Arts Center. The space will be ADA compliant and accessible.

The renovation will involve sitework, building exterior work, and interior improvements. The current building has been left a shell with no internal workings. Easy and ample access to both the front and rear facades of the structure should make the installation of the new entry facades straight forward, and separation of construction and pedestrian traffic controllable. Construction staging and laydown space can be accommodated from the rear of the structure thus limiting the need for main thoroughfare traffic congestion.

The Center will provide hospitality training, customer service, and community familiarization tours. It will also serve as a visitor services space and a venue for gatherings and events. The primary goals of the Visitors Center are to act as a sales center, support tourism workforce, increase overall business, and create a sense of place for the local community.

In closing, the role of the new Visitors Center will take a four-pronged approach.
1. To position itself as the primary sales center for potential visitors and newcomers to the area.
2. Provide service to a growing and recovering tourism support workforce through the Center.
3. Through occupying and renovating a vacant storefront, the center will increase overall business through the establishment of a “Greenwood” market to sell specific locally and regionally manufactured souvenirs.
4. Create a sense of place for the local community to enjoy the space through special family centered events.