For Two Years, City Hall Lives on the Corner Greenville Wants to Turn Into a Shopping Block

The lobby at NOMA Tower, 220 N. Main St., is now the front door to Greenville's city government. Anyone with business at the Mayor's Office, the City Clerk, Finance, or Parks, Recreation and Tourism now checks in with Greenville Cares at a desk in that lobby. The 10-story building at 206 S. Main that held those offices goes to the contractor in November.

That move puts the city's daily business on the corner of North Main and East North streets. A national apparel retailer is set to open on that same corner early next year, and the mayor has said publicly that he wants this end of Main Street to become "really solid shopping." So for the next two years, the north end of Main gets a steady stream of city employees and visitors at the moment it is being set up to sell to them. Meanwhile, the block that has anchored civic life on South Main goes behind construction fencing.

Who moved, and where the meetings went

The Greenville Journal listed the eight departments that are now at NOMA Tower:

Not everything moved north, and the table shows which parts did. The offices people visit on a weekday went to North Main. The evening public meetings went to the Convention Center and to the Greenlink facility on Arcadia Drive. If you show up to speak on a zoning or historic review item this winter, you will be on Arcadia Drive, not on Main Street. The North Main corner gets the daytime traffic: staff arriving in the morning and residents stopping in to pay a bill, pick up a permit, or meet with a department.

The corner the mayor wants to fill

In August, Fox Carolina reported that Faherty, the New York-based apparel brand, will open on this corner in early 2027. Its other South Carolina stores are in Charleston and on Kiawah Island. The space is currently occupied by Dapper Dog Greenville, a grooming business. The Post and Courier described Faherty's clothing as premium casual wear inspired by life on the water. It placed the store at the corner of North Main and East North streets.

The deal came about through a Greenville company. Mayor Knox White told Fox Carolina that the connection to Faherty came through Southern Tide, which has its headquarters and design center in Greenville. He also said Faherty is not the last store coming:

"We have about three more lined up to come in, the stores are on everyone's list of 'I want this in Greenville.' ... The goal is to make this end of Main Street really solid shopping. We are going to be a top shopping destination in South Carolina with these brands and locals in there too."

In August, Fox Carolina described those stores as still to be announced. Two months after that interview, though, the mayor's own office works out of the building on the corner he was talking about.

Emily Fournier's two addresses on North Main

Local businesses got to this stretch before the national brands did. Emily Fournier opened Emily's Pantry at 241 N. Main St. in October 2025. The Greenville Journal described it as a grab-and-go market with lunch, soft serve and gifts. Her second place, Emily's Table, is planned for 110 N. Main St. It is a fine-dining restaurant built around fresh ingredients and a kitchen that can accommodate allergies across different diets.

There is no opening date yet. The restaurant's website still says "Coming Fall 2026," and the team posted on Instagram, as the Greenville Journal reported on Oct. 13: "Our opening date is coming soon, so keep an eye out for the announcement."

With the market at 241 and the restaurant at 110, one owner will have businesses at both ends of the blocks around NOMA Tower. The Pantry's grab-and-go lunch is now a short walk from eight city departments' worth of staff and visitors.

The last weeks before the South Main block goes quiet

While the north end fills in, the stretch around 206 S. Main has a few public dates left before the contractor, Reeves and Young, takes over in November. In order:

1. Saturday, Oct. 24, 8 a.m. to noon. The next-to-last TD Saturday Market of the 2026 season. VisitGreenvilleSC lists the City of Greenville at 206 S. Main St. as the market's venue. The market fills two blocks of Main Street with more than 75 vendors, all from within 100 miles of Greenville.
2. Monday, Oct. 26. City Council's last meeting inside City Hall.
3. Saturday, Oct. 31, 8 a.m. to noon. The final Saturday Market of the season, which runs from the beginning of May through the end of October.
4. November. The building goes to Reeves and Young.
5. Monday, Nov. 9. Council begins meeting in Room 102C at the Greenville Convention Center.

The market has a history of moving to follow downtown. It started in 2003 with about 20 vendors, and in 2007 it moved onto Main Street, where it now takes up two full blocks. The city has not said whether the 2027 season will set up beside a construction site or rearrange around it. That will be one of the first visible signs of how the renovation and street life work together next spring.

What the renovation gives back to the street

The new City Hall will come back facing Main Street more directly than the old one did. The Greenville Journal reported in May that the preliminary renderings show a new glass facade. The travertine stone on the elevator shaft will stay. The design team proposes extending the building's footprint six feet toward Main Street to make room for a new main entrance. Meg Terry, a principal at DP3 Architects, said the design is meant to strengthen the building's presence downtown.

The biggest change for anyone who attends a public meeting is the Council chambers. They would move from the 10th floor to the ground floor, in a new addition at the back of the building. Mayor White told the Journal that moving the chambers reflects the city's commitment to open government, "where neighborhoods and residents come first." City Manager Shannon Lavrin said, "We wanted a City Hall that feels inviting and connected to the community, and this design delivers that."

Above street level, the first six floors will be rebuilt as city offices. Floors seven through 10 will be left as interior shells for future city expansion or for tenants. The building's mechanical, electrical, plumbing, HVAC and fire protection systems will all be replaced. If the city eventually leases those upper floors, the building could bring office workers back to South Main, not just city staff.

What is still unannounced

Each end of Main Street has open questions going into winter:

• The three other retailers. The mayor called them stores on everyone's wish list and said in August that they would be announced later.
• Dapper Dog Greenville. Faherty takes over its space in early 2027. The business has not announced where it will go next.
• Emily's Table. The restaurant says it is coming in fall 2026 and has promised a date soon.
• The 2027 Saturday Market. Nothing has been said yet about its footprint during construction.

The Mayor's Office returns to 206 S. Main when the two-year renovation is done. By then, the corner where it spent those two years should have Faherty, a restaurant from the owner of Emily's Pantry, and as many as three more of the stores the mayor said were lined up.

At Thomas Tamrack, we follow downtown Greenville block by block, including the corners that change while a landmark is under renovation. If you'd like to talk about how the north end of Main Street fits into your plans downtown, let's connect.