North side’s The Hub breaks ground, will bring Moe’s Original BBQ to Spartanburg

North side community members, city officials and developers celebrated the groundbreaking of The Hub, a mixed-use commercial project to replace the old Sunshine Inn, on Wednesday morning.

The Hub, located at 578 N. Church Street, will consist of roughly 16,800 square feet of mixed-use space for retail stores and restaurants, and will have a large courtyard for outdoor dining and community gatherings.

During the event, Michael Fletcher, the developer of the project, introduced several community partners who supported the project and announced the first two tenants for the commercial space: Moe’s Original BBQ and Wofford College’s new bookstore.

Wofford’s campus bookstore will move from its current location at 501 N. Church Street to occupy 5,758 square feet of retail space at The Hub. At the event, Wofford’s interim provost, Dr. Tim Schmitz, said the store will continue to sell textbooks and college merchandise, but will also have the capacity to serve as an event venue for college students and community members.

“For more than five years the college has made an intentional effort to integrate into the north side community.” Schmitz said. “This project will be another demonstration of the college's continued support for the revitalization of the city's north side in partnership with our neighbors”

There are no plans yet for the current bookstore location according to Dudley Brown, Director of Communications at Wofford.

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John Wood and Sam Ragland will own and operate Moe’s Original BBQ in 3,271 square feet of The Hub. The duo currently also own a Greenville location at Westone, another of Fletcher’s developments.

“I think Spartanburg will love it,” Wood said during the event. “We can't wait to get started and to serve y'all some great barbecue.”

The land for The Hub is owned by Northside Development Group, which acquired the space in 2014 with assistance from with the City of Spartanburg, Wofford College and Spartanburg Regional Health System in order to demolish the old Sunshine Inn.

“For us today, groundbreaking stands for far more than the literal breaking of ground, it stands for new beginnings and new opportunities,” said District 6 councilwoman Erica Brown at the event. “This project fittingly sits here as we look at ways to improve not only a gateway to the north side, but also a gateway to the city.”

Fletcher was selected to develop the former Sunshine Inn site in 2018. Much like other projects on the north side, he met with the Northside Voyagers, a resident leadership team that works closely with NDG, for community input on the development.

Tony Thomas, President of the Northside Voyagers and NDG’s Community Engagement Coordinator, said the Voyagers have worked closely with Fletcher over the past few years to determine what the site would be and will continue to work with him as future tenants are selected.

“There's nothing that happens in the north side without our participation and our involvement,” said Thomas. “We built trust in the community when we got rid of that hotel because it was an eyesore for the community. When we got rid of that hotel, the community knew we were serious about what we were doing.”

In September, the City of Spartanburg entered into a development agreement with Fletcher and Hub Development, LLC to further support The Hub project by providing $20,000 to improve sidewalks and finance other safety improvements, including reconfiguration of nearby traffic signals.

The agreement also includes annual rent subsidy grants for 10,800 square feet of the space. Tenants would receive $1 per square foot annually for a period of three years. Tenants who are graduates of north side’s Start:ME program or the City’s Amplify program, a minority-owned business, a north side resident-owned business or a non-profit providing direct services to the community would receive an annual subsidy of $2 per square foot.

According to City Communications and Marketing Manager, Christopher George, Wofford will forgo the rent subsidy and Moe’s Original BBQ will receive the $1 per square foot subsidy. This leaves a little over 7,500 square feet of the commercial space for subsidy grants for additional occupants.

Fletcher said he’s continuing to talk with community groups about other tenants.

Construction of the Hub is projected to be completed in summer 2022, with the first businesses opening that fall. According to the city’s development agreement, the project is a $4 million investment from Hub Development, LLC.

Kathryn Casteel covers growth and development for the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Contact Kathryn at KCasteel@shj.com or on Twitter @kathryncasteel.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: North side’s The Hub breaks ground, introduces community partners