The former Sampson Mill that housed the American Spinning Company for nearly a century in the Poinsett District will see new life as a Virginia-based firm plans to transform the mill into loft apartments.
The company — ASGA, LP — plans to spend $49.8 million to redevelop the mill into 230 apartment units making up 240,000 square feet of space.
The project will be funded in part from $7.5 million related to the federal government’s EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, which allows foreign entrepreneurs to apply for a green card in exchange investing in a commercial enterprise and creating at least 10 full-time jobs.
The company expects the project to create 211 jobs in Greenville County, according to CBRE, the commercial real estate firm that handled the sale of the property at 300 Hammett Street.
The mill was once the center of a thriving village. The village was later torn down in the area surrounding the 3-acre mill site, a block from Poinsett Highway just outside the Sans Souci community two miles from downtown Greenville.
Oscar Sampson, founder of downtown Greenville’s Camperdown Mill, moved equipment from Camperdown to open the Sampson Mill in 1895, according to Greenville historian Judy Bainbridge.
The mill operated as American Spinning Company until it closed in 1990.
Today, it's proximity to downtown Greenville, where scarce supply of housing is pricing people out of the market, makes it attractive like other mill conversions, such as the Lofts at Mills Mill and new work on Brandon Mill.
“Timing for American Spinning’s redevelopment is ideal,” Nick Hollstegge, a CBRE associate, said in a release. “The site’s historic character and proximity to both downtown and Cherrydale will be a major selling point to new residents. As the city continues to grow, I think we will see more of these former industrial pockets with good access to downtown repositioned.”
The mill’s historic character will ultimately be preserved, said Paul Ruby, an EB-5 attorney who represented the ASGA, LP project.
"We are very excited about the opportunity to bring a unique product to a great market,” Ruby said. “It’s important for us to contribute to Greenville’s on-going success by maintaining the historic significance and integrity of the site and the community.”