A $28M Downtown Greenville Townhome Project Has Stalled. Is It One Developer's Problem or the Market's?

Three contractors say they are owed a combined $274,367. The project they worked on, The McDaniel, was supposed to be the swankiest set of homes in downtown Greenville. Today it sits unfinished, and the bills have moved to court.

The McDaniel is a 30-unit luxury townhome development at the corner of McDaniel Avenue and East McBee Street. It carried a $28 million price tag, units of 3,100 to 4,100 square feet, and top asking prices up to $2.5 million. Construction began in late October 2023 and was targeted to finish by summer 2025. Instead, work stopped in 2024 and has been largely stalled since.

What happened

Three contractors, including H&H Concrete and PK Legacy Builders, say in Greenville County court filings that they have not been paid for completed work. Two of them filed mechanics liens. A mechanics lien is a legal claim that blocks a property from being sold cleanly until the disputed bill is paid, and it can lead to foreclosure. Developer Kyle Keene, who built the project through his holding company McBee Townhomes LLC, faces multiple contractor actions threatening foreclosure.

Keene is also pushing back. He has sued Fountain Inn-based P + F Construction for breach of contract, alleging he hired the firm in July 2025 to restart work on five buildings and that it did not deliver. Separately, Fidelity Bank filed a foreclosure action over a related Keene project at 100 N. Markley St. in the West End, claiming about $4.39 million in unpaid mortgage debt. Keene says the project is not doomed. "The good news is that we are at the end of the road here with this pause," he said.

What most people think

The common read is that this is one developer's problem, not a market problem. About half of the 20 first-phase townhomes reportedly sold within roughly six weeks of going to market, which suggests real buyer appetite for high-end downtown product. Greenville's downtown has ridden a long wave of luxury development, and a single stalled project stands out because it is the exception. The troubles trace to specific causes, namely unpaid contractors, liens, and a separate bank foreclosure, all of which point at one builder's finances rather than soft demand.

The other side

A cautious local builder or an unpaid contractor would argue that fast pre-sales prove less than they seem. A signed contract is not a closed sale, and demand at the contract stage is not demand at the closing table. Half of phase one selling quickly still left units unsold, and phase two pricing of $1.95 million to $2.5 million targets a thin slice of buyers. The timeline, from an October 2023 start to a 2024 stall, lines up with rising costs and financing pressure that would squeeze any project priced this far up the ladder.

What would settle it

Watch two things. First, whether the presold buyers actually close once work resumes, or walk away. Second, whether other comparable downtown ultra-luxury townhome projects stall, sell, or reprice. One failure is a developer story. A pattern across projects is a market story.

So here is the question. If you held a contract on a $2 million unit at The McDaniel, would you wait for Keene to finish it, or walk? And what does your answer say about whether the demand here was ever as solid as the early sales made it look? Reply and tell us.

Source: Post and Courier.

Information only, not financial advice.