JW Marriott Greenville

Auro Hotels announced in August 2026 that it plans South Carolina's first JW Marriott in downtown Greenville, converting the Bowater Building beside Falls Park. The hotel would have 335 rooms, more than 8,800 square feet of meeting space, a rooftop garden and terraces over the Reedy River. The project is the hotel component of a larger conference district. It is not yet approved in final form, and construction is not expected before mid-2027.

The place

The hotel is planned in the Bowater Building, an office block from the 1980s on the edge of Falls Park, the riverside park on the Reedy River that anchors downtown Greenville. The sources consulted give no street number, so the exact address is left out here.

The building sits inside a six-acre district that the city, the owner and a master developer are planning along the river. Walking distance to Main Street and to the park's falls is the premise of the whole project.

The concept

Auro Hotels, a Greenville company, bought the Bowater Building in 2024. It is a 93,000-square-foot office building with a 346-space parking garage and nearly an acre of open ground. The building had been discussed for years as a redevelopment site, and the city looked at it seriously as a possible new city hall before dropping the idea. Auro now plans a full renovation of about $200 million to turn it into a 335-room JW Marriott.

The plan reaches beyond the existing tower. New guest rooms are to be built along the front of the adjacent garage to hide it, and an enclosed pedestrian bridge is to link the hotel to the conference center next door. The owner describes the intended look as a European village, with walkability as the organizing idea. JW Marriott has approved the materials, according to the local press, but the design still has to pass Greenville's Design Review Board.

The hotel is meant to anchor the Falls Park Conference District, a mixed-use scheme of roughly six acres. Its centerpiece is a city-owned conference center, a project the local press puts at $500 million overall, with about $135 million of public money and $365 million from private investors. The district also includes a 1,420-space garage, about 250 housing units, offices for United Community Bank, retail, and an extension of Falls Park. Auro, the City of Greenville and the master developer, The Furman Company, are the partners.

Timing is the weak point. Construction is expected to start in mid-2027 and to run 18 to 24 months, subject to final approvals, which would put an opening around 2029. That year is an estimate derived from those figures, not a date announced by the owner.

Dining & wellness

Four food and beverage outlets are planned: two restaurants, a bakery, and a raised rooftop bar and restaurant. An executive lounge is also on the list. Nothing has been published about chefs, concepts or names.