Old Greenville Hotel Reborn as Tech-Savvy Apartments
In an enterprising turn of events, a former hotel in Greenville, South Carolina has been transformed into an innovative, digitally equipped apartment complex. The former Country Inn & Suites on Laurens Road has been given a new lease of life as the Flathouse Studios, and stands as a testament to the potential of repurposing aging buildings for contemporary use.
Operated by Salt Lake City-based Millrock Commercial with Greenville’s NHE Inc. managing the property, Flathouse Studios offers prospective tenants a choice of 112 studio apartment units. These apartments have been designed innovatively to optimize use of the available square footage, and some units are installed with special space-saving technology features that were previously unheard of in the region.
Revamping Old Structures With Innovative Designs
The majority of the compact apartments fit neatly into the original confines of the old hotel rooms, all thanks to an ingenious amalgamation of space-saving design and technology. The property also features a handful of one-bedroom apartments, co-working spaces, and a plethora of community-focused amenities like a fitness center, swimming pool, and communal laundry rooms that can be operated with Apple Pay.
Each studio spans a space of around 308 square feet and is equipped with essential amenities such as microwaves, stovetops, and full-sized refrigerators. Slightly over half of these accommodations are furnished with transformative furniture from Ori Design Studio. With a simple press of a button, tenants can make queen-sized beds rise seamlessly to the ceiling and roll desks away from the wall to create walk-in closets. The Flathouse Studios marks the first Ori furnished apartment building in South Carolina—an achievement that only adds another feather to this project’s cap.
Pricing and Community Engagement
Financially, the convenience of the Ori-equipped studio apartments comes at a starting rate of $1,300 per month while the unfurnished spaces start at $1,000 per month. The one-bedroom apartments are available from $1,400 per month.
According to Jeff Lemmon, project consultant for Millrock Commercial, the common areas inside the complex have been created with a focus on promoting interaction among residents. He believes that the unique blend of privacy and social interaction offered by Flathouse Studios makes it a perfect space for recent graduates seeking an active community.
Lemmon stressed on the sense of community fostered within the property, stating, “As you think about workforce housing, people get out of school and there’s a lot of great jobs today and they want to be in a place where they can have community, where that’s promoted. This is very different than any other apartment complex that I’m familiar with.”
Beyond Living Spaces
The co-working spaces within the complex include common desks in an open room setting for those preferring a shared environment, alongside enclosed offices for those requiring more privacy. Outdoor facilities even span as far as a pickleball court near the pool, again showcasing a novel method of community engagement.
Additional amenities within the property include a podcast studio, a common kitchen, high-speed internet, a gaming lounge, and even a golf swing simulator—evidence of the varied interests that can be catered to in the complex.
The Flathouse Studios project epitomizes a successful repurposing of an otherwise declining structure, showing how vision combined with technological innovation can create spaces that contribute meaningfully to the community.
