Trueline's Cost Nearly Doubled; Its Bank Stepped Back

GREENVILLE, S.C., Nov. 9 (Special). Trueline, the music hall at Rhett and Wardlaw streets in Greenville's West End, was topped out a year ago and still has no loan to finish it. Its cost has nearly doubled, to $25 million, and Encore Bank, its financing partner, would no longer make a construction loan that large, the Post and Courier reported Monday.

When work began in 2024, the project was billed at about $13 million, GSA Business reported. Investor documents posted this spring put the cost at $25 million, and the search for investors came up about $14.7 million short.

Work stopped in April, when contractors filed liens for about $3.5 million in unpaid bills. County deed records show the liens were paid off in August. The founder, Michael Grozier, a co-founder of House of Blues, said a local supporter put up that money. He told the Post and Courier he is talking with banks and other lenders, expects financing by the end of November, and needs five to six months of work after that.

Banks across the country say they are pulling back on exactly this kind of loan. In the Federal Reserve's October survey of loan officers, they reported stricter standards and weaker demand for construction and land loans over the third quarter.