Happy Throwback Thursday, GVL. Today, we’re walking you back in time — all the way back to 1940’s Greenville.
The history of Hartness:
Back in 1940, Tom Hartness purchased the Pepsi-Cola Bottling rights in Greenville, which led to the development of the first ever case packer. After a decades-long run as one of GVL’s most successful home-grown business ventures, the family sold their company, Hartness International, in 2009.
Beginning in the 1980’s, the land that currently serves as the canvas for the Hartness community was gradually acquired over several decades and now totals 440+ acres.
In the 2000s, Tom’s son, Pat, and Pat’s son, Sean, decided to develop the land themselves as a family legacy project for the city of Greenville. Enter: Hartness.
The vision:
The architectural vision for Hartness is a collaboration between the Hartness family + the town designer, Lew Oliver of Atlanta. It harkens back to a time when neighborhoods were walkable + perfectly integrated with schools, shops, restaurants, cafes, boutiques, and a town center.
Modeled after these old school Southern small towns, the community is supplemented by a 21st-century adaption of historic planning + architecture — giving Hartness the charm of an earlier era while enabling contemporary lifestyles, with open spaces and walkable streets, sidewalks, parks, and pedestrian paths.
The Village Center sits at the entrance and features mixed-use commercial buildings with plans for restaurants, retail shops, offices, a school + condominiums (lookin’ at you, Village Kitchen) — all work + play within an easy walk of living.
The architecture:
Home designs at Hartness feature an array of architectural styles, including:
- Federal — think: symmetrical form, side lights flanking the front door, designed around a center hall floorplan
- Italianate — read: often wood-sided or brick with a low-pitched or flat roof; wide, overhanging eaves with large brackets; and often feature tall, narrow windows
- Greek Revival — ie. white exterior, symmetrical façade with a low-pitched gable roof, and rows of impressive columns
- Colonial Revival — picture: multi-pane, double-hung windows with correctly proportioned shutters; bay windows, and centered entrance accented with columns
To the fabric of the overall community, small homes have as much to contribute as large homes. The mastery comes through the use of the right materials in the proper proportions.
Hartness features a variety of home sizes + styles, from cottages and townhomes to manor homes and estates.
Plus, there are an abundance of amenities offered to homeowners (hint: there’s the grand lawn, village center, the lakes, and the Hartness Pool Complex opening in 2023 to name a few).
Explore more about the Hartness community or browse available homes.*
