The group behind the Upstate food-and-beverage hub Gather Greenville is proposing plans for a larger venue in Mount Pleasant.
Gather MTP is envisioned as a 5.5-acre park anchored by a restaurant and brewery within the existing Midtown residential development off of Rifle Range Road. The project, which would also include a medical center, would stretch from Hungry Neck Boulevard to Hancock Street.
Mack Cross, co-owner of Four Oaks Property Group with his father, Doug Cross, brought the preliminary plans for the first phase, the gathering space, to the town's Design Review Board April 24.
The Midtown development between Hungry Neck Boulevard and Rifle Range Road in Mount Pleasant includes apartments (above), townhouses, single-family homes and commercial space. A developer is seeking approval from the town to add a privately funded community park anchored by a restaurant.
Together, the Crosses are the minds behind Gather Greenville, which was ranked the fifth-best food hall in America, according to the 2024 USA Today Readers’ Choice Awards.
The half-acre venue includes three food-and-beverage options, from doughnut makers to craft breweries to an assortment of restaurants.
Mount Pleasant’s project would be more than 10 times bigger.
“First and foremost, the concept is a community gathering space, a privately owned park,” Cross said. “Similar to our project in Greenville, we’ll have an artificial turf area, a live music stage and event space.”
Gather MTP would be anchored by Crooked Hammock, a Delaware-based beach-vibe restaurant and brewery that opened a location at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach in 2021.
Those elements would be surrounded by food-and-beverage and retail units.
The gathering aspect of the development will go back to the board in August for another round of reviews, with the restaurant component expected to go on the agenda next month.
Food plans right now call for Crooked Hammock to open its fourth East Coast restaurant and brewery at the Midtown site. Owner Rich Garrahan opened his first beach-style establishment in 2015 in Lewes, Del., and added two more in Middletown, Del., and at Barefoot Landing in North Myrtle Beach.
Gather MTP has been in the works since 2022, and if all goes to plan, Cross hopes to break ground this year.
Jake Carter, a town planner, said the developers have presented the requested Lowcountry-style look.
“They made changes in March 2022 that required a pitched roof and wood siding and got it done,” he said.
More mixed-use developments are what the town needs, Carter said, especially projects that can ease traffic.
“People can bike and walk there,” he said. “This project will keep people centralized and off the streets in their cars.”
Preston Wendell, principal of Whitewater Property Ventures, is co-developing the project with Cross. As Mount Pleasant residents, he said, both have their own families in mind when creating this project.
“We hope the community trusts we are trying to do this as best we can for all stakeholders,” Wendell said. “If this does happen, it’ll have a family-friendly, casual feel with excellent food and great vendors for everyone to enjoy.”
