Paris Mountain Hotel Opposition

The Proposed Development

In early 2025, a developer announced plans to annex two parcels totalling approximately 40 acres on Paris Mountain into the City of Travelers Rest in order to build the Inn at Altamont, a 150-room resort hotel and event venue. The proposal included plans for a full banquet hall, a 2,000-capacity event lawn, an upscale rooftop bar-restaurant, and more.

Reasons for opposition

While Upstate Forever rarely opposes specific development in favor of affecting change at the policy level, we joined a chorus of individuals and organizations in voicing serious concerns over this proposed development. 

Upstate Forever had major concerns about this project and annexation request:

• Construction of the hotel and associated parking lots would without a doubt have negatively impacted the sensitive ecological features of the mountain, a steep terrain with largely contiguous forest and a healthy population of wildlife where the project is proposed.
   
• Construction would have also posed a direct threat to headwaters of the Reedy River that dominate the project's lower parcel — critical for water quality.
   
• Approval would set a dangerous precedent for using annexation to side-step Greenville County's "Environmentally Sensitive District" zoning — a tool intended to prevent such high-intensity development in this location.
   
• Millions of private and public dollars have been invested in Paris Mountain’s protection so the community can enjoy a natural respite within an otherwise urbanized area.