SPARTANBURG — City Council is one vote away from clearing the path for a townhome community that could transform an economically challenged area near Spartanburg Medical Center.

A second reading is scheduled July 24 for the nine-acre property on Florida Avenue to annex the property, which is currently unzoned in Spartanburg County, and zone it for a mixed-use development.

Greenville-based firm VanRock Holdings is proposing 86 townhomes and a restaurant on the plot where developers originally pitched multi-family housing. That plan has changed because of market conditions and trying to meet Spartanburg’s needs, developer Bryan De Bruin told the city’s planning commission.

If the council votes in favor of the annexation and rezoning, VanRock Holdings has six months to submit final design plans, which initially include two-and three-story rental townhomes with garages, a restaurant facing North Church Street and walking trail alongside Little Chinquapin Creek.

The project’s final design plans must be presented to the city’s planning commission within six months of approval.

City Councilwoman Ruth Littlejohn supports the proposed development and wants new sidewalks on Florida Avenue — where many homes sit vacant with boarded windows — to be part of the developer’s final design.