Private MRI clinic promises Greenville clients insight on the inside (2024)

GREENVILLE — Imago MRI, a healthcare start-up with Atlanta-based founders, is offering its customers the opportunity to look inside themselves — literally.

The company’s first location will open in the Thornblade area on April 15. It’s leadership says having convenient access to MRI scans will help people take control of their own health.

The healthcare system is broken in some ways, Craig Lemasters said. Between waiting periods and insurance approvals, he believes there is a lack of individual control in medicine.

Lemasters currently serves as president of the company. His wife, Laurel, is Imago’s medical director and top radiologist.

Insurance companies can make people wait for several weeks before they’re allowed to get an MRI, Laurel said.

This issue of timeliness is something Imago hopes to address with on-demand scans and results issued to customers within 24 hours.

For a fee of a few hundred dollars, Imago will perform magnetic resonance imaging (commonly known as an MRI) on a region or body part of your choice.

Looking at a few body parts or undergoing the company’s cancer screening can cost anywhere from $800-$1500.

Imago doesn’t take insurance, but Craig said if people want to file a claim with their insurance, that option is available.

The clinic is located at 19 Milestone Plaza.

In other business news...

• A former daycare in Mauldin is now an indoor retail plaza with six tenants and room to grow.

Mauldin Meadows opened this week at 306 E. Butler Rd. They’re currently hosting five long-term tenants to serve a range of needs, from pediatric therapy to grooming services to satisfying a sweet tooth.

Taylor Martin, a real estate broker for the property, said a sixth tenant space will be used as a short-term incubator for budding businesses looking to put an address to their name.

The space is currently occupied by IDOLL Music, a k-pop music store.

This is just phase I of Mauldin Meadows. Phase II will bring additional food and beverage tenants.

Martin said construction on phase II is slated to start this summer.

• Spartanburg’s Pinnacle Partnerships has plans to turn an office building at 125 The Parkway into a DoubleTree hotel by Hilton.

This follows a recent trend of disused office space being redeveloped and reimagined after the pandemic.

• Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport announced that Southwest Airlines will start making direct trips between Greenville and Nashville this summer.

Flights will start on June 4. The airline will also start non-stop flights between GSP and Denver on June 8.

The announcement comes as airport leadership forecasts that 2024 will break GSP records for passenger traffic.

• Another Publix is coming to the Golden Strip.

The Florida-born grocery store, well-known for its chicken tender sub sandwiches, is adding a third Mauldin location.

Publix announced its commitment to lease a storefront at the southeast corner of Fork Shoals Road and Ashmore Bridge Road, a development hotspot near the Donaldson Airport Center.

The company plans to open the store in late 2025 and hire 140 employees.