306 replies to this topic

[emerging.me]

Here's some news on an Olympia development that I've been following -- it is in close proximity to some land that is held by a member of my family, so I am keeping tabs... Developer Charles Small is building 27 up-scale townhomes along Lincoln Street in Olympia, off Assembly -- between Cap City Stadium and the USC Greek Village. The property is highlighted in orange in the attached map.

It will be gated.. BOO! And there will be no street connectivity along Heyward Street -- just a "green space" border -- but there will be open street connectivity to Lincoln, so that's good... right along the greenway connector. I'm attaching a site plan and a design sketch that were filed with the zoning board. They are, unfortunately, pretty vanilla... but I'm sure they'll be "nice."

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Edited by emerging.me, 05 December 2005 - 11:45 PM.

[waccamatt]

emerging.me, on Dec 5 2005, 11:02 PM, said:

Here's some news on an Olympia development that I've been following -- it is in close proximity to some land that is held by a member of my family, so I am keeping tabs... Developer Charles Small is building 27 up-scale townhomes along Lincoln Street in Olympia, off Assembly -- between Cap City Stadium and the USC Greek Village. The property is highlight in orange in the attached map.

It will be gated.. BOO! And there will be no street connectivity along Heyward Street -- just a "green space" border -- but there will be open street connectivity to Lincoln, so that's good... right along the greenway connector. I'm attaching a site plan and a design sketch that were filed with the zoning board. They are, unfortunately, pretty vanilla... but I'm sure they'll be "nice."

Gated! Yuck. If you're going to live in town, live with other people, don't separate yourself.

[Chtimi]

Gated ! Too bad ! The gated communities would be banned. After all, why welcome people who don't like the city.

[emerging.me]

The Olympia TIF is officially toast. This is disappointing news for me... I've been planning a small project in the area and was really counting on a number of those improvements. It may still happen, but it's kind of back to the drawing board.

[krazeeboi]

Oh well. At least the area has gotten some attention and some possible alternatives will be considered.

[vicupstate]

Did anyone besides me notice that Richland County Council is falling right into place to create a TIF in the sprawling Northeast to build a Baseball Stadium, but gave Olympia the back of it's hand not only on it's TIF, but also on addressing the truck traffic?

Can someone please explain the logic of that to me??

Condos, restaurants, etc. will get built in/around the Sandhills Village, with or without a baseball stadium.  Olympia has been trying to get infrastructure improvements for many years, and that area's redevelopment is strongly linked to getting these improvements.

Emerging.me, you should write the county and city and tell them of your disappointment and point out this irony.  Why should you invest in an area that they obviously are not commited to.

[Spartan]

Well, on the one hand you have Olympia, which is barely growing if at all, and on the other you have the NE, which is goring like mad. You are playing it safe when using TIF in that area.

That said, I agree that TIF would be more appropriate for Olympia. Just look at what it has done for the Vista.

You need to get people in Olmypia motivated to join the city. They seem to be more progressive when it comes to that type of thing.

[CorgiMatt]

Spartan, on Dec 15 2005, 02:46 PM, said:

Well, on the one hand you have Olympia, which is barely growing if at all, and on the other you have the NE, which is goring like mad. You are playing it safe when using TIF in that area.

That said, I agree that TIF would be more appropriate for Olympia. Just look at what it has done for the Vista.

You need to get people in Olmypia motivated to join the city. They seem to be more progressive when it comes to that type of thing.

Amen to that.  I can't believe Olympia still has red recycle bins.  That is rediculous.  If you look at it on a map, that neighborhood so obviously should be part of the city.  Someone in Olympia needs to speak up and get the city to annex them in.

[vicupstate]

Spartan, on Dec 15 2005, 01:46 PM, said:

Well, on the one hand you have Olympia, which is barely growing if at all, and on the other you have the NE, which is goring like mad. You are playing it safe when using TIF in that area.

That said, I agree that TIF would be more appropriate for Olympia. Just look at what it has done for the Vista.

You need to get people in Olmypia motivated to join the city. They seem to be more progressive when it comes to that type of thing.

TIFs were never intended for prosperous areas, they were intended for areas that were stagnant and/or declining.  The Olympia TIF has sufficient funding with the redeveloped Mill.  That is not the issue. Once the mill is on the tax roles (Jan 1) , that opportunity is gone.

I agree that Olmypia should annex to Columbia. They could even use that as an inducement fro the improvements. With the L.O.S.T. now in place, it will cost little if anything for the residents to do so.  

Emerging.me, why don't you lead the charge on that.  I bet you might even get some help from your fellow UPers.

[krazeeboi]

I didn't know that Olympia was outside city limits. That makes absolutely no sense; that area is practically a southward extension of downtown.

[sonofaque86]

Only in SC where you can be downtown and not in the city limits...smh

Edited by sonofaque86, 15 December 2005 - 08:12 PM.

[krazeeboi]

Thanks for the graphic sonofaque. I see the Capital City baseball stadium, but what's the other baseball field to the east?

[sonofaque86]

I don't know. I've never seen that one before

Edited by sonofaque86, 15 December 2005 - 08:23 PM.

[emerging.me]

That's Sarge Frye Field! Home of the Fighting Gamecocks, baby!

[Spartan]

vicupstate, on Dec 15 2005, 04:09 PM, said:

TIFs were never intended for prosperous areas, they were intended for areas that were stagnant and/or declining.  The Olympia TIF has sufficient funding with the redeveloped Mill.  That is not the issue. Once the mill is on the tax roles (Jan 1) , that opportunity is gone.

I agree that Olmypia should annex to Columbia. They could even use that as an inducement fro the improvements. With the L.O.S.T. now in place, it will cost little if anything for the residents to do so.  

Emerging.me, why don't you lead the charge on that.  I bet you might even get some help from your fellow UPers.

I understand what TIFs are for. I think it points to the idoicy that exists in the county council.

[krazeeboi]

emerging.me, on Dec 15 2005, 11:41 PM, said:

That's Sarge Frye Field! Home of the Fighting Gamecocks, baby!

Thanks. Never realized the two were situated so close to each other.

Edited by krazeeboi, 15 December 2005 - 11:50 PM.

[vicupstate]

City Council vows support for Olympia
COLUMBIA

Columbia City Council members said this week they would find a way to fund a $7 million revitalization plan for the Olympia community.
Residents of the mill villages in south Columbia have looked to city and Richland County council members to pay for park and street improvements, railroad safety crossings and sewage service for about 40 homes.
But Tuesday, Richland County Council backed off of a plan to create a special tax district that would have paid for the improvements.
“We will not abandon Olympia,” said Columbia Mayor Bob Coble during Wednesday’s city council meeting.
The city’s staff is now exploring possibilities, including a special tax district set up by the city, to fund the projects.


If indeed the city follows through on this promise, it is only logical that Olympia annex into the city.  Otherwise, such a large investment couldn't be justified.

Edited by vicupstate, 16 December 2005 - 05:35 PM.

[sonofaque86]

Yeah it would make sense

Edited by sonofaque86, 16 December 2005 - 10:50 PM.

[Spartan]

Technically, can the city do that in an area outside of its jurisdiction?

[krazeeboi]

It certainly appears that an annexation is in order. I see no other way.