130 replies to this topic

[CorgiMatt]

You sound exactly like me.  I am giving up.  Next year after I retire from the state I'm moving if I can ever sell my house in this God-forsaken place.  Columbia has been an obsession of mine from the core of my heart since I moved here over 25 years ago, as I have hoped and hoped for something big to happen here.  This marks the point at which Columbia will begin to see clearly what it feels like to truly get left behind by Charleston and Greenville.  The void in leadership here is sickening and disheartening.  As for competition among the cities, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

It never hurts to hope, though.  Here's some fresh news on the matter.

http://www.columbiab...t-airport?rss=0

Edited by CorgiMatt, 12 May 2010 - 03:21 PM.

[SCxpBrussel]

I wish I could argue with what Brookgreen and CorgiMatt have said, but sadly I can't. My one optimistic hope, particularly regarding the Columbia vs. Greenville comparison, is that perhaps Columbia is just a few years behind in terms of renewal and growth. BMW was a coup for Greenville and the extent of the economic impact there cannot be overstated. Columbia has not had a BMW-level shot in the arm, but that does not mean it isn't coming. Nor does it mean that incremental growth and improvement can't be achieved without a BMW-level investment.

I agree that it is visible at times that Columbia is being surpassed, but I believe that things are, slowly but surely, getting better around here. Innovista may be a punchline now, but let's not forget it is a long-term project that tried to get started amidst the Great Recession. Southwest may have skipped over CAE for 2011, but once enough people eventually settle in the Midlands, air service will follow. Columbia's metropolitan population has been growing at a relatively healthy pace if you look at the Census trends. In 10 years, the circumstances will be very different.

Missing out on Southwest shouldn't make you give up on Columbia. We aren't locked out of the race forever. We won't get Southwest in 2011, but that doesn't mean other things won't happen later. If only a quarter of the projects that were planned for Columbia before the Recession hit actually take place, we have a lot to hope for and look forward to. Bad air service is something I hate about Columbia, but that doesn't outshine the things I do like about it here.

[clt29301]

CorgiMatt, on 12 May 2010 - 03:11 PM, said:

You sound exactly like me.  I am giving up.  Next year after I retire from the state I'm moving if I can ever sell my house in this God-forsaken place.  Columbia has been an obsession of mine from the core of my heart since I moved here over 25 years ago, as I have hoped and hoped for something big to happen here.  This marks the point at which Columbia will begin to see clearly what it feels like to truly get left behind by Charleston and Greenville.  The void in leadership here is sickening and disheartening.  As for competition among the cities, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.

It never hurts to hope, though.  Here's some fresh news on the matter.

http://www.columbiab...t-airport?rss=0

Columbia has not had a lot of strong city leaders from what I can tell.  I have never seen a Hugh McColl, Ed Crutchfield, Bill Lee, or Pat McCrory type person in Columbia.  For that matter, I have not seen many people on that level in a lot of places.  But, there is no reason to give up on Columbia.  Contrary to belief, just because you get SWA does not mean you will become a top 20 economic development city. Lubbock Texas has SWA and ranked around 300 out of 366 metros in the economic strength rankings (Columbia ranked 115, Charleston was at 77, Greenville at 161).  I doubt Charlotte will have SWA anytime soon and that has never affected our growth or quality of life (In know...the hub does not hurt).  Columbia does need stronger leadership but, it is anything but dead.  It does, however, have challenges to overcome (one of which is air service).  It also has a lot going for it not the least of which is a good educated workforce, a major research university, built in economically stable industires (state Govt, Military), great momentum in a strong downtown (when that is becoming increasingly more important)  and strong growth of about 1% per year over the past decade.  While it is true that it is not Raleigh or Charlotte as someone posted, I would not hesitate to bet that no other SC city will be either.

[krazeeboi]

Some of what's being said here is fair; some is just reactionary and a bit over the top. I've said for some time now that leadership in Columbia is nowhere near as aggressive as it should be, at least economically. Bob Coble is just too much of a "go along to get along" type of guy, wanting to be everyone's friend and not rock the boat. That hasn't served the city well. He wasn't a bad mayor, but he wasn't a great one either--certainly not visionary. Having him be mayor in a strong-mayor system wouldn't have meant much since he wasn't a strong mayor.

That said, there are small victories that have been won that show that there is a solid foundation in place for future economic growth, if it can be capitalized upon with the right leadership. Innovista has had private tenants locate in space in the CBD while decisions are being made on how to proceed concerning the private buildings (my suggestion: hire John Holder). Trulite was lured to the area based on hydrogen research coming out of USC and located in the Midlands Tech incubator building, and could add up to 1,000 jobs over the next few years. The SCRA USC Innovation Center, completed in February, has had two high-tech tenants locate there. DHL opened a processing center in Lexington County this year that could employ up to 700 in the next few years. SCBT is doing well after their acquisition of a failed Georgia bank and is adding jobs. So let's not act like there is nothing going on in Columbia economically and that it's stagnating, because that is far from the truth. From 2001-2008, Columbia's GDP in private industries increased by 34.6%--behind Charleston's 52.9% but ahead of the Upstate's gain of 20.7%. The population growth is there; Columbia even ranked in the top 25 for metros experiencing the most domestic migration nationally from 2008-2009. And all of this is in place without particularly aggressive leadership, which gives you an idea of what could be if regional leaders would wake up. As I said, hopefully, this little recent Southwest debacle will serve as a big wakeup call to the powers-that-be to get serious about things before Columbia is really left in the dust.

[CorgiMatt]

Well, thank you Krazeeboi, for helping me calm down, not that this is about me and my nerves.  I hear everything you're saying and it shows it's not over till the fat lady sings, not to be trite.  On a different but tangent subject, WIS-10 did a report last night that showed the investigation into the mayor elect's traffic accident is proceeding within a completely normal time frame given all the research it takes to reconstruct a traffic accident.  If he can get the accident behind him, I do think he is going to be a true leader.

[SCxpBrussel]

Krazeeboi, you summed up my sentiments much more eloquently than I could. Thank you.

Do you have a link to a source about the top 25 domestic migration ranking?

[krazeeboi]

The statistics can be found here. Someone on another forum did the rankings and Columbia came in like 22nd or 23rd nationally.

[krazeeboi]

Here's an article that summarizes a report that was done for Greenville but includes information on Charleston, Columbia, and other regional cities that I think helps shed some light on where Columbia stands now in relation to its peer cities. It effectively demolishes the unfounded statement that was made earlier that "Columbia has been steadily falling behind economically every peer city for the past 25 years." I suppose one would believe that if all you went by were announcements for new manufacturing jobs, and even though it would be nice for Columbia to land a big manufacturing facility, Columbia just isn't that type of town. The city already has established economic clusters that aren't touted that much, like health information technology. As this article, that speculates about Columbia's economic future, states:

[There are] an estimated 7,000 to 9,000 people in the Midlands who work in the field of health information technology. Those people are employed by 38 local companies.

It's a work force segment that has been overshadowed by the city's reputation as a government town and the high-profile push for hydrogen research and jobs.

Columbia has the nation's fourth-highest concentration of professionals who specialize in insurance technology, said Lonnie Emard, executive director of the Consortium for Enterprise Systems Management, a local group that is promoting the information technology field throughout the Southeast.

These are the types of jobs that quietly expand and add jobs without announcements from the state department of commerce accompanied with lots of fanfare. Don't get me wrong--Columbia could use a few of those economic developments also, and needs to work aggressively to get them. But just as important as luring new businesses is cultivating existing businesses, and Columbia doesn't always get the credit it deserves in that area.

[CorgiMatt]

Actually I read those articles a little while back and posted them on some other message board.  Thank you for reminding me of the good news and helping put Columbia in the spotlight in a positive way.  Let's be on the lookout for Columbia forum intruders trying to harm the Capital City's image, as so often happens on these boards, by trying to negate this encouraging information.

[growingup15]

The Bus system they are trying to keep it up right now but i see something that can help it in the long run. i think if this state brings back Video poker part of that money can be used to Fund the bus system and possible Rail transit. thats what i think is what can be improved.

[Skyliner]

Columbia's Waverly Community Neighborhood Association and Richland County have been nominated as finalists for the Neighborhoods USA (NUSA) 2011 'Neighborhood of the Year Awards' and the 'Best Neighborhood Program Awards', which will be presented at the 33rd NUSA Conference on Neighborhood Concerns, May 25–28 in Anchorage, Alaska.

Quote

The Waverly Community Neighborhood Association was nominated in the “Multi-Neighborhood Partnership Projects” category for the Waverly Neighborhood Revitalization.  Richland County was also nominated in the “2011 Best Neighborhood Program Award” category for the Broad River Road Corridor and Community Master Plan.

Source:  http://midlandsbiz.com/articles/7666/