1099 replies to this topic

[krazeeboi]

A 1 or 2 story office building was announced for the site of the old cigar and candy warehouse (which is a rather cool building IMO); see here.

[krazeeboi]

A Starbucks will possibly be coming to the Vista in the ground floor of the former American Industrial Supply Co. building at Gervais and Lincoln streets. Local architect Scott Garvin, who is renovating the building, says although Starbucks Corp. has not yet signed a lease agreement, a verbal commitment has been made and space is being outfitted for Starbucks. Garvin is confident Starbucks will anchor the historic warehouse, and he plans to add patio seating along the Lincoln Street side of the building.

Garvin & Stevenson LLC bought the former American Supply Co. building for $1.7 million in fall 2005 and began renovating it in July. Garvin said he expects the renovations to be done by fall 2007.

Besides a planned coffee shop, there will be space for at least four other retailers on the building’s bottom floor, Garvin said. The building has been renamed Gervais Place.

[TheCarolinaKing]

That will be a great addition!   Let me get a Vinti Iced Green Tea, Six pump Cinnamon, and 3 honeys melted in it!

[803metlife]

krazeeboi, on Oct 5 2006, 01:12 AM, said:

A Starbucks will possibly be coming to the Vista in the ground floor of the former American Industrial Supply Co. building at Gervais and Lincoln streets. Local architect Scott Garvin, who is renovating the building, says although Starbucks Corp. has not yet signed a lease agreement, a verbal commitment has been made and space is being outfitted for Starbucks. Garvin is confident Starbucks will anchor the historic warehouse, and he plans to add patio seating along the Lincoln Street side of the building.

Garvin & Stevenson LLC bought the former American Supply Co. building for $1.7 million in fall 2005 and began renovating it in July. Garvin said he expects the renovations to be done by fall 2007.

Besides a planned coffee shop, there will be space for at least four other retailers on the building’s bottom floor, Garvin said. The building has been renamed Gervais Place.

That's great!!

[CorgiMatt]

The Starbucks announcement just goes to show that it is hard to pinpoint a downtown epicenter in Columbia.  Five Points already has one.  If everything downtown were located along just Main Street and on side streets within a block of Main, I wonder if there would be a Starbucks at both ends.

[Captain Worley]

CorgiMatt, on Oct 5 2006, 10:18 AM, said:

The Starbucks announcement just goes to show that it is hard to pinpoint a downtown epicenter in Columbia.  Five Points already has one.  If everything downtown were located along just Main Street and on side streets within a block of Main, I wonder if there would be a Starbucks at both ends.

I kinda like having multiple epicenters in Columbia.  Gives the feeling of a lot of little towns stitched together.

[GvilleSC]

CorgiMatt, on Oct 5 2006, 10:18 AM, said:

The Starbucks announcement just goes to show that it is hard to pinpoint a downtown epicenter in Columbia.  Five Points already has one.  If everything downtown were located along just Main Street and on side streets within a block of Main, I wonder if there would be a Starbucks at both ends.

I don't see why not... for example Greenville has 2 subways, one at each end of Main and soon, I believe, will have a Port City Java at each end, as well...

[krazeeboi]

Developer Ben Arnold plans to convert Lady Street into downtown's new shopping destination. He plans to convert 85,000 square feet of mainly warehouse space between Gadsden and Wayne streets into storefronts and offices called The Shoppes at Lady Street which will include:

• The World of Windows Planning Center next door at 718 Lady St., which has moved

• The old Vortex Cycles across the street at 701 Lady St.

• A small restaurant/club at 721 Lady St. in the same building as the S.C. Institute of Art and Design and Savoy Men’s Clothing. The proposed restaurant — along with Wild Wing Cafe next door — is the only restaurant/club piece of the project.

The streetscaping is finally paying off! With the parking garage coming to Lady and Lincoln (hopefully with a good selection of street-level retail in the ground floor), patrons can easily walk between restaurants and shops. And with the residential developments completed or planned for Lady, like Renaissance Plaza, the Lofts at Printers Square, and the condo-hotel, this only makes sense.

Edited by krazeeboi, 12 October 2006 - 10:28 PM.

[waccamatt]

That's more great news for downtown Columbia. There is so much construction going on right now between the downtown area and around the stadium. I've noticed a sign has gone up at the Lofts at Printer's Square, too. I would expect that construction to begin very soon. I highly recommend Savoy, a locally-owned men's shop on that stretch of Lady Street. American Apparel has also located there recently as have a number of stores in the live/work units of Renaissance Square. This will tie in nicely with the Publix and retail stores on Wayne Street, Trustus Theatre and the announced Springhill Suites and Gameday Condotel in the vicinity.

[Spartan]

This is great news! This will really solidify the Vista as a district. Gervais was never the best anchor street as it is so wide and heavily travelled. Hopefully this will create more traffic on the perpendicular streets... the possibilities are endless.

[krazeeboi]

I think Lady and Lincoln will shape up to be quite the intersection.

Next target street: Pulaski!

[Spartan]

krazeeboi, on Oct 14 2006, 05:32 AM, said:

I think Lady and Lincoln will shape up to be quite the intersection.

Next target street: Pulaski!

Agreed. Pulaski needs to be improved, and they will have to remove that DOT building.

[TheCarolinaKing]

I'm interested to see what stores actually make it to the coridor.    I hope some nice popular type store make it there.    I know those that cater to the big masses might prefer the more highly populated suburban areas, but something like puma, steve madden, kenneth cole...some of those good ole cheesy name brands.....ooh or some really nice custom tailor type spots.    I love granger and owens (i think i spelled that wrong but i hope you know what i was going for)!

[waccamatt]

If we have to have some chains down there I'd like to see Mark Shale, Brooks Brothers, Dean and Deluca (though Cloud Nine on Gervais is much better than D&D) and maybe a Sharper Image.

[TheCarolinaKing]

A Brooks Brothers would be nice.  I think a few "hip" stores are necessary to cater to the tourist and the young   population that make up the majority of Columbia.  Imagine someone visiting Columbia and realizing that there are actually clubs and bars to go to and they need some contemporary clothes to go out in.  Stores like puma, H&M, kenneth cole, nine west, aldo, armani exchange   bring in more money becuase the age group that spends the most money is the young population.  Also this would be the only place between charlotte and charleston where you can get those contemporary items.  Idealistically some seriously upscale stores would be great...Tiffany and Co., Nordstroms, ralph lauren, maybe a lindt chocolate store, or godiva.

[Captain Worley]

Spartan, on Oct 14 2006, 12:18 PM, said:

Agreed. Pulaski needs to be improved, and they will have to remove that DOT building.

I've wondered about the DOT building myself.  That building isn't very old (mid seventies) but it is sitting on some prime real estate.  I wonder how much money would change hands to make it go away and where SCDOT would move.

It doesn't look too bad on the outside, but I absolutely hate the interior of that buildin.  Very dark and not enough windws.

[BrasilnSC]

Spartan, on Oct 14 2006, 11:18 AM, said:

Agreed. Pulaski needs to be improved, and they will have to remove that DOT building.

The DOT building is sitting on some prime land, but I think it should stay where it is.  It is the headquarters of a large gov't agency which should be downtown, plus I work there    .  There are no plans for the department to move as of right now, but because it is on such valuable land, I think eventual relocation is inevitable.  The DMV main office moved out to Blythewood a short while back.  However, like with SCANA, if the DOT Headquarters and it's 500+ employees (most who eat out everyday) move out of downtown, many restaurants and businesses in the Vista and surrounding area will feel the impact.

[Spartan]

Hmm, I didn't mean the DOT building on Park St. That one is fine, albiet not very pedestrian friendly. I was referring to the ugly yellow one with the unnecessarily large parking lot between Pulaski and Huger, accross from the former CMRTA bus depot. Maybe its not DOT... its some sort of law enforcement organization though.

[waccamatt]

Spartan, on Oct 16 2006, 09:42 PM, said:

Hmm, I didn't mean the DOT building on Park St. That one is fine, albiet not very pedestrian friendly. I was referring to the ugly yellow one with the unnecessarily large parking lot between Pulaski and Huger, accross from the former CMRTA bus depot. Maybe its not DOT... its some sort of law enforcement organization though.

That is the city garage where cars are towed if they're illegally parked.

[JT Boy]

TheCarolinaKing, on Oct 15 2006, 11:43 PM, said:

A Brooks Brothers would be nice.  I think a few "hip" stores are necessary to cater to the tourist and the young   population that make up the majority of Columbia.  Imagine someone visiting Columbia and realizing that there are actually clubs and bars to go to and they need some contemporary clothes to go out in.  Stores like puma, H&M, kenneth cole, nine west, aldo, armani exchange   bring in more money becuase the age group that spends the most money is the young population.  Also this would be the only place between charlotte and charleston where you can get those contemporary items.  Idealistically some seriously upscale stores would be great...Tiffany and Co., Nordstroms, ralph lauren, maybe a lindt chocolate store, or godiva.

I'd like to disagree with some of you on your excitement about high-end chains moving into the Vista.  I think it would be the death of many of the unique qualities that make the Vista so attractive.  For an example of this, just look down the highway at King Street in Charleston.  It has turned into a big upscale outdoor mall to service the wealthy tourists who visit Charleston.  It is no longer the main street of the CBD for the region, and Charleston is the poorer as a city because of this big change.

Granted we are talking about creating a new shopping zone on Lady, not replacing an existing traditional one, but once these high-rent paying chains come in, its goodbye to all the funky, locally-owned businesses and artist's spaces, and hello to all the corporate-controlled shops selling overpriced junk.  I don't think this is a serious concern for the Vista though, because Columbia just doesn't have the demographics or the volume of traffic to support the kinds of stores you are listing here.

I suspect, and hope, what will happen is that the Vista will attract one or two more nice chains (Starbucks, Caribou Coffee, and a few mid-range clothing stores) and still be able to maintain its mix of artists/businesses/night life/retail that make it so attractive now.