Main Street/CBD Developments

[krazeeboi]

More residential is what's going to be needed to sustain after-hours activity and we all know what the state of housing is right now.

[BrasilnSC]

^I think that's just part of it. The Vista has just as much, if not less, residential units nearby yet it's packed after-hours. I think Main St just needs things to make it a destination. The relocation of The Nick will certainly help.

[krazeeboi]

^True, but the Vista was revitalized primarily as an entertainment district. Main Street will still be first and foremost a business district, which means that in order increase after-hours activity, it will primarily have to do that with more residential developments--at least in the short term. Long term, connecting the Vista to Main (mainly via an overhaul of Assembly) is key to creating and sustaining evening activity along Main.

[waccamatt]

I actually think moving the Nick will go a long way to increasing nightlife on Main Street. Not only will the new location have 2 screens, but it will also have a piano bar, which should draw a nightly crowd. I know the city has pledged $350,000 to the Nick's move in 2008 and they need to do even more in '09. I see that move as the number one key item after the streetscaping on Main.

[CorgiMatt]

Historically Main Street America has had lots of business activity during the day and window shopping at night. If I lived above Main Street I don't think I would like a big crowd down below every night with the noise that would certainly accompany it. And I wouldn't want my address to be Main Street anyway. In other words I will stick with my opinion that I don't see the big deal about the busiiness district's core having a lot of night time activity, as long as each store front and each building is eventually utilized with a desirable business. The Vista and Five Points can remain the night time entertainment districts forever as far as I'm concerned. Yes, the Nick will have a nice new home when it moves, but the nice home in and of itself is enough. It doesn't need to be viewed as a catalyst to bring more bodies to Main Street after 5:00. It will bring more bodies and that is fine, but it should not be viewed as a meas to an end.

[GamecockEngineer]

I tend to agree with you Corgi. For those that want to have a vibrant night & weekend life on Main St, I think 5 Points, the Vista, and to some extent Devine St. shopping areas are their worst enemies. The three districts are within a maximum 5/10 minute drive of each other, but none are really close enough for the average person to walk. I know the reworking of Assembly will help the pedestrian connectivity of the Vista and Main, but most people aren't going to make the walk from M Vista to the Nick.

My ideal vision for Main Street & the Vista would be similar to King & East Bay/Market in Charleston. In this comparison, the Vista is already similar to East Bay/Market... established nightlife with a wide variety of dinning, bars, etc. King Street (not upper King) has some Restaurants, but it's mostly shops that are open until 6pm. After 6, there's still street level activity, but not nearly what you see on East Bay. I would like to see shops return to Main (losing Lourie's really hurts) that cater to the existing weekday business traffic, and hopefully attract Saturday shoppers. We need to try and attract people to Main on Saturday to walk the street and pick up a pair of shoes, grab a bit to eat, visit the Art Museum, etc.

I guess ultimately what I'm trying to say is, we need to try and create an environment on Main that compliments the Vista... we don't need to recreate the Vista.

[Spartan]

In Charleston, there are apartments on King Street, and thousands of residential condos/apartments within a very reasonable walking distance.

I think that there is definitely a market of people who want to live on or near Main Street. If there weren't, our friends at CapitolPlaces wouldn't be doing so well.

[krazeeboi]

I think the overarching goal should be to connect Main Street and the Vista to the point that they essentially function as one district. In that regard, Main won't be competing with the Vista when it comes to after-hours destinations; it will simply represent a continuation of the activity in the Vista naturally migrating over to Main.

[GamecockEngineer]

Even with a functioning connection, I think Main and the Vista are too spacially seperated to function as one district. You can't expect people in the western Vista to walk to the 1500 block of Main. It's several blocks... uphill. And I enjoy, even perfer walking opposed to talking a cab or driving.

Don't get me wrong, I think a re-working of Assembly is needed and will help enhance Main Street, but I just don't see it becoming part of the Vista.

[krazeeboi]

Honestly, I don't think it's that far from the western portion of the Vista--say, Renaissance Plaza--to Main Street. The distance (0.6 mi) is somewhat comparable to that between the RiverPlace development in the West End in Greenville on S. Main to the Hyatt on N. Main (0.6 mi), the Wachovia Cultural Campus (under construction) in Charlotte on S. Tryon up to Discovery Place on N. Tryon (0.5 mi), or from the Charleston Place shops on lower King to the Francis Marion Hotel on the edge of upper King (0.9 mi). In each of those cases, those are pretty easy walks of several blocks. It's just hard to envision right now in Columbia because Assembly is such a barrier, but the districts can definitely become connected rather seamlessly.

[emerging.me]

Honestly, I don't think it's that far from the western portion of the Vista--say, Renaissance Plaza--to Main Street. The distance (0.6 mi) is somewhat comparable to that between the West End in Greenville to the Hyatt (0.6 mi), the Wachovia Cultural Campus (under construction) in Charlotte up to Discovery Place (0.5 mi), or from the Charleston Place shops to the Francis Marion Hotel (0.9 mi). In each of those cases, those are pretty easy walks of several blocks. It's just hard to envision right now in Columbia because Assembly is such a barrier, but the districts can definitely become connected rather seamlessly.

I agree with this. I think Assembly is SUCH a mental barrier. I can't really even envision how it could be broken down -- but good urban design could do it, I'm sure. Same with Huger on the other end.

Edited December 19, 2008 by emerging.me

[krazeeboi]

I agree with this. I think Assembly is SUCH a mental barrier. I can't really even envision how it could be broken down -- but good urban design good do it, I'm sure. Same with Huger on the other end.

It can most definitely be done (credit to digital_sandlapper for pointing us to this site in another thread).

[Spartan]

If DC can transform their streets, Columbia can transform theirs. DC has some wide streets, and yet you don't feel weird about crossing them.

[Ronak]

I agree with this. I think Assembly is SUCH a mental barrier. I can't really even envision how it could be broken down -- but good urban design could do it, I'm sure. Same with Huger on the other end.

I think one of the most productive steps that could be taken at this point would be to develop the two parking lots at the corner of Assembly and Gervais.

They're incredibly unsightly, and having some nice retail at the corner there would make the street seem much less wide.

[krazeeboi]

^I'm wondering if the guy who owns those lots (I think he's a former member of city council) want too much for them. I can't imagine that a developer hasn't inquired about them. They've got to be the highest profile lots in downtown.

[dobboard]

I visited the rooftop bar at the top of the Sheraton last night, and was blown away by the views of the city. The Meridan Building, the Vista, Main Street, and the Capitol Building all looked simply amazing from up there. This is a great addition to Columbia. It really gives you that "big city" feel when you are up there having a drink.

[waccamatt]

I visited the rooftop bar at the top of the Sheraton last night, and was blown away by the views of the city. The Meridan Building, the Vista, Main Street, and the Capitol Building all looked simply amazing from up there. This is a great addition to Columbia. It really gives you that "big city" feel when you are up there having a drink.

We talked about doing a forum meet up there a while back. Maybe we should try that again.

[CorgiMatt]

Let's do it!

[Captain Worley]

I saw in the real estate transfers section of the State that a unit in Adesso sold. That's still, what, fifteen or so sold?

[colajnp]

Gotham Bagel has some awesome food and pretty cool atmosphere. I tried lunch on Monday and breakfast today. Looked like they were doing pretty good - hope they can keep it going

[waccamatt]

Gotham Bagel has some awesome food and pretty cool atmosphere. I tried lunch on Monday and breakfast today. Looked like they were doing pretty good - hope they can keep it going

I had lunch there on Monday and it was good. I also thought the prices were very reasonable.

[BrasilnSC]

I had lunch on Main Street Friday and noticed that the benches were gone. Specifically at the intersection of Main and Lady. There were no benches in sight and nowhere to sit. WTF?

[CorgiMatt]

They're trying to discourage the homeless from sitting on the benches all day. Not having any benches is one way to do that.

[growingup15]

They're trying to discourage the homeless from sitting on the benches all day. Not having any benches is one way to do that.

I think if the elmwood earlwood community will stop thinking about themselves maybe the homeless will have a place to be. I hope the city go ahead and build the new homeless shelter so we won't have too many homeless people roaming the streets.

[krazeeboi]

They're trying to discourage the homeless from sitting on the benches all day. Not having any benches is one way to do that.

The city needs to tackle the problem at its root instead of the symptoms. What's next, shut down Finlay Park because the homeless loiter there?