Main Street/CBD Developments

[carolinagarnet]

Granger Owings is opening a tailor-made clothing /barber shop called Granger Ownings Bespoke in the Columbia Arcade. It's interesting not just because the concept is unique, but also because it fits perfectly in the low volume, small storefront layout of the Arcade. I guess the new owner is making some positive changes.

http://coladaily.com/2016/03/21/new-shop-to-offer-head-to-toe-fashion-help/

[carolinagarnet]

The people behind Agape and Michael's Cafe are proposing a restaurant with a bowling alley, pool tables, shuffleboard tables, a full bar, and possibly an arcade. This is the kind of younger vibe that Main Street needs since most of the bars right now target an older, more sophisticated crowd. This place has main stream appeal.

http://www.thestate.com/news/business/article71270027.html

[Nick2]

That's going to do excellently. Main street is booming right now with the Hub being there. Sounds like a good fit for a college crowd. There need to be more casual atmosphere college bars in Columbia instead of just the balls-to-the-walls of most places in five points.

[growingup15]

new development revisited 

http://www.thestate.com/news/local/article76749952.html

[gman430]

I'm sorry but that thing is UGLY.

[carolinagarnet]

This isn't rocket science. Create a two story glass lobby (small, it would only slightly cut down on the footprint of the apartments above), change to a lighter facade, perhaps faux light brick, 1/2 to 2/3 of the way up, and add vertical elements or variations in the depth of the facade to break up the flatness of the structure. Seriously, how hard is this?

[Nick2]

It's boring but not ugly. It's sooooo much better than the hideous original design. Maybe they'll tweak it again for the better.

[growingup15]

So i heard that the garage on Lady st has been sold. I Also heard the garage plans changed to a more mid rise apartments over a High rise.

 

Which is a bummer. It seems lie a waste of space to only build small 4-6 story apartment instead of a tower like initially planned.

 

So much got adding density to downtown.

Edited May 16, 2016 by growingup15

[victory]

6 hours ago, growingup15 said:

So i heard that the garage on Lady st has been sold. I Also heard the garage plans changed to a more mid rise apartments over a High rise.

 

Which is a bummer. It seems lie a waste of space to only build small 4-6 story apartment instead of a tower like initially planned.

 

So much got adding density to downtown.

Did Matt Kennell e-mail you any renderings yet? Maybe their engineering study indicated the garage would not be a sufficient foundation for a 22 story building, or maybe the politics of obstructing some big wigs' views next door did it? Who knows?

[vicupstate]

If the city owns it, it couldn't have happened without a public vote. 

[carolinagarnet]

The city did not sell the garage; rather, the private owners of the office space below (where McCrory Construction used to be based) sold the building underneath the garage. I have not heard anything about the smaller building, but it can hardly be surprising. I can't imagine a scenario in which the city would have approved that large of a parking variance, not to mention that the building is on the same block as the largest building in the state. A 4-6 story building would still add plenty of density. In fact, doing anything with that lot is a huge win since most parking structures stand alone and do not add much to a downtown other than eliminating the need for surface lots. If Tomlin actually builds and the Clayco development gets through DDRC, Assembly Street will feel considerably different.

[growingup15]

3 hours ago, victory said:

Did Matt Kennell e-mail you any renderings yet? Maybe their engineering study indicated the garage would not be a sufficient foundation for a 22 story building, or maybe the politics of obstructing some big wigs' views next door did it? Who knows?

Yep Matt told me this morninf that he did hear that also and things are changing. He said again soon as he gets renderings he will send them to me.

But he did confirmed that he did hear that they are shrinking the building size also.

[vicupstate]

2 hours ago, carolinagarnet said:

The city did not sell the garage; rather, the private owners of the office space below (where McCrory Construction used to be based) sold the building underneath the garage. I have not heard anything about the smaller building, but it can hardly be surprising. I can't imagine a scenario in which the city would have approved that large of a parking variance, not to mention that the building is on the same block as the largest building in the state. A 4-6 story building would still add plenty of density. In fact, doing anything with that lot is a huge win since most parking structures stand alone and do not add much to a downtown other than eliminating the need for surface lots. If Tomlin actually builds and the Clayco development gets through DDRC, Assembly Street will feel considerably different.

The city would have to sell the air rights, for a building to go on top of there garage. 

[carolinagarnet]

3 hours ago, vicupstate said:

The city would have to sell the air rights, for a building to go on top of there garage. 

The city sold the air rights to Don Tomlin's company Hallmark Homes.

http://columbiabusinessreport.com/news/55606-where-there-rsquo-s-air-there-rsquo-s-real-estate-tomlin-exploring-parking-garage-apartments

[vicupstate]

I thought it was more of in discussion phase than approved agreement. If it is a done deal, how much did the city get for the rights? 

 

But before buildings begin to rise into the Columbia sky, each garage must have its own due diligence to address its feasibility, Wilson noted.

“Just because they have the opportunity to do it,” she said, “there has to be a separate agreement each time they want to move forward on any individual one of our garages.”

The process is ongoing, Tomlin said. Hallmark Homes currently has teams assessing the Lady Street garage and, because of that, has no cost estimate for the project available to unveil. How much work has to be done to the existing structure and whether it even has the capability of supporting an apartment building must be figured out first

 

This is probably why it is not high rise:

“It is a very expensive from an engineering point of view because you have to have a world-class engineer who does world-class work to figure out how to leave the parking garage better than you found it, stronger and conforming to modern code,” he said. “So you actually have to provide stiffening, strengthening, etc. as you go. It is a daunting and very expensive architectural engineering process.”

[carolinagarnet]

5 hours ago, vicupstate said:

I thought it was more of in discussion phase than approved agreement. If it is a done deal, how much did the city get for the rights? 

 

But before buildings begin to rise into the Columbia sky, each garage must have its own due diligence to address its feasibility, Wilson noted.

“Just because they have the opportunity to do it,” she said, “there has to be a separate agreement each time they want to move forward on any individual one of our garages.”

The process is ongoing, Tomlin said. Hallmark Homes currently has teams assessing the Lady Street garage and, because of that, has no cost estimate for the project available to unveil. How much work has to be done to the existing structure and whether it even has the capability of supporting an apartment building must be figured out first

 

This is probably why it is not high rise:

“It is a very expensive from an engineering point of view because you have to have a world-class engineer who does world-class work to figure out how to leave the parking garage better than you found it, stronger and conforming to modern code,” he said. “So you actually have to provide stiffening, strengthening, etc. as you go. It is a daunting and very expensive architectural engineering process.”

You're right, Tomlin has an agreement to purchase air rights. He has exclusive rights over six garages, of which I think the three likely candidates for new buildings are obviously the Park Street Garage since he already announced, the Cannon Garage at Taylor and Sumter since it's new and beautiful, and eventually the Lincoln Street Garage behind Aloft. The Park Street Garage is behind the Hilton in that dead zone and it's pretty dull, the Taylor Street Garage is across from the Post Office on Assembly, again in a dead zone and ugly, and the Washington Street Garage is too far north, ugly, and looks structurally questionable.

http://www.columbiasc.net/depts/city-council/docs/2015/05_05_2015/ordinance_2015_044_hallmark_homes_international_air_rights_contract.pdf

[vicupstate]

So he basically gets the 'land' for free.  I'm sure the foundation work is expensive, but that certainly provides a lot of cost offset. 

It will be interesting to see how all this pans out over the next ten years. 

[urbanlover568]

On 5/11/2016 at 8:35 PM, growingup15 said:

new development revisited 

http://www.thestate.com/news/local/article76749952.html

Looks like a hospital. Better than nothing i guess XD

On 5/16/2016 at 0:52 AM, growingup15 said:

So i heard that the garage on Lady st has been sold. I Also heard the garage plans changed to a more mid rise apartments over a High rise.

 

Which is a bummer. It seems lie a waste of space to only build small 4-6 story apartment instead of a tower like initially planned.

 

So much got adding density to downtown.

If it's 4-6 stories, i don't see how that can be economically feasible. Did your contact mention anything about another parking garage? If anything it would be nice if they look at adding onto another parking garage also. 

[growingup15]

14 hours ago, mpretori said:

Looks like a hospital. Better than nothing i guess XD

If it's 4-6 stories, i don't see how that can be economically feasible. Did your contact mention anything about another parking garage? If anything it would be nice if they look at adding onto another parking garage also. 

Matt told me that they are looking to shorten the buillding because the cost of strengthening the garage to carry a 22 story tower is gonna be too much and take more time. He said that they may look at doing a high rise on one of the newer garaged since they wouldn't require much retrofitting to build a high rise.

[carolinagarnet]

1 hour ago, growingup15 said:

Matt told me that they are looking to shorten the buillding because the cost of strengthening the garage to carry a 22 story tower is gonna be too much and take more time. He said that they may look at doing a high rise on one of the newer garaged since they wouldn't require much retrofitting to build a high rise.

That makes sense, the garage itself is pretty old and looks somewhat rough. I think the Cannon Garage (1227 Taylor) is probably the best option since it is new, appealing from the exterior, located only a block from the best part of Main Street (Mast General, Columbia Museum of Art), two blocks from the park, and about 6 blocks north of the Horseshoe. Best of all, it is immediately next to the hospital and therefore would be perfect for doctors, nurses, and everyone else in the building. If Tomlin wants to diversify residents, building next to one of the largest employers in the region is a good place to start.

[urbanlover568]

1 hour ago, growingup15 said:

Matt told me that they are looking to shorten the buillding because the cost of strengthening the garage to carry a 22 story tower is gonna be too much and take more time. He said that they may look at doing a high rise on one of the newer garaged since they wouldn't require much retrofitting to build a high rise.

You would think they would think about that before going through all this. I guess the structure problem was hidden and caught last minute. Would be pretty awesome to see a midrise and high rise being built at the same time.

[growingup15]

New businesses are boosting Columbia’s North Main

http://www.thestate.com/news/business/article81798917.html

 

I wonder if we're gonna see some Mid rise apartments on NOMA soon i would love to see that sprout up down there.

[Spartan]

The new Edge is way better than the old Edge design. It's still not great... I don't understand why you would build a residential tower without balconies and some basic floor plan articulation.

[carolinagarnet]

5 hours ago, Spartan said:

The new Edge is way better than the old Edge design. It's still not great... I don't understand why you would build a residential tower without balconies and some basic floor plan articulation.

Laziness? Lack of ambition? Even non-functioning aesthetic balconies (3-4 inches deep) would make a world of difference.

[urbanlover568]

34 minutes ago, carolinagarnet said:

Laziness? Lack of ambition? Even non-functioning aesthetic balconies (3-4 inches deep) would make a world of difference.

Maybe it's because of insurance and being it catered to college kids.