Is Columbia the Next BIG thing

[scoop]

In some ways, I think our cities are at an advantage not being as big as NoVa, Atlanta, or even Charlotte at present. Because we're in an era in which urban living and mass transit is coming to the forefront, we may actually have a chance to avoid some of the mistakes made by other cities when they were midsized cities like ours are. Charleston is seriously considering implementing commuter rail from Summerville to downtown, and there are at least talks about rail transit in Columbia and Greenville.

Excellent point. I marvel at how NC leaders were so ahead of the curve with RTP. Hopefully, the research campuses under construction in this state will at least see a fraction of the success that RTP is now enjoying.

[krazeeboi]

^Particularly in the absence of effective mass transit.

[Captain Worley]

^ Even with it. I can't stand high density populations. I had a hard time in downtown ATL, I don't think I could stand it in NYC. Columbia is just right.

[CorgiMatt]

^ Even with it. I can't stand high density populations. I had a hard time in downtown ATL, I don't think I could stand it in NYC. Columbia is just right.

[Captain Worley]

Oh, I know. Columbia's urban density I can handle.

[803metlife]

without high urban density we're destined to be another LA or Atl.

[scoop]

^ Even with it. I can't stand high density populations. I had a hard time in downtown ATL, I don't think I could stand it in NYC. Columbia is just right.

[BrasilnSC]

More urban density please.

[krazeeboi]

While Atlanta is certainly densifying, it's really a rather low density city, particularly in relation to the size of the metro. That's why it tends to get so much grief in the urbanity department.

[Spartan]

I think most of you forget that most people in New York do not live in Manhattan. Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and the Bronx are not the overwhelming skycraper insane-density that you commonly associate with that place. They are lower density (compared to Manhattan) that is much more tolerable for people like you and me, and these places are still 'high density' in comparison to most cities in the South. Its just housing that is closer together (you'd have to give up that half acre lawn), and this living arrangement is more condusive to mass transit. I personally do not want to live in Manhattan, or New York in general, but if I did, I would want to live in the outer boroughs that can still access the city's transit system.

A major companent of density is connectivitiy. With out an effective road network, even the densest cities will still be choking on their own traffic. You need an effective road grid. This implies multiple conections similar to Columbia's downtown grid (but not necessarily in a rectangular fasion). We absolutely must get away from this collector/distributor heirarchy that we have imposed on ourselves. That system has proven that it doesnt work (Atlanta, Los Angeles). Take a look at any suburban area and you will see people complain about traffic. Take a look at any downtown area and you will notsee this. That is why people in the suburbs want their cul-de-sacs... they don't like traffic infront of their house. What people don't seem to understand is that if you can tolerate just a little traffic, you can avoid the hassle of suburban driving by living in a denser neighborhood where you can walk to your destination, OR drive there by using multiple roads... OR use public transit!

Did you know what the a standard 10x10 road grid offers over 120,000 different routes to get from one side to the other (without backtracking!) and that the average suburban district with the same area offers anywhere from 2 - 12 routes? Think about it!

[NcSc74]

quote " - growth is important obviously, but the kind of headline-grabbing growth seen in Vegas, Phoenix, Orlando, RDU, NoVA, ATL, etc... can dazzle, and make one envy the headlines, BUT it can really choke the life out of a place. I think the speed of growth in SC feels close to right, maybe it could be kicked up a notch, but SC is in a unique position - by virtue of location it has potential many other states would love to have, while - at the moment - still having a scale that actually allows growing, midsized cities to seriously look at what works and what doesn't in neighboring cities/states, and try to get a few things right that some other people may not have."

I couldn't have said better myself. Wanting to be the next big thing is cool but what happens when you open Pandora's box and let out your well kept secret. Everyone with a hope and a dream wants in and you now you have to house them, give them more and more places to work, educate them, entertain them...etc. One example I read was that Raleigh has to build upwards of 17 new schools and refurbish numbers of others. That is a multi-million dollar taxpayer burden. Now those same people who moved there to be rid of tax hikes and crowded schools, overburdened highways and hospitals have to deal with cost of the next big thing.

[CorgiMatt]

This type of collaboration is what will make Columbia the next big thing:

http://www.midlandsbiz.com/articles/302/

[Spartan]

If they produce and hydrogen starts taking off, I agree. Its exciting to see this type of thing happening in Columbia.

[krazeeboi]

That's an excellent example of private business, government, and educational institutions collaborating for the good of the entire community and state.

[krazeeboi]

Efficiently accomodating growth--that was essentially the theme of the panel discussion of the 2007 Greater Columbia Commercial Real Estate Market Forecast, which featured real estate agents, brokers, bankers, and developers. Four key areas were touched on:

[krazeeboi]

As for the issue with land for industrial development, I would have never known that there's a shortage, especially with the Calhoun County park along I-26 and the Mid-Carolina Commerce Park in Newberry County being fairly new. Perhaps they were focusing more on Richland County proper. I would think that a joint park between Richland, Fairfield, and Kershaw counties would be doable, or a Richland-Sumter joint park. The only challenge would be finding a suitable locatio with interstate frontage.

The office space issue is understandable, but being that SCANA is going to be vacating downtown in about two years, building spec space doesn't seem to be a high priority, IMO. In this regard, the Colliers Keenan midyear office market report states:

In the CBD, USC has two multi-tenant buildings under construction in Innovista and rumors are circulating of two additional multi-tenant office developments possibly slated for Main Street or the Vista. With this level of speculative Class A development, the market will need to attract new tenants looking for large blocks of space to prevent an oversupply of Class A space, especially with the pending vacancy in Palmetto Center.

[Spartan]

^Well, he's well known for extremely long streetscaping projects!

The office space issue seems to hold true for all of South Carolina, as I've seen the same thing said repeatedly about Spartanburg, Greenville, and Charleston.

The industrial space issue does come as a bit of a surprise, but I think its one that can be tacked fairly easily. Its just a matter of land assembly and someone having the right intuition about where the industry should go. I would assume South Columbia makes the most sense, since its already pretty flat down there.

[The_sandlapper]

Efficiently accomodating growth--that was essentially the theme of the panel discussion of the 2007 Greater Columbia Commercial Real Estate Market Forecast, which featured real estate agents, brokers, bankers, and developers. Four key areas were touched on:

[Spartan]

It needs to do both. You can't ignore what other cities in the state are doing, but you shouldn't ignore what neighboring cities are doing either.

[krazeeboi]

^True. But right now, I really think Columbia would do well to start looking at regional and national peers a bit more.

[CarolinaSouth]

The industrial space issue does come as a bit of a surprise, but I think its one that can be tacked fairly easily. Its just a matter of land assembly and someone having the right intuition about where the industry should go. I would assume South Columbia makes the most sense, since its already pretty flat down there.

[Spartan]

No, we shouldn't mess with nature. It has a tendency to win. All I mean is that off of 77 and 27 in that southern part of the metro there is tons of open space, and there should be plenty of space for industrial sites. Flat or otherwise should make much of a difference. But less grading is more attractive for industry.