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Five Points


mr. chips

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You can build a garage up though... and you can have shops on the ground level and a facade that blends into the city without having an ugly parking garage messing things up.

I have been saying this for years! Surface parking lots in the city are just plain butt ugly! The existing surface lots should be shrouded with a privacy wall of brick or decorative block at the sidewalk and preferably covered with a vine similar to creeping fig like is so popular in Charleston.

Multi-level parking facilities with retail at street level can be made very attractive as well as useful. Columbia is more than ready for multiple use buildings with retail at street level public parking above that with offices above that and apartments or condos topping off the structure. Residential parking should be underground wherever the soil conditions will allow it.

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That might happen in the next couple generations, but for now let's look forward to the maturing of the trees they at least planted along Harden and in the parking lot.

You are very correct, CorgiMatt. We will never live to see it.

Problem #1 is that the city did not widen Harden Street along that stretch all the way up to Gervais so that the streetscaping and street parking would be consistant from Blossom to Gervais. That would have set the scene for a future generation to correct the awful situation that exists with a strip mall in the city.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Looks as though Five Points has a plan for the future. The trick will be to allow development, yet preserve the distinct vibe of Five Points (in other words, not recreating the Vista).

Wish they would have said something about the suburban strip that looks totally out of place. What's proposed sounds really promising though, as density is being emphasized.

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That looks like a great plan. I can't wait to see that come to fruition. I think the biggest problem for the upper end of Five Points is that neighborhood behind it. People will need to have a certain amount of security before they will want to live there. Or they coudl clean up that neighborhood. Still, it sounds like they see big things happening for FP :)

I didn't know that there was a 5 storey height restriction in Five Points, but its good to know that they are willing to let developers build higher if they include mixed use developments.

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Looks as though Five Points has a plan for the future. The trick will be to allow development, yet preserve the distinct vibe of Five Points (in other words, not recreating the Vista).

Wish they would have said something about the suburban strip that looks totally out of place. What's proposed sounds really promising though, as density is being emphasized.

I attended their presentation of the Five Points master plan. Very interesting!

Believe me, they don't like that horrid horrid strip mall any more than do you or I; but they feel that they are stuck with it for the time being since it has just undergone extensive renovation. The plan is to use the northern and southern corners of the parking lot to construct anchor buildings at the sidewalk to help diminish the negative effects of the strip mall. I think that that will help considerably. Maybe at some time in the future another building could be placed in between the two anchors to help further hide that hideous parking lot.

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^That sounds great.

The commentary section for this article isn't as bad as some others I've read, but I just wish the people who keep mentioning Charleston and Greenville would just move there and get it over with (if they don't already live there). They are totally irrelevant to the discussion.

There's one person who always comments on articles about development in the city, and his comments always have the same theme: taxes. "It's time to consider the taxpayer!" "What a waste of taxpayer money!" I'm thinking he needs to move to Winnsboro or Lone Star or something.

Edited by krazeeboi
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^That sounds great.

The commentary section for this article isn't as bad as some others I've read, but I just wish the people who keep mentioning Charleston and Greenville would just move there and get it over with (if they don't already live there). They are totally irrelevant to the discussion.

There's one person who always comments on articles about development in the city, and his comments always have the same theme: taxes. "It's time to consider the taxpayer!" "What a waste of taxpayer money!" I'm thinking he needs to move to Winnsboro or Lone Star or something.

Exactly; without taxes we would have no police protection, no fire protection, no garbage pickup, no parks, no roads, no public events, hardly any arts, no public arenas or stadiums, no USC, no Clemson, no public schools, etc. These tax nazis need to get a life; everyone hates paying taxes, but they are a necessary evil. The taxes in question are a drop in the bucket compared to what we're spending in Iraq.

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Exactly; without taxes we would have no police protection, no fire protection, no garbage pickup, no parks, no roads, no public events, hardly any arts, no public arenas or stadiums, no USC, no Clemson, no public schools, etc. These tax nazis need to get a life; everyone hates paying taxes, but they are a necessary evil. The taxes in question are a drop in the bucket compared to what we're spending in Iraq.

Matt, you and Krazeeboi are 100% correct. We have one guy on the mayor's blog who's sole purpose is to beotch about taxes. Everything, according to his logic, is a waste of money if it does not turn a profit. Good grief!

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Matt, you and Krazeeboi are 100% correct. We have one guy on the mayor's blog who's sole purpose is to beotch about taxes. Everything, according to his logic, is a waste of money if it does not turn a profit. Good grief!

Exactly; he is an example of capitalism run amuck.

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And we have our first proposal in Five Points since the announcement of the redevelopment master plan.

That is fabulous! Once again, this forum is "ahead of the curve" when we discussed this idea earlier. Let's hope that the developers come up with some good creative ideas for this property, something that will truly enhance Five Points.

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I am besides myself with delight that that awful looking Kenny's property and parking lot will be replace with something that will add to the village feel of Five Points. I hope the city can come in between the Kenny's property and Yesterday's and construct a parking garage with retail facing Devine and the other street (whatever its name is).

I would also like to see on the south side of Blossom street from the railroad tracks to Harden Street a series of high rise apartments in the 20 floor range with all retail along Blossom Street and the entrances to the buildings facing the opposite direction but still having an access entrance on Blossom Street.

Can you imagine Five Points ringed with high rise multi-use buildings containing retail, parking, office space and apartments with the single homes behind them and the village feel in the front? I can! Five Points has the potential to be a second (if not the primary) downtown Columbia.

Please don't think that I have given up on the Richardson (Main) Street corridor. I feel just the opposite; but Columbia is getting to the point that it can use and support two focal points. Columbia is blossoming like a giant crape myrtle in July.

................................................................. :yahoo:

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^^There is nothing wrong with your idea at all. I have always believed that 5 points could have columbia's next skyline... kind of like Sandy Springs in Atlanta (I would compare to Midtown but it has a very commercial and business feel while Sandy Springs or Buckhead are retail and residentially oriented). I would love to see 5 points turn into a true urban destination surrounded by mid and high rise apartments and residential.

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