Five Points

[BrasilnSC]

American Apparel is open for business in 5 pts.

[krazeeboi]

Cool; hope the old space in the Vista gets filled soon.

[IRR-SC]

An aerial taken last week.

[dobboard]

Any arials of the USC campus yet IRR?

[IRR-SC]

Any arials of the USC campus yet IRR?

How about this one?

[krazeeboi]

Looking at that Five Points aerial, it's a darn shame what's coming to the old Kenny's site.

[dobboard]

How about this one?

Excellent. If you have anymore please post them as well. Thanks.

[krazeeboi]

Well, it looks like a lawsuit is holding up FPS for the time being. That's a good thing from an urban development standpoint, but truth be told, I feel a bit sorry for the developers; they've already lost money and they have to recoup what they can somehow. Seems like they can't win for losing and I think this whole fiasco may turn off any developer with hopes of building anything new in Five Points.

[Spartan]

Or anything new in Columbia.

[Captain Worley]

^^That's exactly what I think.

[dobboard]

Only in Columbia. What a disaster.

[Spartan]

Its not just Columbia. This one just happened to be more publicized that in other cities.

[krazeeboi]

I don't think this incident will discourage developers in other parts of the city. Five Points just recently adopted the "Future Five" plan and this was really the first development to get approved after that, so anything too different from what already exists in the heart of the village was bound to get additional scrutiny, especially with it being a few stories high. This isn't the case for the Vista or the CBD since regulations have been established there for some time.

[BrasilnSC]

I think it received way too much scrutiny. The first design was in line with "Future Five" guidelines of mixed-use and it fit in architeturally. The only issue was the height and that was because of the parking addition, something that is much needed in 5 pts and would have kept people from parking around Wales Garden neighborhood. City Council and Wales Garden Association royaly screwed that up.

I do feel bad for the developers who went above and beyond to satisfy them with the first design. But I don't want them to just build anything like a big box store, which is much worst than a little extra height. I don't care if it's just one story, it just needs to fit in with the urban environment of the village.

Switching gears, I heard through the grapevine that China Garden is waiting until after the St. Patricks Day festival to begin demolition. This makes sense, as that as a big money maker.

[Captain Worley]

I could be getting OldTimers, but the drawings I saw of Future Five had mixed use buildings that were three stories, max. I think that's what caused the brouhaha with FPS. Residents were opposed to the extra height. I'm with them on that.

[krazeeboi]

^I can understand that, but I think this project should have been granted an exception due to the fact that it included much-needed parking. This is why the recommendations in the Future Five plan were guidelines instead of hard-and-fast rules.

[Ronak]

Public Invited to Weigh In on Five Points Parking:

The City of Columbia's Five Points Parking Advisory Committee will meet on Wednesday, April 15 at 5 p.m. to present an update from parking study consultants Wilbur Smith and Associates on their efforts.

Full article:

http://free-times.com/index.php?cat=199220...861304093820456

[BrasilnSC]

Talk about beating a dead horse. I bet this "new" study says nothing new. I'm going to try and attend.

[dobboard]

You have to be kidding me...another 5 Points parking meeting?

[krazeeboi]

And what has significantly changed since the last study was done? Nothing. Except the lot where Kenny's once stood is now vacant. I have no idea why Belinda Gergel has been pushing for a new parking study. It's a waste of time and money. How many times can you study the same issue just to arrive at the same conclusion each time????

[BrasilnSC]

Oh, but the previous parking study was like 3 years old, lol. Earth to Belinda.....if anything, traffic has grown and parking is needed more than ever, that's just common sense.

[Ronak]

Oh, but the previous parking study was like 3 years old, lol. Earth to Belinda.....if anything, traffic has grown and parking is needed more than ever, that's just common sense.

I'd be more interested in the thrashing the consultants are bound to receive after the presentation. Someone better take a video camera with them.

[emerging.me]

So, the findings are that a series of periphery parking lots are the best/most feasible solution. I don't buy it. Not with the crime problem/perceived crime problem in 5 Points -- they will not be significantly used except perhaps by students on weekends.

I might also side with Joe Azar, who was on WIS tonight. He stated that it's more of a perceived parking problem anyway. He stated that the parking to destination distances in 5 Points are no more than they are at Columbiana Center. I'm not in 5 Points enough anymore to know if that's true, but I'd bank on it. Still, I think the lack of a garage on the Kenny's site is an epic fail.

Edited April 16, 2009 by emerging.me

[CorgiMatt]

There's nowhere in Columbia that I have a problem finding a parking place. Sometimes I might have to walk a block and a half, but duh it's a city. My problem is having to have coins on me to put in the stupid meters. They should do away with them all and mark tires every 90 minutes.

[Captain Worley]

^^ Agreed! I have yet to visit 5 points since they put the meters in.