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Downtown east of Main


krazeeboi

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Downtown is quite "west heavy"; the vast majority of new projects under construction downtown are either in the Vista or on Main. As of now, there are only two projects east of Main that have been proposed: Vsion and the Bull Street campus. What will it take to pump some life into that part of downtown? More residential? More retail/restaurants?

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Downtown is quite "west heavy"; the vast majority of new projects under construction downtown are either in the Vista or on Main. As of now, there are only two projects east of Main that have been proposed: Vsion and the Bull Street campus. What will it take to pump some life into that part of downtown? More residential? More retail/restaurants?

Some movement has already started. The building just off of the corner of Marion and Lady is to be increased in height and re-developed into condos and the Five Points beautification along with their master plan.

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Some movement has already started. The building just off of the corner of Marion and Lady is to be increased in height and re-developed into condos and the Five Points beautification along with their master plan.

Also some warehouses near Laurel and Henderson (I think it's Henderson - near the State Hospital) are undergoing major transformations. One is now a church and the other looks to be shaping up as an office building. A third one is now a plastic surgeon's office, I hear.

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So how do you guys see this area shaping up in the future? Mostly residential? What about nightlife? Sumter Street in particular is ripe for two tall towers.

I think there will be renovations and some new infill development from here on out in that area, but eventually we will be looking at overflow from the Vista on top of whatever develops in the area before the overflow happens. I wish SCANA and Holder Properties would get together and build a green mixed-use 40-story retail/SCANA headquarters/residential high-rise on Sumter Street.

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^Yes, that would be awesome.

I also think a hotel/condo tower with an entertainment complex at the base would be great as well for that side of downtown. Charlotte and Los Angeles have projects like this on the drawing board (Charlotte's is actually under construction).

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That area is a largely residential and largely USC. I think it will continue to be a residential area. The area north of Gervais has varying uses. It is also a historic district if memory serves, so it won't change much, if at all.

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That area is a largely residential and largely USC. I think it will continue to be a residential area. The area north of Gervais has varying uses. It is also a historic district if memory serves, so it won't change much, if at all.

That is correct; the old area of downtown east of Marion Street and north of Gervais contains most of the remaining antebellum buildings in Columbia that were not destroyed in the fire of 1865. The USC Horseshoe contains some of the other buildings that survived the Civil War. This are is truly Columbia's historic district and some gorgeous homes have been preserved. I think this neighborhood (which really doesn't have a name) is screaming for a photoshoot. When are we going to have a forum meet, btw?

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Really, I'm mainly referring to the area east of Main, north of Gervais, south of Elmwood, and west of Bull--I know that's largely the Sumter-Marion corridors, but that area could certainly use a shot in the arm. I'm hoping that Vsion will jumpstart things.

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Really, I'm mainly referring to the area east of Main, north of Gervais, south of Elmwood, and west of Bull--I know that's largely the Sumter-Marion corridors, but that area could certainly use a shot in the arm. I'm hoping that Vsion will jumpstart things.

Oh, well thats like 2 blocks wide :) Thats just the CBD as far as I'm concerned. Skyscrapers should go there.

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I think Sumter street is indeed the next place for skyscrapers. However in order to entice big companies it needs to be cleaned up a little. The main bus stop being there is a problem. (I can't hardly walk within a block of it, without somebody yelling as loud as they can for me to "come here!") The historic district really crosses Bull street. I find it hard to not include some of the homes east of Bull in a historic reference. I'll post some of my pics of this area very soon. I also think Taylor street still shows some promise. At least the first 2 or 3 blocks east of Bull. This area has great potential to be transformed if you ask me. Especially with the historic Township Auditorium right there.

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Oh, well thats like 2 blocks wide :) Thats just the CBD as far as I'm concerned. Skyscrapers should go there.

True, it's only 2 blocks wide, but 9 blocks long. I think the government buildings (eg, city hall, county courthouse, bankruptcy court, etc.) should have been located in this part of downtown, as they create dead space on the northern end of Main (north of Taylor). Hopefully if Richland County has to build another courthouse, it will do so on Marion or Sumter, and the land where the courthouse currently sits can have a functional usage.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I think the historic area, which contains many of Columbia's historic structures, may eventually see some new residential construction that respects and blends in with the historic and traditional architecture of that area. I could see a really nice townhouse complex going up there.

Also, some of the buildings in that area are located on oversized lots, like the Richland 1 building and even the Hampton-Preston mansion.

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I think the historic area, which contains many of Columbia's historic structures, may eventually see some new residential construction that respects and blends in with the historic and traditional architecture of that area. I could see a really nice townhouse complex going up there.

Also, some of the buildings in that area are located on oversized lots, like the Richland 1 building and even the Hampton-Preston mansion.

The Hampton-Preston Mansion block and the Robert Mills House block will never have anything else on them. Historic Columbia is raising over $18 million over the next five years to bring back the gardens that used to grace those two blocks. They did an article on the project not long ago that included excerpts from old articles in which visitors from back in the old days exclaimed that they had never seen anything so beautiful anywhere as Columbia's gardens. They said by 2011 people will talking about the gardens again.

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The Hampton-Preston Mansion block and the Robert Mills House block will never have anything else on them. Historic Columbia is raising over $18 million over the next five years to bring back the gardens that used to grace those two blocks. They did an article on the project not long ago that included excerpts from old articles in which visitors from back in the old days exclaimed that they had never seen anything so beautiful anywhere as Columbia's gardens. They said by 2011 people will talking about the gardens again.

I would like to see some of the old homes that surround these two blocks restore to single family dwellings and where some were torn down replaced with complimentary homes. Get rid of the parking lots and return the area to residential homes with well pruned lawns and gardens.

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I would like to see some of the old homes that surround these two blocks restore to single family dwellings and where some were torn down replaced with complimentary homes. Get rid of the parking lots and return the area to residential homes with well pruned lawns and gardens.

That would be wonderful, but these would be very expensive homes. Wouldn't it be great if this became a residential neighborhood again?

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Oh OK. Well in that case, bring 'em back!

The Richland 1 building doesn't need that much land though.

I agree. I'd like to see them move to new digs and for that entire block to be developed into inner-city housing in keeping with the surrounding houses that are mostly businesses. And I'd like to see the existing businesses gradually become homes in that area.

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I think Sumter street is indeed the next place for skyscrapers. However in order to entice big companies it needs to be cleaned up a little. The main bus stop being there is a problem. (I can't hardly walk within a block of it, without somebody yelling as loud as they can for me to "come here!")

:rofl:

Your comment about people yelling "come here!" really amused me, because we have all been in that very situation in a city. :lol:

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Regarding JFER's comment (which I missed somehow)-

You arent the first person to say someting like that. What would you (or anyone else) suggest doing with the transit center?

First of all, I wouldn't refer to that glorified bus stop as a a 'transit center'!

Secondly, I would suggest that a real off street transportation center be constructed.

Last, but not least, I'd increase police pastols and institute foot patrols in the center and in the immediate vicinity of the center.

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