West Columbia, Cayce & Downtown Lexington

[Captain Worley]

The federal gov told Cayce they'd lose their flood insurance if they didn't adopt the FEMA maps that forbade building in much of the property. Cayce adopted the maps Friday, I believe.

Yay! (until the next round of shenanigans)

[waccamatt]

Cayce's intentions here are quite clear. Columbia is going to have to step up in annexation to the south and box in Cayce.

This "Retreat" development would have happened regardless of which city it annexed into. What's worse though is that this will be a crappy student housing complex that will start falling apart in 5-7 years. They just built a "Retreat" a Clemson... they built something like 80 separate hosing units about 5 feet apart (just far enough to call them houses and not "townhouses"). The whole thing went up in about 8 months. It was SCARY how shoddy those things were built. The City of Clemson had to stop construction several times due to code violations. This is just a new trend in student-oriented housing, and an unfortunate one at that.

Also, as a general point of debate, would y'all rather see topics that are in Cayce, but on the Columbia side of the river, located in the Cayce/West Cola thread or somewhere else?

Yeah, I drove by the retreat while it was under construction and they are awful and in a terrible "no-man's land" location. Why any students would want to live out there is beyond me. I'm really disappointed that Cayce basically thumbed their nose at Richland County's zoning restrictions for the property.

[scguy88]

There is now a sign up at the corner of Alexander Road (Axtell Drive) and Knox Abott (directly across from Monterey's) advertising the buidling of a new regional headquarters from some bank. I didn't study it to hard, but it looks to be about four or five stories and has a completion date of summer 2009. West Columbia is really about to have a boom (as the article in today's State suggests) - with the easy commute to downtown its only natural for Columbia's growth to begin spreading over the river.

[waccamatt]

There is now a sign up at the corner of Alexander Road (Axtell Drive) and Knox Abott (directly across from Monterey's) advertising the buidling of a new regional headquarters from some bank. I didn't study it to hard, but it looks to be about four or five stories and has a completion date of summer 2009. West Columbia is really about to have a boom (as the article in today's State suggests) - with the easy commute to downtown its only natural for Columbia's growth to begin spreading over the river.

That was announced some time ago, but it's good to see it come to fruition.

[Spartan]

I'm assuming that means the tower that was proposed there a few years back is officially dead.

[Captain Worley]

Yeah, that condo tower didn't have 50% pre-sold, so they couldn't get financing to build it.

It was across the street and closer to the river than that parcel, though.

Edited July 16, 2008 by Captain Worley

[Spartan]

Oh this is the one adjacent to the Monterrey's?

[BrasilnSC]

Does anyone have a rendering or an idea of what this will look like? I sure hope it has urban elements. I do not want to see an asphalt parking lot facing Blossom St.

[Captain Worley]

Spartan, the bank/whatever is going across the street from Moneterrey's. The condo tower was going to be between the river and the Riverside motel (I still think of it as the Fremont Inn).

[dobboard]

Bad news on the West Columbia front. Another delay in what would have been (will be) a great development.

Per The State

[Captain Worley]

There is now a sign up at the corner of Alexander Road (Axtell Drive) and Knox Abott (directly across from Monterey's) advertising the buidling of a new regional headquarters from some bank. I didn't study it to hard, but it looks to be about four or five stories and has a completion date of summer 2009. West Columbia is really about to have a boom (as the article in today's State suggests) - with the easy commute to downtown its only natural for Columbia's growth to begin spreading over the river.

They've started sitework on this project this week. I hope it includes some parking for the Greenway.

Edited August 5, 2008 by Captain Worley

[digital_sandlapper]

Bad news on the West Columbia front. Another delay in what would have been (will be) a great development.

Per The State

Bad news, indeed. Yet another example of speculation that never becomes fact. Don't believe the hype: making big announcements, multi-media blitzes, renderings on websites, etc. Look at what happened/is happening to the Kline development, Bull Street, Vsion, condos in the cotton warehouse by Blossom, Richland Mall redevelopment, etc., etc. I will be very surprised to see Innovista's grand plans of an urban park, etc. get built even 25%, especially with Sorensen leaving. From now on my philosophy is "I'll believe it when I see it."

Sorry to sound so defeatist . . . just call me skeptical from now on with these big "plans."

[CorgiMatt]

Are you Kirkman Finlay?

[krazeeboi]

Bad news, indeed. Yet another example of speculation that never becomes fact. Don't believe the hype: making big announcements, multi-media blitzes, renderings on websites, etc. Look at what happened/is happening to the Kline development, Bull Street, Vsion, condos in the cotton warehouse by Blossom, Richland Mall redevelopment, etc., etc. I will be very surprised to see Innovista's grand plans of an urban park, etc. get built even 25%, especially with Sorensen leaving. From now on my philosophy is "I'll believe it when I see it."

Sorry to sound so defeatist . . . just call me skeptical from now on with these big "plans."

Let's also look at the Hilton, Adesso, the Tower at Main and Gervais, the Sheraton, Assembly Station, SpringHill Suites, City Club, CanalSide, Renaissance Plaza, Courtyard at Arsenal Hill, Village at Sandhill, Olympia and Granby Mills, Celia Saxon, Rosewood Hills, Shandon Square, GranDevine, etc. Just as much--actually more--is getting built than not. You can't group all of those stalled/cancelled developments together, as there are different factors at work in all of those projects. The economy is the hold up with this development for the pit, as well as for the Kline development and Vsion. The Bull Street project has state government involved--enough said. A bad developer was involved with the Richland Mall development. I'm not sure why you're doubting that Innovista will not pan out because Sorensen will be leaving when the actual executor of Innovista, Harris Pastides, the one behind much of what we now see, is president of the university.

Every project must be evaluated on its own merits at this point. You can't just say, "Oh, it's a big project plan so it's sure to fail" without taking things into account like the type of development, the developer, location, etc.

[waccamatt]

The next time you get discouraged about developments that get announced and seem to take forever to get off the ground, take a look at the Freedom Tower in New York.

Some cities (including one I won't name not far from here) basically sell their souls to the devil to allow developers free reign. While it does get frustrating to see projects take time to get off the ground, let's revel in the fact that Columbia city government at least takes the time to listen to the concerns of its residents. If not for this fact we might have a freeway running through Cottontown, Elmwood Park and the Vista right now. How would everyone like that?

[Captain Worley]

I believe all the land was purchased and cleared for that freeway before funding was pulled. Leastways, that's the way it looks.

[Spartan]

^And Wales Garden, Shandon, Five Points, Waverly, Rosewood etc.

[digital_sandlapper]

Let's also look at the Hilton, Adesso, the Tower at Main and Gervais, the Sheraton, Assembly Station, SpringHill Suites, City Club, CanalSide, Renaissance Plaza, Courtyard at Arsenal Hill, Village at Sandhill, Olympia and Granby Mills, Celia Saxon, Rosewood Hills, Shandon Square, GranDevine, etc. Just as much--actually more--is getting built than not. You can't group all of those stalled/cancelled developments together, as there are different factors at work in all of those projects. The economy is the hold up with this development for the pit, as well as for the Kline development and Vsion. The Bull Street project has state government involved--enough said. A bad developer was involved with the Richland Mall development. I'm not sure why you're doubting that Innovista will not pan out because Sorensen will be leaving when the actual executor of Innovista, Harris Pastides, the one behind much of what we now see, is president of the university.

Every project must be evaluated on its own merits at this point. You can't just say, "Oh, it's a big project plan so it's sure to fail" without taking things into account like the type of development, the developer, location, etc.

. . you can add Five Points to that list now that it is scaled down to a ghost of its former "grand plan".

I'm just suggesting we take these big announcements with a grain of salt from now on, and treat them for what they truly are: speculative sales presentations. We should add in parentheses when they announce "Here's what we plan to build!" as "[if we get enough money and the neighbors and city council don't shoot it down] here's what we plan to build!"

I know it's hard since we want the city to continue booming, but we must be curb our enthusiasm and be more realistic. There's no point in getting our hopes up only to have them dashed when a shovel never even breaks ground.

[Captain Worley]

^Like the townhouses they were gonna build at Cayce school?

Dollars to donuts that the asbestos abatement costs have killed that one.

[krazeeboi]

. . you can add Five Points to that list now that it is scaled down to a ghost of its former "grand plan".

I'm just suggesting we take these big announcements with a grain of salt from now on, and treat them for what they truly are: speculative sales presentations. We should add in parentheses when they announce "Here's what we plan to build!" as "[if we get enough money and the neighbors and city council don't shoot it down] here's what we plan to build!"

I know it's hard since we want the city to continue booming, but we must be curb our enthusiasm and be more realistic. There's no point in getting our hopes up only to have them dashed when a shovel never even breaks ground.

I think everyone has had a dose of realism in this present economic climate. But like I said, there's still more that has gotten built and is getting built than not. That's definitely a good thing.

[scguy88]

Looks like the long abandoned hotel on the corner of State St & Knox Abbot Dr is going to become a CVS according to the realty sign up. I am assuming the one currently in Parkland Plaza will be shutting down. Wish it was something better, but I guess even this is better than the property's current state. I don't understand how these "pharmacies" make it given that there are three on about every other corner - maybe the will keep the one in Parkland Plaza open...it is more than 100 feet away.

[Captain Worley]

I was really surprised nobody bought that thing and turned it into student apartments.

[BrasilnSC]

What is up with these pharmacies taking prime real estate for their suburban stores? This corner, 5 pts, and the CVS on Assembly. I would like or would've liked to see more of an urban design to these stores.

[krazeeboi]

That corner really had potential for a mixed-use development of some sort (office/retail). Oh well.

[digital_sandlapper]

I pass that property everyday because I live nearby. I agree completely, that site had far better potential. They could've renovated and had student housing, with the fabulous "Googie" A-frame restaurant that used to sit catty-cornered on the lot making a cool common building with a lounge, laundry (which it probably already had), cafe, etc. Alternately, they could've torn down the old motel room buildings, subdivided and sold the land they were on, then keptand renovated the cool building as a tiki bar and restaurant (it even used to have lots of mature native and exotic palms, but those were removed more than a year ago, hopefully reused as palms often are.)

But, no, it was owned by the Guignards who held out while the derelict property grew more unsightly for more $$$$. Finally, the corporate mega-machine called CVS arrived, shelling out the bucks like they were nothing. CVS is notorious among the preservation community for their shameless disregard for even more historic propterties located on corners--which is the only parcels they want. Countless historic old houses and other buildings have been bought and demolished in small towns and cities across the U.S. to build their suburban drug emporiums.

They also have another CVS just up Knox Abbott near Jo-Ann (at the curve). One of those or maybe both will close, I would think.