Historic Congaree Vista Developments

[scnative]

Well, three lefts = 1 right. You could use that street if you missed the turn and use the signal at Richland to cross Huger.

I agreed earlier on your left turns logic but then thought about it and I have to pick on ya a bit more...I think the problem is there isn't a signal at that intersection, which makes it unsafe to start with.

[Spartan]

You're right. I assumed there was since on the Google aerial there are crosswalks, but after looking at street view I see there is no signal. That's bad intersection design. You should never mark all legs of an intersection with crosswalks in an unsignalized situation.

[CorgiMatt]

1501 Park Street (corner of Park and Hampton) will be a three-story S.C. Bar Association annex that will sit on the corner. The approved minutes from the May 5 DDRC meeting are attached. 1501 Park is on page 3. The first item is the proposed Five Points bank that will replace Hiller Hardware.

http://www.columbia.sc.gov/tasks/sites/coc..._05_minutes.pdf

[waccamatt]

Lofts at Printer's Square on 6/15/09:

[krazeeboi]

Just by looking at the plain Jane architecture, you wouldn't know this development was as high-end as it is. Still a bit surprised it's even getting built. Wonder how many units are under contract?

[Captain Worley]

They had to have at least 50% to get financed, I think.

[krazeeboi]

Hmmm, interesting. I guess just having a few units at those prices worked for the developer, as opposed to have dozens of units in the $200K-$300K range.

[scnative]

Did a little more sleuthing (just a Google search really) and found out that this will be a 5-story, 118,200 sq ft commercial building housing a financial institution and a law firm (is it just me, or has Columbia been building a lot of those lately?). A 5

[krazeeboi]

I think it's on hold for now.

[krazeeboi]

Well, here's the official finished product (7/4). I think it's open now:

The Lofts at Printer's Square (7/4). Gotta love how the greenery adds to its location:

Interesting how the second shot favors the rendering:

[dobboard]

Nice shots. Not a big fan of how the Staybridge turned out. I like the look of the new hotel up Huger St. (forgetting the name) quite a bit more.

The Lofts, on the other hand, appears to be coming together nicely.

[krazeeboi]

Nice shots. Not a big fan of how the Staybridge turned out. I like the look of the new hotel up Huger St. (forgetting the name) quite a bit more.

This one is the Springhill Suites. Staybridge Suites is the one up Huger at I-126.

[scnative]

^ I would have preferred the Staybridge to be where the Springhill is. The Staybridge is so much more attractive.

[krazeeboi]

^Interesting...I don't see how Staybridge's architecture is head and shoulders above Springhill's. Both are decent enough, but are fairly standard designs. I do think the mix of brick types on Springhill make it a little more fitting for its location on Lady though.

[scnative]

Architecturally they are fairly standard, I agree. Staybridge is more appealing to me because of the darker brick, contrasting it against the surroundings, as well as the cleaner looking large windows. Also, even though the main entrances to both are not on Huger itself, Staybridge seems to have a more welcoming curb appeal entrance.

[krazeeboi]

I do like the darker brick on Staybridge, but I think it's height would be a little too imposing along Lady. Never really paid attention to its curb appeal though. I really wish Springhill was fronting Lady though, or at least a retail space was located along Lady.

[dobboard]

This one is the Springhill Suites. Staybridge Suites is the one up Huger at I-126.

I got the names confused. Staybridge = thumbs up, Spring Hill = thumbs down

[BrasilnSC]

I'm with Dob. The Staybridge turned out to be much more attractive, although standard in design, with some nice details. And it does have an entrance facing Huger, a big plus. The Springhill looks very bland and lacks urban features....anything facing Lady or Huger would have made a huge difference IMO. One things that's been irking me is the fact that there is no sidewalk on Huger St in front of Springhill Suites... WTF!

[digital_sandlapper]

I'm with Dob. The Staybridge turned out to be much more attractive, although standard in design, with some nice details. And it does have an entrance facing Huger, a big plus. The Springhill looks very bland and lacks urban features....anything facing Lady or Huger would have made a huge difference IMO. One things that's been irking me is the fact that there is no sidewalk on Huger St in front of Springhill Suites... WTF!

Brasil, you are so right. Come to think of it, Huger has NO sidewalks except near the Blossom St. intersection, does it? Huger is in dire need of streetscaping--maybe all this new development will spur that.

I also noticed recently that the once beautiful cypress trees planted along Huger have been butchered over the years by the dang power company on the western side of the street. Those will have to be replaced one day, then of course will not match the maturity of those across the street.

On that note--do you think Huger would ever get re-graded to eliminate the dangerous hill that peaks at the credit union? Even if there were room for a center turn lane, that's quite a treacherous spot. A right turn out of the parking lot is hard, much less trying to turn left--forget about it!

Edited July 7, 2009 by digital_sandlapper

[krazeeboi]

It would be great if a streetscaping of Huger could take place before the Kline site (and adjacent bus barn site) gets developed--whenever that will be.

[scnative]

Needless to say, but I will, pretty much everything is on hold these days (exception - Hotels). It's my hope that in a year or so things will start to revive. The Innovista master plan has grand changes for Huger between Gervais and Blossom as well as the other streets parallel up to the USC horseshoe. Once Innovista picks back up and goes forward, I would invision Huger being streetscaped up to I-126 as well. By then hopefully Kline along with a buyer of the SCE&G owned land will change that area beyond what we can imagine. The changes to come in the next 5 years to the Vista and Innovista area will be like no other changes in Columbia's past.

[CorgiMatt]

They have torn down the little shop and garage thing behind it on the corner of Gervais and Pulaski to make way for this new retail establishment. For those of you who have wished for something other than brick in the Vista, take a look.

http://www.columbiabusinessreport.com/news...ta-construction

[krazeeboi]

I'd seen the demolition when I was in town but had no idea what was going there. It's good to see these little gaps get filled, but I wouldn't have complained if it were brick since it's actually located on Gervais. I hope it fits in architecturally.

[BrasilnSC]

Brasil, you are so right. Come to think of it, Huger has NO sidewalks except near the Blossom St. intersection, does it? Huger is in dire need of streetscaping--maybe all this new development will spur that.

There are sidewalks on Huger St, from Gervais to I-126, except for in front of Springhill. I'm not sure about the rest of Huger.

Wow, I saw the old car wash place being torn down and a for sale sign go up, but had no idea there was already something in the works. I welcome this non-brick building. It's nice to see new projects coming off the ground, while others have stalled....aka Centre Vista.

[krazeeboi]

Here's a larger rendering of the office/retail building to be built at Gervais and Pulaski; I think it will be cool to see such a contemporary building go in that spot amidst the traditional brick buildings:

Per the article, the 8,000 square-foot building will have individual entrances for retailers along Gervais and an open terrace area in the second floor. The terrace is a request of the second-floor office tenant. The project will reuse a building at the back of the site that had been part of an antiques mall and an adjacent structure that had been part of the antiques seller will be demolished to make way for parking. The two buildings will be connected by a 35-foot, plant-filled courtyard. The developer is in talks with potential tenants, but none have been officially secured as of yet.

I hate that part of the lot will be for parking, but I hope it isn't the part that front Lady Street even though something tells me it may be.