Columbia Hilton & new Pendleton St Garage

[mr. chips]

The retail spaces are indeed in the first real photo; two of them are unfurbished, and the Midlands Regional Convention Center Authority occupies the third spot. It would have been better to see all three spots occupied by retail or restaurants though, something that would generate some pedestrian activity across the entirety of that small stretch.

But all along Pendelton and Park Streets there are no retail outlets, and it is sterile. Ugly. Nothing to attract pedestrians or give it life. And the next block has the Transportation Department and another garage - again nothing pedestrian-friendly at the street level. And the next block has another gray garage. Cities that are people-friendly have shops and restaurants with outdoor sitting areas. Since we are "building our city" now for decades to come, let's do it right!

[Captain Worley]

^^ I kinda agree./ I went down Park Street the other day, and the area around SCDOT is like a concrete canyon. Now that I think about it, Blossom is like that from Assembly to about halfway to five points.

[krazeeboi]

But all along Pendelton and Park Streets there are no retail outlets, and it is sterile. Ugly. Nothing to attract pedestrians or give it life. And the next block has the Transportation Department and another garage - again nothing pedestrian-friendly at the street level. And the next block has another gray garage. Cities that are people-friendly have shops and restaurants with outdoor sitting areas. Since we are "building our city" now for decades to come, let's do it right!

Mr. Chips, it's impossible for every street to have street-level retail and pedestrian activity, even in the most urban of cities. Nor should that be the case. You can't stick restaurants in the first floor of government buildings and the like. The best thing to do is to concentrate retail along designated corridors, which is what is now happening. Furthermore, that stretch of Park between Senate and Gervais does have restaurants all along it, and Park north of Gervais is ripe for more retail and restaurants.

Every city has their "concrete canyons" that aren't pedestrian friendly. We can't forget that every street wasn't meant to be a Fifth Avenue.

[waccamatt]

Krazee makes a very good point; there isn't enough business for all of the streets in the Vista to be lined with restaurants and retail. There is activity, however. When the Innovista Biomedical block opens there will be that many more people in the neighborhood at lunch and many of them will walk a couple of blocks north to eat in the heart of the Vista. This influx of workers along with those already working and visiting the DOT will mean a good bit of walking traffic on Park and Lincoln Streets during the day.

[BrasilnSC]

I agree. Gervais/Lady Streets are the main corridors for retail and restaurants so the majority of the activity is there. But the pedestrian activity is slowly moving south. The addition of the restaurants on Senate (Monterey's, Ruth's Chris, and 5 Guys) as well as the Hilton have done just that and so will the completion of the biomedical block. I don't think the activity level will ever be like that of the main corridors, but you have to think that there are still 3 large parcels along that portion of Park St that haven't been developed yet. The old Columbia fire station, the large block just east of the Hilton (where IHOP sits), and the rest of the block where the new Public Health Research building sits.

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see retail and a mass of pedestrians on every street, but that is just not possible.

BTW, there are only two retail spaces in the Hilton Garage facing Lincoln St. Looking at the first real photo above, the one in the middle (with the white blinds and the larger of the two) is indeed occupied by the Midlands Regional Convention Center Authority. The other and smaller space is to the right of that.

[krazeeboi]

I think that in our quest to create more pedestrian-friendly streetscapes (and rightfully so), we lose sight of the fact that a downtown consists of a multiplicity of uses and venues, including institutional, civic, religous, and educational. These are the things that make a downtown functional in the first place, and it is extremely rare for them to include street-level retail features. They are gathering places and centers of employment which keep people downtown for various reasons. The retail and restaurants components are great, but they aren't the anchors which stabilize a downtown.

[Spartan]

Retail and restaurants aren't the anchors, but they are the threads that create the synergy that a city needs to maintain a virile activity level on the street. Parking garages are key destination nodes that suburbanites and even city dwellers use to get to their destinations, so it only makes sense to put some anchors near those locations, even if not necessarily in it. I agree that it may not be necessary to have shops in the garage itself in this particular context, but it might not hurt to have office space or some other use associated with it.

And if nothing else, an aesthetically pleasing design would suffice.

[krazeeboi]

I agree. Parking garages do indeed play significant roles in our car-dominated society. Providing some space between the garages and the anchors does much for street-level activity, especially if restaurants and retail are present between the garage and the destination.

[krazeeboi]

I like the website of the Hilton; puts a really classy touch on a classy hotel. Definitely make sure you check out the photos (link at the top right of the homepage).

[Captain Worley]

That is a great website, and the pictures were fantastic!

[Spartan]

It favors the Westin (albeit not as historic) in Gville.

[krazeeboi]

While I like the way the Hilton turned out, it would have been pretty cool if it resembled a mini version of Houston's Hilton Americas:

[GamecockEngineer]

I like that building, but it would not fit in the Hilton's location. I can't help but think that building will look very dated in 20-30 years.

I like Columbia's Hilton, but I wish the outside was a little more modern.

[pompusmaximus]

While I like the way the Hilton turned out, it would have been pretty cool if it resembled a mini version of Houston's Hilton Americas:

I'm actually glad it doesn't look like this. This building belongs in Brasilia or Mexico city, not columbia SC. Columbia already has plenty of 60s and 70s modernist structures. I think its refreshing to see something more traditional every once and a while like what was built. I guarantee columbia's hilton will hold up far better than Houston's over time.

[CorgiMatt]

The historic part in Columbia's "historic Congaree Vista" is that it is basically a renovated warehouse and manufacturing district from the turn of the century. That is why the Hilton looks like a big mill that was converted to a hotel. If we can remember that, we can appreciate the way new buildings down there look.

[krazeeboi]

I would just like to see something modern and contemporary in the Vista. So maybe not that example, but something different and daring could work.

[waccamatt]

I'm actually glad it doesn't look like this. This building belongs in Brasilia or Mexico city, not columbia SC. Columbia already has plenty of 60s and 70s modernist structures. I think its refreshing to see something more traditional every once and a while like what was built. I guarantee columbia's hilton will hold up far better than Houston's over time.

Columbia doesn't have nearly enough modern and postmodern buildings; I'm a fan of mixing different eras together - there are already enough brick - fake historic buildings.

[BrasilnSC]

I agree.....new construction should represent the era in which it is built, not pretend that it's something old and historical.

[CorgiMatt]

The CBD is modern. It's not trying to look historic. The Vista is an historic district.

[krazeeboi]

The Hilton Columbia Center has been recognized as AAA Approved Four Diamond lodging. It is the only hotel in Columbia to carry the rating, and one of only approximately 25 hotels in South Carolina (all of them being on the coast, except three including the Hilton).