The Village at Sandhill

[waccamatt]

Wouldn't you guys much rather see retail occur organically throughout the parts of downtown that are already built for it? That's what goes into the creation of a genuine downtown. Clustering all of the retail into a rather isolated part of downtown wouldn't be good IMO.

Absolutely. There is lots of retail in Five Points and the Devine Street corridor. There is very little need to go out to the suburbs for shopping other than maybe Lowes or Home Depot.

[CorgiMatt]

VAS is fine, but we don't need a shopping center plopped down in downtown Columbia, not even a town-center-style shopping center like VAS.

[krazeeboi]

^Precisely. Why have a project that simply replicates a genuine downtown in downtown? You've already got the real thing; you just need to get the retail in there.

[Mr.Marc]

Absolutely. There is lots of retail in Five Points and the Devine Street corridor. There is very little need to go out to the suburbs for shopping other than maybe Lowes or Home Depot.

Which is fine but 5pts and Vista both need a mix of both unique local shops and national chains that would bring in the people that would otherwise be more comfortable at the mall. The same also goes for restaurants but only just a few of those. Sorry to go off topic but I had to add that.

[Captain Worley]

Absolutely. There is lots of retail in Five Points and the Devine Street corridor. There is very little need to go out to the suburbs for shopping other than maybe Lowes or Home Depot.

Yeah, but it is pretty pricey and somewhat limited. I ended up doing all my Christmas shopping in the 'burbs.

[GvilleSC]

I got to experience the VAS this week. I did not know that Clemson University sold the property to the developer, or that Clemson even operated a campus called Sandhill on that side of Columbia. The monies from the sell were given to varies entities of Clemson University for educational purposes, as well as to fund a new very cool modern building on the Sandhill campus for administration purposes. It should end up with a LEED Gold rating upon completion (which will be within the next month or so). One desire for Sandhill is to become more open to the public (through various means). But ultimately, if you didn't realize you could access the site as a member of the public, go check out the new building at Sandhill. Its siting and design are really environmentally sensitive and beautiful. Wait until the summer, if you decide to go. Construction will have been completed, though the green roof may or may not have been planted yet...

As for the Village at Sandhill, the feel along the center store fronting streets was nice. Though, after all the hype on here about how urban and great it would be for the future of Cola's growth, I was disappointed by the simple 'cross roads' layout. Hopefully the residential components will go well. It's too bad that Super Bilo could not have been built closer. The summer heat won't be friendly to residents who want to walk for groceries on that sea of asphalt.

[Spartan]

Yep. Thats why its called Clemson Rd. The Sandhill Research & Education Center has been out there for a while. They have several campuses like that across the state, but they aren't usually advertised. Its part of their "statewide laboratory" thing.

[dusty87]

I like Village at Sandhill except its pretty far outta town, especially if you live in the Irmo or Chapin area! My only disappointment is that there's a lack of higher end stores out there ie instead of Macy's, Hollister, Banana Republic etc. we get JCPenney, Aeropostale etc.

[Spartan]

I made my first trip to VAS a few weeks ago. I was very impressed by the whole thing. That shopping center is set up well, and I think it has potential to thrive as a community center over time, and it already acts as a "stroll district" for the NE suburbs. I was actually surprised at how massive the whole thing is in person. I noticed that some of the residential components are in place. I'm curious to know how they are doing. The great thing about VAS is that it's set up on a grid of streets so that over time it can continue to grow and densify.

The one thing I don't like is the traffic circle. It's way too big, and poorly designed. People seemed to be confused about it. You almost never need a 2 lane traffic circle. Plus the giant mound of landscaping prevents you from seeing what's at the other end. Maybe that was the point, but I would rather see a cool building in the distance than landscaping.

[krazeeboi]

That was your very first visit to VAS?

[Spartan]

Yep. It's a very invoncenient place to go if you don't live in the area.

[lucjanrc]

Update: Academy Sports & Oudoors opened last year, Sephora opened a few months ago along with Pet Basics and Versona. HomeGoods opened a few weeks ago, and Dress Barn will open an 8,000 sq. ft. store in the town center this winter.