krazeeboi

The economic indicators in the Milken study correlate to actual economic performance, not job announcements which take time to materialize. Affordable housing costs are factored in as well, and for the first time if I'm not mistaken. That's probably what caused Charlotte to slip more than anything.

The Milken Institute's Best Performing Cities 2021 study is out. This is probably the most comprehensive and well-regarded of its kind and it carries much weight (at least to me it does). Columbia is among the cities that improved its standing the most compared to the previous year's study. Among the metros within the "large cities" category (populations of 250K and up), it was the 7th-biggest gainer, jumping 51 spots from 128th in 2020 to 77th in 2021. It appears that its strong showing in the "High-tech GDP growth 2018-2019" and "High-tech GDP growth 2014-2019" categories played a big role here, ranking 7th and 19th in each category, respectively. For comparison purposes, Charleston ranked 29th overall (compared to 13th last year) and Greenville came in at 45th (compared to 42nd last year).

A three-story red brick office building could be on the rise along the capital city’s North Main Street corridor. Columbia developer Scott Middleton is seeking design approval for the $17 million project, to be located on the same lot as another Middleton family development — an upcoming 65,000-square-foot sports-themed brewery announced in February 2019. Middleton could not be reached for comment. Potential tenants and the timeline for construction are unknown.

Pall Corporation (Pall), a global leader in filtration, separation and purification, today announced plans to establish operations in Spartanburg County. The company is creating 425 new jobs and investing $30.2 million into a new facility that will support the rapid development and production of vaccines and therapeutics, including a COVID-19 vaccine. Pall serves the needs of customers across the broad spectrum of life sciences and industry and works with clients around the world to advance health, safety and environmentally responsible technologies. Located at 816 Berry Shoals Road in Duncan, Pall's new facility will focus primarily on single-use technology such as the Allegro™single-use platform. The facility is expected to be operational in May 2021.

I have no idea.

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina will add 702 full-time jobs in the next five years and invest more than $60 million in Columbia after the company re-negotiated a tax-break agreement with Columbia and Richland County.

BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina will add 702 full-time jobs in the next five years and invest more than $60 million in Columbia after the company re-negotiated a tax-break agreement with Columbia and Richland County.

Generac, a leading global power and energy technology company serving the residential, commercial and industrial markets, today announced plans to establish operations in Edgefield County. The company's investment will create 450 new jobs. Located in Trenton, Generac's new manufacturing operations will support the increased demand for home standby generators and associated energy technologies. The facility will also serve as a distribution center to customers throughout the Southeast. The new facility is expected to be operational by the third quarter of 2021.

The proposal to expand the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, put on the back burner since the coronavirus pandemic, is gaining momentum again even as travel slowly recovers from the virus’ economic effects. One sign of the proposal’s revival: Gov. Henry McMaster proposed spending $15 million on the project in his executive budget of released earlier this month. The expansion would add 75,000 square feet, building out into the lower parking lot, a possibility that was part of the building’s original design. The business of attending conventions was “put on pause” by the pandemic but should come back as strong as before or stronger, [local developer Ben] Arnold said. Mid-sized cities such as Columbia, which travelers more often drive to than fly, could be among the earlier destinations to rebound.

The planned overhaul of downtown Finlay Park might be on hiatus, but redevelopment of the area’s former Veterans Administration office into high-end apartments is moving forward. Delays due to the coronavirus pandemic put the project about six months behind schedule, said Alex Cole, a spokesman for the development company Global Ocean Investments. The company plans to start construction this summer.

Columbia often trails competing cities in attracting and retaining tech and knowledge-based jobs and companies, according to a recent study commissioned by a number of area stakeholders. Now those groups are in the midst of a plan to help close those gaps. A number of partners — including the economic development offices of Richland County, Lexington County, and the City of Columbia; the CentralSC Alliance; the University of South Carolina; Midlands Technical College; the South Carolina Research Authority; and the I-77 Economic Development Alliance — came together to fund a $250,000 study on how the Columbia area could become more competitive in attracting high-paying tech and knowledge economy jobs... Deloitte gave Columbia a total of 68 recommendations on how to expand its ability to attract knowledge-based industries. Powers said those recommendations are in the process of being implemented.

Renovations have begun at the historic Babcock Building in the BullStreet District after developer and building owner Clachan Properties secured federal funding to help finance the landmark’s $55 million transformation into luxury apartments. Richmond, Va.-based Clachan Properties closed on a long-term, low-interest U.S. Housing and Urban Development loan last week, according to a BullStreet news release, as well as on a tax credit equity with partners PNC Bank Tax Credit Solutions and Foss & Co. The HUD loan, facilitated by Berkadia Commercial Mortgage LLC, will finance $39 million of the project. The balance will be funded by tax credits and developer equity. The iconic cupola of the Babcock Building, which once housed S.C. State Hospital patients, was destroyed in a September fire. It will be replicated as part of plans to transform the 254,000-square-foot structure, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, into 208 luxury apartments ranging from one to three bedrooms. The residential complex will include a pool, dog park, grilling garden and exercise facilities. The first of five phases is expected to be ready for occupancy in early 2022, according to the release, with the entire project slated for completion in three years.

Of course most of this year constitutes a blip of sorts, but Main Street has seen a good bit of investment over the past couple of years. I'm honestly not sure how you say that it isn't "very different than they have been for a while"--unless your definition of "very different" is limited to new construction (and living in Charlotte, I can imagine that's somewhat the case). Redevelopment of existing properties has been fueling Main Street's revitalization with the historic tax credits playing a big role. One project in particular along Main Street that I've been impressed with is the overhaul of Boyd Plaza which fronts the art museum. North Main has been seeing its own revitalization which the P&C reported on last year: https://www.postandcourier.com/business/columbias-north-main-growing-so-fast-that-real-estate-isnt-keeping-up-with-demand/article_fd2f126e-a96d-11e9-ae87-03e39dc5c379.html

A new speculative industrial park is being developed adjacent to Columbia Metropolitan Airport by Magnus Development. 803 Industrial Park will total nearly one million square feet, with groundbreaking for the 204,120-square-foot Building One planned for early 2021, according to a news release. Plans call for three other buildings, one also 204,120 square feet. The other two buildings are 408,240 square feet and 157,500 square feet, respectively.

A new 279-unit apartment building is proposed near University of South Carolina’s Greek Village and wellness center. Lofts on Lincoln Street would be five stories and include one, two and three-bedroom units, according to an application submitted to the city of Columbia’s Planning Commission for approval. Separated by only a railroad track to the north, the complex would be well within walking distance of Greek Village and the Strom Thurmond Wellness Center. But neighborhood residents said the company has told them it plans to market to graduate students and recent graduates.

Really? Compared to 10 years ago, the changes are quite noticeable to me. Aside from all of the student housing developments, you have the ongoing success of Main Street, USC-related developments, North Main streetscape/developments, Bull Street (ballpark, First Base building, housing, REI, etc.), CanalSide, several new hotels, lots of redevelopment of existing properties, riverfront developments on both side of the river, etc.--and that's just in the core of the city. Columbia has its challenges for sure, but it's far from being stuck in time.

Such a travesty. I really hope their attitude isn't "you're getting the jobs so suck it up." The signage is craptastic.

A city-commissioned report, authored by a former chief economist at the S.C. Department of Commerce, found the Columbia area’s historically high combined tax rates are nearly double that of Charleston and 1.5 times higher than Greenville. “(High taxes) are causing a crisis of disinvestment, which can be seen in declining population, slow income and job growth, and depressed asset valuation,” the report said. The $25,000 report found Columbia has been largely left behind as South Carolina’s economy has grown faster than all but seven other states over the past decade. It determined: Columbia-area property values grew just 16 percent over that span, compared with 36 percent in Greenville, 171 percent in Rock Hill and 217 percent in Charleston. The city’s prime working age population — adults aged 25 to 54 — grew by just 2.5 percent over the past decade. The same group grew by 15 percent in Charleston, 34 percent in Greenville and 64 percent in the Rock Hill. As Charleston, Greenville and Rock Hill have grown, Columbia’s population has been stagnant over the past decade — including consecutive years of population decline since 2016 — even though the University of South Carolina imports thousands of new students every fall. The author, Rebecca Gunnlaugsson, an economist who specializes in public finance and taxation, blames a cycle in which high combined property tax rates from the city, Richland County and two major school districts have discouraged businesses from investing here and depressed property values, creating funding shortfalls that lead to even more tax hikes.

The new Holiday Inn on Washington St, the result of the adaptive reuse of a midcentury office building, came out pretty nicely. It's been open for at least a year now I think:

That's encouraging. It's a good thing the fire was contained to only the central portion of the building but it's sad that the cupola was destroyed. It would be awesome if they could build a new one. I recall when the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in downtown Charleston got a new steeple in 2010 after going a century without one; there are definitely architects out there that are capable of designing these sorts of features for historic buildings. I know that doing so would add costs for the developer but they should be entitled to more tax breaks/incentives if they go that route IMO.

Open for business as of a month ago: https://www.coladaily.com/business/rei-outdoor-gear-store-opens-in-bullstreet-district/article_d6d8e720-deaa-11ea-827c-83d40f45e0ea.html

If you haven't exhausted all your free views this month without a subscription to the State, you can view the article. The link is here. And here's the rendering. I've heard that it could be a Residence Inn.

This is essentially the standard design for most Aloft Hotels these days.

Some renderings and more info about this project on LoopNet: https://www.loopnet.com/Listing/1801-Assembly-St-Columbia-SC/20047150/

Retail giant Walmart will build a massive import distribution center near Ridgeville, giving the State Ports Authority an anchor tenant for an industrial park aimed at diversifying cargo shipments through the Port of Charleston. At 3 million square feet, the distribution center will be Walmart’s third-largest in the country, trailing import warehouse hubs in Texas and Illinois. Groundbreaking on the $220 million project will take place in March and the facility will be in operation by April 2022. At buildout, it will employ 1,000 people full time and boost the port’s cargo volume by 70,000 containers a year.