CarolinaSouth

Gotta love Trueblood...lol.

umm.....those wooden light poles in the middle of Main st or absolutely ugly...those aren't permanent are they?

^^^^ But is that in reference to a "W" hotel or any Starwood hotels period? I know the Sheraton is under that umbrella and I couldn't really see a "W" hotel in Columbia at this moment...but a Weston or Aloft is more reasonable to see.

Give me the email address and i'll get to voicing my concerns... Looking at those plans make me want to hit the bar and get drunk...lol...seriously! That just isn't right...I can understand the developers anger, and at one point i agreed with them...but i think it was more out of disappointment that the other project got canned. But looking at this really makes me agree at the city council for even passing this plan....

^^^^ Oh yeah...it's still functional. I had to attend jury duty there earlier this year for the whole week. And as my luck would have it i got selected 4 of 5 days to hear cases. But i often wonder how long it will be until they move from that location. That's a prime parcel of land and while that building has 3 levels...the concrete surrounding may be enough for Richland County to resist a good offer to move to another spot. And for the record....that's one ugly building.....lol

^^^^ It was there before....i still remember when it had the "City Year" logo in the middle of it...lol...and it was at that intersection and at the Laurel and Main intersection also....I actually like the brick circle...if they move it i'll miss it...but it won't crush my spirits...lol

Me too...i didn't like the other design...the brick one in that location flows better IMO

Looking nice....Jeff Morris Furniture is where i got my first Bedroom and Living room set from when i moved our years ago....I think that store supplied my family with a lot of items when i was younger...

I was looking at the webcam shot and is it just me....or do the tree lined median look like a row of Christmas trees But i'm about to leave for Columbia [gotta film a church conference in the morning] and i'm gonna go by Canal Side and look at it up close...

As stated by me in a lot of casual conversations with friends...and as i've seen on here many times....I really feel as if the Decker/Parklane area would prosper with a focus on creating an International flare there. There are a nice number of different cutural shops on the Decker side [and Percival]. So it may work....but i guess it would be a little difficult to pull off at this point but not impossible. It's just unfortunate to see empty banks, the grocery stores leave for greenery pastures, restaurants [Red Lobster and Olive Garden] close, Target bolt for the same pastures as the grocery stores and etc. I remember not having to go far to go to Circuit City, Target, Kroger, Winn Dixie, Red Lobster, Olive Garden, and etc. I use to be able to drive not even a mile and go to my bank and then walk across the lot into the grocery store...then both closed and i have to drive nearly 8mi to go to my bank. But i think Columbia Place will survive for a while and live on....it won't ever be the premier place to go anymore, but if it finds it's niche...then it will be fine. What i would love happen to the area is to get rid of that Capitol Plaza and maybe make it a park or even just remodel that concrete dead strip plaza to have more greenspace.

now if we can just get someone to tear down that dag gone Best Western.....i'll be very happy....i hate that building with a passion...lol..

^^^^^ DDRC lefthand reaches under the table and grabs Carolina Ale Houses envelope that was pre taped to the middle underbelly of the table and magically things happened.

Once again.... in my heart...I want something very nice there. i would love to have that corner be a crown jewel in the 5pts area. But like Capt. said....i don't have any faith in this project [nor any other 5pt points projects] in the future. I still would say i'd just leave the property empty. I know it's not making me any money...but i'm sure if i sat on it long enough that someone would be willing to pay premium dollar to take it off my hands. But yep...for the time being "5pts meet eyesore" aka "soon to be bad urban project" bka "missed opportunity".

Matt i usually agree with most things you say...but this is one that i'm gonna have to disagree about. I don't even think someone like Holder could have got this off the ground. True the tunnel issue arose, but after that it was straight pandering and bickering. It was never about the height in my opinion...but more so about having power and control and Wales Garden was allowed to dictate this outcome for all of that area. The city could have been more proactive if they wanted to but they weren't. Cutting a half of million was like a dagger in the back for those developers. First you want them to redesign it....not by yourself, but with the designers of the neighborhoods choosing...and then you change the plans twice....then right before it's to move forward...you say it's still not good enough because of the height....when is so confusing to me because of the USC towers and etc that are all around....and odd people forget that they live in a city! That neighborhood is next to an entertainment district and having frequented that neighborhood...that 6 story's wouldn't have had that much of an effect...10 stories...sure...but not 6. But then after all that and stilling to move on they take the parking money away....nah.....i don't blame them for scaling back...cutting the loss of higher gas prices, construction materials and wasted time. They are better than me because i wouldn't build anything on that site. I would put a "Coming Soon" sign there and let the tumble weeds grow...let that site become an eyesore for the patrons and residents of that area. Call me immature, but i'm sure they would get the point then.... I know they said somethings that can be viewed as them scapegoating someone....but IMO...they didn't say anything that we all having though or said recently about this back and forth with the NIMBY's and developers. I doubt financing fell thru because of the economy...they probably got tired of waiting....if the finances were to fall thru it would have been fell thru a year ago....

^^^^ The thing is Capt.....1 of the cities in this state has to step up and be more than a mid-sized city...if not SC is just like ND, SD, NH, ME. MS, MT and others. I mean the surrounding areas of each metro are full of rural sections that could appease those who want small town vibes. I don't think anyone in the state wants to become the next Atlanta, but the next Charlotte isn't bad [how they are currently]. I just don't understand it...the city of Columbia can be as great as it one was, but instead too many people want to pretend like it's still a small town where everyone knows each other. I hate that Columbia has to shoe-string annex to get to a certain area...i hate how Forest Acres annex areas just to block Columbia...not for any other reason but just to make growth more difficult for Cola-town. I hate seeing how part of the city is in a neighborhood and a few blocks within aren't. The city of Greenville would flourish greatly if allowed to grow appropriately...and i feel the same about Charleston. It's just too much red tape to even try and the pandering that goes on between counties and cities are ridiculous. You either want this state to become richer or you don't. We don't have agriculture and textiles to depend on anymore. Manufacturing jobs have taken a hit and this state's officials just weren't ready to cope with change. We have to grow and attract more people...we can't depend on tourism only. This will aways just be great for the coast but the rest of the state will be at a loss. Look at this state...you have people that will look at the city populations and think "wow it's not that many people there" and they choose to relocate elsewhere. The same with obtaining federal funds and etc...we will always get less than needed because city populations in this state don't reflect the truth. These laws have to be relaxed....even if it's just so we could change the perception of how people look at our state. People are acting too selfish....those are going to be the same people that aren't prepared for the "big switch" from analog to digital by the tv stations.