SCxpBrussel

Financing for the new law school was given final approval by the USC Board of Trustees. Construction should begin in the summer of 2014 and should be ready for the students by the fall semester of 2016. http://news.scschooloflaw.org/2013/03/01/usc-board-of-trustees-approves-financing-for-new-building/

The State confirmed tonight that Urban Outfitters is opening on Gervais St. this summer. Great news for Columbia and a real coup for the Vista!

I just searched on Twitter and saw one random, unofficial source saying an Urban Outfitters had been "confirmed" for downtown Columbia. I don't trust this, at least not yet, but there sure is a good amount of smoke indicating a possible fire.

I would be shocked if the Columbia-Charlotte train gets any traction in the next ten years, and it likely will be much longer than that. The Republican Party in Washington and Columbia are intransigent in their opposition to mass transit, particularly trains, and I have heard no mention of funding for this project in the upcoming 1% sales tax referendum. Considering today's political realities, making progress on any railways in the Southeast will be an uphill battle to say the least, and I think that battle would be better suited for more high profile routes, such as Charlotte-Atlanta. Putting that aside, a healthy rail network in South Carolina would not "kill" CAE. People don't fly from CAE to ATL or CLT unless they're connecting, the distances are too short to make flying practical between those cities. CAE would possibly see a shift in flight patterns to more direct service to more distant cities if people started using the train to commute to CLT instead of making connecting flights, but that would only happen if there was rail-to-plane service to CLT. Again, I don't think this is anywhere on the horizon.

I've learned to be guarded in my excitement about rumors such as this, but if it is true, Columbia's efforts to revitalize Main Street would be a resounding, unquestionable success. If Urban Outfitters comes to pass, this would be a coup for Columbia of unprecedented proportions. If the chatter about Urban Outfitters is true, it would not be beyond the realm of possibility for an Apple Store to follow (here we go again, I know). As readers of this board know, speculation about a Columbia Apple Store and rumors of Apple looking for space here have been ongoing for years. Columbia is long overdue for an Apple Store and cities of similar and smaller sizes already have one. This suggests to me that Apple is biding its time waiting for a marquis location to open up in the Capital City. Although many Apple Stores locate in malls, they can also be found on flagship pedestrian streets, such as King Street in Charleston. Main Street is nowhere near King Street, but if the recent pace of development is any clue, particularly if a national niche retailer like Urban Outfitters opens there, the demographics and critical mass would be just right for not only Apple, but for many other stores on the wish list of Columbians. Keep your fingers crossed!

The absolute last thing Columbia needs is increased road capacity downtown, particularly a freeway. Like CarolinaCrown suggested, the era of major freeway construction in urban centers is (or at least should be) over. I also think this topic is appropriate in the CanalSide forum because if a freeway slices through downtown, CanalSide would become a wasteland. The type of people attracted to CanalSide are not going to want a noisy, polluting freeway in their front yard. In fact, few people who have an option would choose that.

Columbia's Abercrombie & Fitch was still open as of Saturday, January 14, 2012, and did not appear to be emptying out as a result of a liquidation sale. A check of the A&F website on January 16 also lists the Columbiana Centre location as still open. Perhaps the rumors weren't true after all and Columbiana's A&F was spared?

Thank you. I wasn't trying to question you, I'm just curious where the information is coming from. It isn't surprising that A&F keeps this info rather quiet. On the upside, A&F's space at Columbiana would be a great location for an Apple Store. (Sorry to open that can of worms...)

I have yet to see a definitive list of A&F stores to be shuttered. Does someone have a link or is this all still hearsay at this point?

How do you know this? Do you work there? It seems very odd that a city of Columbia's size and with a large student population would lose A&F. I hope this isn't true, or, at the very least, they are going to move locations instead of abandoning the market altogether.

Is there a link to the source re: the closing of A&F at Columbiana Centre?

There is a City of Columbia sign in the window of the Game Stop at Santee & Blossom listing the property as up for re-zoning to be used as a restaurant. Does anyone know what it could be?

Considering the small margin of defeat for the transit sales tax, I hope the pro-transit plan tries again for the full 1% tax to fund the range of road, bus, and pedestrian/bike improvements. The pro-transit supporters did not do a sufficient job selling the tax. Not enough was done to explain the benefits and impact of the planned projects. For example, the Congaree River Parkway would open up an entirely new corridor in downtown Columbia for development, complementing the mid- to long-term plans for Innovista and the landmark riverfront park. Also, if people understood what the "improved" bus system would look like, they may be more likely to support it. I'm speculating here, but let's assume for debate purposes that the improved bus system would provide a frequent link between the Vista, Main Street, Five Points, and the Devine Street corridor (e.g., every 5-10 mins) or that bus service would take fans to Williams-Brice on gamedays. If people knew concrete examples such as these instead of the abstract "better bus system," it'd be much easier sell. The examples I listed above are some of my ideas for what an improved bus system in Columbia would offer. What are other peoples' thoughts?

There is a pre-streetscape version of the North Main St. picture on Columbia's Wikipedia page. I hope waccamatt replaces that photo with his post-streetscape shot!

Thirty or forty percent of video poker proceeds to transit? No way that would ever happen. To be politically feasible at all, legislators would have to sell video poker as being for education (see: the lottery) or, possible but much less likely, health care or some other big tent idea. Even if we assume video poker would go to transit, let's be honest and realize, in this state and most other states, that money would be spent on roads, not rail. Even the transit-specific tax initiative in Richland County only dedicates 33% to mass transit (and that means buses, not rail - at least at this point).

Personally, I wish more than 33% would go to transit, but I suppose it could be worse.

I think even just a medium-scale streetscaping would do wonders for the Broad River corridor. Resurface the road, spruce up the sidewalks and intersections, bury the power lines, and plant trees along the sides. Basic upgrades would help the area change from the somewhat blighted sprawl it is today to a slightly more urban, cared-for neighborhood. New retail would most likely start to once again be attracted to the area. Perhaps the disruption of the streetscaping would force some of the businesses of lesser repute to leave, thereby removing some of the negative stigma of the Broad River Road address.

The building is rather empty, but still houses some lobbying firms and small-to-midsize law firms.

Did anyone end up attending any of these meetings? I'd be interested to know what was said. Broad River Road is a major thoroughfare that is in desperate need of a shot in the arm.

Also, is PT's Cabaret closing or just moving? I never went there, personally, but I think places like that create a richer, more cosmopolitan community and bolster Columbia's "blue dot in a sea of red" image.

I think it's a shame to go from a 22,000 square foot building to a 2600 sq ft building with a drive-thru.

Other than Tapp's, where were the other department stores located and what is their current use? It would be a huge coup--not to mention a longshot--to entice a department store back to downtown. If Columbia somehow pulled this off, where would the best location be and what store would be the best fit? My first thought was Belk. It's a privately-owned, Charlotte-based store that has a huge presence in SC--almost every town of any size in the state has a Belk. However, Belk would likely shutter an existing store (Midtown at Forest Acres?) if they opened a new one, and I would hate to see that mall take another body blow. The same goes for Macy's at Columbia Place...that store is one of the few strengths that mall currently has. Ideally, a store not currently in Columbia would choose to locate downtown. Maybe a Sak's-lite like in Charleston? Pipe dreams, I know...

The Five Points location wouldn't have been my first guess for Apple's choice in Columbia. I'd be so thrilled to have an Apple Store in Columbia I'd drive to the middle of nowhere to go to it. This is great news! I hope it's not like so many other "great news" projects in Columbia that never come to fruition.