Ronak

Article in the Free Times about the Main Street Developments: http://free-times.com/index.php?cat=199291...011407092296293

LOL. We've always joked it reminds us of Neapolitan ice cream.

The contemporary feel is necessary to attract students at the price they're charging. When I Lived in Whaley's Mill, it was $1188/mo for a 4 bedroom (now it's around $1600, I believe). Compare that to here, where a THREE bedroom rents for $2145. I'm not arguing that it's extortion, I'm merely suggesting that students have repeatedly shown that they're willing to pay a premium to live in a newer, more contemporary complex. The same thing happened with places like Stadium Suites, University Oaks, The Woodlands, etc.

While shopping for a camera, I found this in the sample images on Amazon:

If Facebook is blocked from your office, you won't be able to. I have the same problem.

I don't blame them at all. That Two Notch store is a serious cash cow. Every time I'm there the parking lot is always completely packed. If they opened a location at Sandhill, they'd probably end up cannibalizing a lot of their own business.

I'm actually a bit disappointed with the Vinyl siding...it makes it look cheap. Of course, the faux-stucco on Adesso (which is already starting to crease in some places) doesn't look much better, so perhaps I had set my expectations a bit too high. They have a bunch of recent pictures up on their website: http://www.iaspyre.com/photos

Jimmy Buffet stopped there in his Limo after his concert a few years back.

Ugh. That old Taco Bell is just going to sit there too.

Great shots! That crane gives you a good idea of how fantastic the skyline will look from the park once the tower is done.

It would seem so: http://www.thestate.com/747/story/758776.html Considering that it is a long-term lease, it's highly likely that they would move into the old ACE location (which I had completely forgotten about).

Not including industrial supply type places, I'd guess either the Lowe's or Mann Tool in West Columbia....although it may be faster to get to the True Value on Broad River via 126.

I disagree. When I lived downtown, I shopped at Hiller all the time, and they were pretty much what I expected from a mom and pop hardware store. I'm not going to fault them for not having the supply chain management associated with larger chains. The primary reason I shopped there was convenience. They were right down the road, and very rarely didn't have what I needed. What is interesting though, is that the store is actually still profitable in Five points, he just believes that the combination of the proceeds from the sale and the new location will be MORE profitable. I have to agree with Spartan on the fact that Five Points is a self-contained urban environment, and I think the move to Cayce, where they will face much more direct competition from Lowes, will cripple them.

I'll still shop there. As long as it doesn't cause severe adjustment of leases for stores it's probably an accurate statement that we won't notice a difference.

Interesting...there used to be a bar near Georgia Tech called The Library. I think it closed down a few years ago.

Too many people are used to the suburban idea of parking, where there's a lot in front of every building. I lived in Atlanta for a few years, and parking was much worse by comparison. I'd be lucky to find a spot within 3-4 blocks of where I was headed.

I'd be more interested in the thrashing the consultants are bound to receive after the presentation. Someone better take a video camera with them.

Public Invited to Weigh In on Five Points Parking: Full article: http://free-times.com/index.php?cat=199220...861304093820456

I noticed the boards in operation for the first time this morning on my way to work. The times are slight overestimates (i.e., it says <15 minutes for my commute on I-20, though it actually took ~8), but in the event of an accident or any sort of severe congestion, I can see it being immensely valuable. That being said, I'm typically quite content with how traffic flows in Columbia. Compared to other major urban areas, our traffic problems are pretty minimal...although that's not to say that they can't use any improvement.

As much as I hate to admit it, they're pricing for the changing demographic at USC. Every new complex that has been built has been progressively more and more expensive (not to mention larger), but they always fill up (i.e., Sterling Oaks, Woodlands, Copper Beech) because the average income of students' parents continues to rise, and students demand to not sacrifice luxuries.

Article in the Free Times this week about Innovista: http://free-times.com/index.php?cat=199291...013012083873397 Mostly the same stuff about the new BCBS/IBM/USC partnership, construction delays, developer changes, etc.

Doug Woodward taught my International Trade class back in the day. He's a really smart guy. This sums up the problem I've seen though: Having formerly worked on Main Street, it's really depressing how unsuccessful some businesses have been there. I'm glad to see some new faces finally emerging, but only time will tell if it has been worth the effort. Perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself though...it's entirely likely that once the tower at Main & Gervais is done, more business will come back to Main street, and street-level retail will re-emerge just as the economy is turning around.

I think one of the most productive steps that could be taken at this point would be to develop the two parking lots at the corner of Assembly and Gervais. They're incredibly unsightly, and having some nice retail at the corner there would make the street seem much less wide.

Looks like Blue Cross Blue Shield will be funding a new research program in Innovista: http://www.thestate.com/local/story/624911.html Some good news after Intel and DuckCreek fell through.

That whole area has been growing like crazy. There's several new subdivisions, and Mangia! Mangia! itself is part of a pretty good sized shopping center, although I don't think there's much else there besides the restaurant. It's only a few minutes from Village at Sandhill, but yeah, it is really far out there. Unless you're going to be on that side anyways, I can't say that it's worth the drive.