urbanlover568

I think Columbia needs to attract more high paying jobs right now. I think that's the purpose of all these upper scale developments. People will relocate to Columbia if the city can provide world class amenities. Right now the median income of the city is lower than the state, and that should be the opposite. South Carolina relied on manufacturing to get them out of the recession and now it's time to attract tacit knowledge jobs. USC has realized this and started innovista and mentioned this in their latest economic meeting.

Phase 3 looks awesome! They even wanna purchase more land and expand

I think Columbia is a long ways away from a epicenter. I think Columbia needs to attract people with higher incomes that would spend there. Columbia is less than many areas in the state, which shouldn't be the case. Bullstreet's developer said the development it set for college kids mainly. I think the corruption case right now is going to have ripple effects down the road also with possible investment being effected. Might be a few years before the city experiences high growth. Have you been to Epicenter? It's certainly not that.

okay. hope the sports teams wont be painted on the building. maybe parking decks but not apartments

You got to be kidding me. that looks ugly.

Yup, they go before the design bored in January and they should be approved then, just some minor detail fixes.

Yes, development will be slow. Durhams Research Tangle Park is expected to get a major overhaul and bring in 100,000 jobs. This may severely hinder companies from locating to Columbia. At this point, i think the county and city just need to give out massive tax breaks to companies and pray a company lands here before RTP is complete. The tax breaks for the student housing developments worked to bring developers in, and i think they will work for the business class.

Status of all them all right now: SC ELECTRIC & GAS CO- Closing tomorrow or lot remains in SC ELECTRIC & GAS CO's name or alternative to selling the land. Kline City Center- Still has not gotten approval from the design panel Lot besides McDonald's- Still for sale

SC Power company has until tomorrow to sell the land. So far the land is still in SC Power companies name. Either the bidders retracted their offers or they we waiting until tomorrow. I think the first one is true, since most will be off tomorrow. Kline said the construction would begin be the end of this year and the lot is still undisturbed with a sale sign in front of the lot.

Funny you say that. There isn't a Walgreen's near that location. I hope it's mixed use like Kline.

Innovista would be Fantastic! That means more people moving to Columbia that aren't students or students staying in Columbia and working there!

It's a nice building. Too many people working there to make the move now. There's rumors about USC buying it out, I hope that doesn't happen. Don't need another student housing development or USC office. If the DOT land gets sold, it should be to a private developer.

Yea, they are selling it as retail as well... Pray we don't get a pharmacy store or grocery store.

The town should focus on the business district now, give the students a place to work after they graduate rather than leaving the city.

The article explicitly stated that they are targeting students. "Cohn said the presence of those students is one of the main drivers of the retailers’ interest.“Millennials aren’t like most of us when we went to college,” he said. “They are carrying their parents’ credit Cards.” So the biggest project in columbia's history is targeting students? Wow is all i got to say.

I'm still seeing a "Available" sign on the property. I think they are still trying to get people to lease the areas. The Adjacent SC Power property hasn't sold and they stated that they would close before 1/1/16 on their sale flyer. The property besides McDonalds has abandoned their apartment project and is selling the land.