sojay
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Posts posted by sojay
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You are correct. Right next to the new Heath Research building.
So I guess we were both wrong - I had it located a block too far north, you had it located a block too far east...
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It still hurts to look at the last set of renderings for the Kline site prior to the project being put on hold. That would (will?) have been one heck of a development.
Those renderings were never publicized, right? I heard a lot about them and am still SO curious. I know they were very very modern, right?
Wow, a W at Senate and Park? I thought there was going to be an alumni thing, or is that the other side of the block?
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I don't have a problem with the architecture there, except the ones with all that beige look incredibly bland and cheap. I think the rest fits into the Vista just fine. I would have expected a lot worse, with some fake imitation of a historic style.
What I DO have a problem with is that they didn't bury the power lines. It should be imperative that any new development, or any time the sidewalks are dug up for new construction, that the lines got buried. Look at all the money that was put into wheat street's streetscaping. Looks great except for the powerlines. And I'm beginning to doubt that the Innovista building at Main and Blossom across from Adesso will be even visible for all those lines. They are putting down the sidewalks there now and the wires are still up. Weren't they supposed to be buried? I know this is not the innovista forum and somewhat off topic, but Canalside should definitely get those underground before paving. Does anyone have the scoop on powerlines and policies? Or is that an exclusive for Main and 5 points and Gervais? If you've lived here for a long time I guess you might not notice them so much, but I can't help but associate ugly utility lines with places that can't pull themselves out of the 50s. In rural areas on smaller roads they seem to crisscross the roads for every single pole like somebody was trying on purpose to make it as ugly and illogic as possible. The other day while driving I was just thinking I should start at photo series of the ugliest views of powerlines around Columbia, but the scope of such a thing would be too grand and aggravating... I can't see the city for the utility lines. I can't seem to tune them out. Maybe venting about it here will help...;-) Sorry.
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Pretty good article in The State today about the investment that has followed the development of the greenway--about $400 million worth to be exact. Nothing much new in the way of any new greenway developments though.
As much as I think a bridge at the confluence of the rivers would be fantastic, I'm kinda happy it has been put on hold for a while instead of jumping onto it before the time is right. I'd love to see some really daring architecture for that bridge. What a center piece that would be in that spectacular setting. Postcard material. One should make a study of how many tourist dollars a Calatrava bridge would bring to Columbia. There's apparently huge numbers of people who travel around to see all his pedestrian bridges. But now that his bridges are not so much a novelty anymore (although great, nevertheless), maybe it'll be time to post a competition and get the creative juices flowing of emerging architectural talent.
Aren't there some grants available for projects like this for areas that are underserved by tourism?
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People are looking at moving closer in, but I think more people will look at rehabbing houses in the near downtown suburbs, like the Monticello/North Main/Farrow area. More bang for the buck.
I'd definitely prefer an apartment like the ones on Canal Side than an inner suburb house! Even if it's close to downtown, it's still suburbia. Wouldn't dream of it. My ideal is to have a place way out in the boonies AND a pied-a-terre (funky loft space preferably) smack in an urban environment. I wish there were more apartments for sale, not only all these rentals. Also, I wish it would be easier to find a raw loft space I could put my imprint on in stead of those so-called lofts that are all carved up into suburban-home-style extra bedrooms, walk-in closets and multiple bathrooms.
Wouldn't it be interesting for the developers to tap into the demographic of baby boomers and others who now have a large suburban home, say in the north east, who'd like to replace their MacMansion with two places like I described above? This way they'd cut down their daily commuting time, be in the center of things but still have some green and serenity and quiet (and cooler summer temperatures) and go back and forth once or twice a week depending on the season and the distance?
Advantages beyond getting more people downtown: Suburban sprawl would slow, there'd be less traffic, and some poor rural areas would have an influx of people rehabbing old farm houses.
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So, tell me, what does lightrail or BRT have as advantages over the above system? (if we are EVER going to have any form of mass transit in Columbia..)
A few things I like about it:
- it's on demand, so you are not waiting or being a slave of irregular schedules
- it's more flexible with destinations, easy to expand the system, more direct once the grid expands
- it has a small footprint (doesn't require full size separate bus lanes or putting down as expensive tracks as a lightrail)
I think of it in comparison to a train with many tiny 4-person coaches, and each can bring you to your destination. Or like an elevator, where you push a button for your destination.
BTW, forcing people to take mass transit by inconveniencing them is not the best way, IMO. I'd like to take mass transit because it is more desirable than taking my own car.
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It's not about giving up the car, It's about parking it for the day if you are commuting from outside the city, or leaving it in the garage if you live downtown. You really don't think we'll have the density in 5-10 years to warrant anything else than busses? Then you are pessimistic about this place's growth potential. We HAVE to plan ahead for some kind of mass transit, and this system has so much going for it compared to light rail, trolley's, subways etc. I think actually it is to Columbia's advantage to NOT have invested quite yet in mass transit till new systems like this one have been tested. This way we can leapfrog cities that have invested in potentially outdated systems like lightrail. Not that I think we should wait TOO much longer either.
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Have you heard about the Ultra Rapid Transit System?
Watch this clip on youtube:
They are building one at Heathrow Airport. Gee, the system looks genial! No wait time. You press a button for your destination and off you go.
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I was there also, but didn't stay long for the entertainment as I had a very tired kid on tow. It was nice to imagine what this place could be in a few years. It's amazing how many nice little nooks and crannies I had never noticed before at daylight, nice tastefully lit places perfect for a few cafe tables. The area is in desperate need for a few restaurants that are open in the evening, though. The pedestrian-friendliness of the street was even noticed by my 5-year old who loved it.
I hope this little 'street festival' can be a frequent event, possibly with different themes.
Shall we help the organizers with a bit of brainstorming on what to do better or just different next time?
Here area few suggestions:
- in stead of one looong line for free food, how about a few stands where you can buy snacks, for example ethnic foods?
- more sidewalk tables and chairs to encourage people to hang out longer
- let the entertainment be more organized with a program. Who's doing what where and when. Any specifics on what kinds of entertainment you'd like to see?
- get some of those daytime only sandwich/coffee places to be open. Maybe with some live music (chamber music, jazz etc) or dance (tango, salsa, shag etc) inside.
- shortfilm projections on an exterior wall. (I believe they have something like this in mind, and I can only encourage it)
- street theater sketches/happenings
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I'm a frequent market goer, but I remember the experience of my first few visits to the State Farmers Market when I just moved to town was one of almost intimidation. It's great once you know where to go, though (... when you know where you get a huge box of local red peppers for $10, watermelons for $1, tomatoes picked the same day, local honey....) I truly wish it would have more of an urban market feel, though, and with more specialty produce. And more small vendors/hobbyists selling their specialty homemade breads, cheeses, preserves etc. My favorite market in this country is Union Square in NY. European markets are true destinations. Surrounded by caf
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Does anyone know what's planned in the lots on Park behind the new health science building and the future alumni center?
I was just walking up Park from the Koger center to Gervais street the other day and thinking what an ideal street to become a pedestrian link between Innovista and the Vista. That's such a barren street right now with just empty lots on the north side, absolutely no greenery to shelter from the elements, and definitely not very pedestrian friendly. Imagine that street lined with storefronts, restaurants, caf
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You guys all have great pics! Why don't you post them in Google Earth also? This way we can see on the map where they are from. Yours are all much better than the ones that already are on Google Earth from Columbia!
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I'm generally not so thrilled about fake neo-traditional, but this project has something...
I drove by today and have no trouble visualizing it.
BTW, looks like they've started digging for the new fountain today.
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I was strolling around the Vista today and had a long look at that wide open lot where the 'Available' sign is on the above pic. (In front of the Blue Martini. Sorry - I didn't have a camera with me) I think something creative like a large pedestrian plaza could really make that location anchor the Vista.
The Vista badly needs some more pedestrian friendly areas. I'm not saying it should stay open all the way from Lady to Gervais (that would be too good to be true if it was truly to be a park - a REAL park or grandiose plaza), but imagine some kind of structure that would allow for pockets of greenery, public benches, a fountain or two to mask the traffic noise, a couple of sculptures, a semi courtyard effect with absolutely no cars, some retail, and loads of sidewalk caf
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They have to be able to manage expectations, you know. If they start blabbering about this and that company that will be coming and these deals don't happen, it will look bad. There were a couple of deals that fell through, and there are more in the pipeline that look like they will happen. I guess we (the public) are just scrutinizing too much because we want results.
It's a decent medium sized company.
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I fear Assembly Street is going to become a problem when USC campus develops more and more to the west of it. It's an incredibly intimidating street to cross by foot - believe me, I know by experience, I have to cross it several times a day. The pedestrian light only goes on when you push the button, so you end up taking chances to cross when it's not green because the cycle is so long, but you can't see any cars hidden by the hill. Since it's a major thoroughfare, it would be hard to reduce the number of lanes. All I can think of is to replace the two parking lanes next to the median with some serious landscaping in that space, and make the pedestrian green light go on automatically so one doesn't have to take risks. I'd like to see the parking lanes on the outside of the street go too, to help the scale of things. Any other suggestions? I think it's a real problem. It would be like a village cut in half by a freeway. I'm talking mainly about the blocks around Arnold, Koger, and the Colisseum.
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I just got an email from COR (Columbia Opportunity Resource) about their next topic in their Columbia 20/20 series. It will be at the Summit Club on August 16th at 5:30 p.m. The topic will be "The Changing River Corridor and Connecting Columbia's Development Dots. "Representatives from the Beach Company (Canalside) and Sasaki (Innovista) will discuss new-urban developments in downtown Columbia, and Rox Pollard from Colliers Keenan will discuss the changing face of retail in our city center," the email says.
I went to the first presentation. I didn't find out anything I didn't already know, but I was certainly reminded of how full Columbia's plate is getting in terms of development in the city.
I was there also. It was interesting, though, to see all those renderings projected at once. There were a couple of nice smaller projects I hadn't heard of before. It was also interesting to see how the established movers and shakers were appealling to the younger constituency to help make it all happen and become the future movers and shakers. By encouraging the young professionals to move downtown, and by showing where to go for support for new projets (financial and support structures) to nourish the entrepreneurial spirit of the younger generation to help the economic development of Cola. Did you notice that? I saw the event more as a promotional push for downtown living as well as a networking session. I had expected more of a discussion to take place. But at least a number of well positioned people were present to answer questions, for example when public transportation was the subject, there were people present to respond to some of the concerns, and people representing some of the specific development projects were present.
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I just got an email from COR, Columbia Opportunity Resource, about a new lecture series envisioning the future of Columbia beginning July 19 at the Summit Club. The series is sponsored by First Citizen's Bank and the Moore School of Business Center for Manufacturing and Technology and will last one year. It will begin at 5:30 p.m. and costs only $5 for non-COR members. The series is called Columbia 20/20. Topics will include alternative fuels, health care, transportation and the city's economy. On the 19th, they will discuss "The Anti-Sprawl: Columbia's rapid and concentrated growth." They will be focusing on the new life being created in downtown Columbia. Visit their website for more information. I think it's [email protected].
Thanks for pointing this out. I plan to go tomorrow. Not that I think I'll learn more about Cola developments than from UP...
Here's their site:
registration is not yet closed.
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not really innovista related, but related to the school of music.... Does anyone know anything about the new performance hall that is supposed to be built in front of Koger? There's supposed to be renderings. I know they are still trying to raise the money for it, so construction is not imminent.
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here's a rendering of it
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^
Glad to have you in SC, sojay; even more, we're glad that you have great ideas for our capital city. Where did you formerly reside?
Not sure about Queensland being a sister state to SC. I was only aware of sister cities, not sister states.
bowing deeply.... I have many more up my sleeve... I'm looking forward to checking out Greenville - heard good things about it.
I lived (in reverse chronology) in NYC, Long Island, Grenoble + Nice (France), near the German/Austrian border, Denmark, Australia (Sydney). So yes, I've been around and have travelled a lot to many other places, and have always been interested in urban development and architecture and the role of the arts in a city. One of the things that drew me to Columbia was the optimism and enthusiasm for the future of this place. I want to witness it. I stumbled across this website while my spouse and I were contemplating a job offer here - so you are all to blame...
If Queensland is not a sister state, then Brisbane is a sister city. I saw something in the paper about the koalas at Riverbanks being here thanks to some sister relation.
Historic Congaree Vista Developments
in Columbia
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Thanks for the link. Very nice. I'm guessing 5 years from now Cola might be ready for it to start up again. I'd live there if I could. It's not as far out there as I expected after hearing comments about ultra ultra modern. It's just normal big city modern.