The_sandlapper

I just read another article about the wifi hotzones. They are suggesting two hours a day. That seems pretty boneheaded, but then again I guess it's for the more transient population (tourist & such) as the article is suggesting. Still though it's pretty cool that the city has these areas. On another note Lexington Medical Center is still trying to open up its heart surgery center. Iv'e been following this story for awhile since I'm a health care professional. The biggest concern is that two hospitals in Richland Co. already perform cardiac surgery, these institutions feel that by adding a third cardiac hospital this will thin the surgical talent pool in the area. For some odd reason they don't think that the new facility will be able to attract/ hire qualified surgeons? Lexington's argument is that they are growing too fast not to have this service anywhere in the county. Of course it doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that it always seems to boil down to money, So the saga continues.................. Bill seeks to bypass DHEC decision Agency would be forced to OK facility By NOELLE PHILLIPS Staff writer Lexington Medical heart surgery center If Lexington Medical Center can

German Company Selects Kershaw County for New Manufacturing Facility & Headquarters Hengst GmbH & Co. KG, a family-owned enterprise headquartered in M

What exactly did you do for the Charlotte metro?

How's this for progressive! City approves plan to cover Columbia with wi-fi Staff Report Soon, a wireless Internet cloud will cover Five Points, the Vista, Main Street and other areas of Columbia. Columbia City Council voted 5-2 Wednesday to spend at least $150,000 in hospitality tax funds to create a series of

The good thing about DT Columbia is it has grown alot but it will grow alot more within the next ten years or so. There will be a good bit of quality development going on. This part of town is still in it's pre-school stage meaning that just in the past few years have they realized what the Vista area can become. I think it will be pleasantly surprising.

Not much just a little info about USC and Cola and the whole next energy thing. USC to explore nanotechnology ethics The ethics of nanotechnology is the subject of an international conference that will attract speakers from 35 universities and 10 countries to USC March 2-5. Speakers will discuss nanomedicine, military applications of nanotechnology, patents and intellectual property and utopian and apocalyptic visions of nanotechnology. Although the conference is intended for scientists and academicians, college students and the general public can attend one session for free. For information about the conference, including the program, go to http://nsts.nano.sc.edu/events/general.html. The conference will begin at 7 p.m. March 2 at EdVenture Children

Well Y'bor doesn't have a whole lot of residential development. It's mainly an entertainment district, at least from what I remembered. But the city is taking steps in the right direction, as long as they aren't in the same place today that they were yesterday, that's my motto. Yeah I think a townhome there would be awesome that area is going to look really nice in a few years.

Yeah I have really enjoyed seeing how the Vista has grown and prospered over the past ten years. I think it's great. The city needed a "village area", before it's all said and done I can see it resembling Y'bor city in Tampa. I think the location of the research campus in that area will definately be a catalyst for future growth and development of it and surrounding areas. I'm really curious to see how Vista West will develop. I think it would be awesome to have a townhome on the west side of the Congaree and see the skyline! I know there is one community being developed on that side of the river near the W. Cola Riverwalk. I would like to see more affordable housing go up in that area. Of course it won't be on the river but that area should village off as well.

Well the new Hilton rendering doesn't look bad but it doesn't look that impressive either. I guess they are married to that whole it must look like the rest of the Vista thing. Was that in todays, "The State"?

Well guys I figure since the popular trend now is to live DT it won't be cheap for awhile. It would be great to see some affordable housing being built DT. Welcome SCEnglish I can't say that I know much about the developments on that side of town other than the Spur condos going up. Near the stadium. By the way, where is the Intel R&D located?

I'm confused? So what exactly are they proposing for the site? Is it only gonna be residential development?

"City council looking into alternative govt. option." Council wisely OKs commission to study form of government COLUMBIA CITY COUNCIL has wisely established a commission to study the city

"It seems the area's high tech seeds are starting to take root via the technology incubator". USC helps launch high-tech company By C. GRANT JACKSON Business Editor Two local entrepreneurs, a local venture capital fund, a USC professor and the university have launched a startup company they hope can become the next Intel. Jason Williamson has left the S.C. Technology Alliance to join entrepreneurial partner Scott Means and USC professor Michael

For those who are curious here is the state of the city address lots of interesting points highlited by Coble. It would be nice to see if anything can be done about the multiple municipalities thing. I doubt it though since everyplace wants to have its own piece of the pie, no matter how small it is. 'State of the City Speech' Mayor Bob Coble State of the City Speech February 10, 2005 Thank you Charlie, and thank you all for being here tonight. I would like to recognize the members of Columbia City Council who are here: E.W. Cromartie, Anne Sinclair, Hamilton Osbourne, Sam Davis, Tameika Devine, and Daniel Rickenmann I also want to recognize my wife Beth who is here. The city has hundreds of hard working employees whose dedication to our city makes Columbia a great place to live and work. I would ask all of our city employees present tonight to stand and be recognized. Thank you all. Our city is blessed to have the tremendous leadership of our City Manager. Charles Austin has brought stability and a new sense of purpose to our City. Chief Austin, thank you for your leadership and continued ability to bring us together and move us forward. In Columbia, I am proud to say our relationship with our neighborhoods and neighborhood leaders is strong. Everything we do in Columbia is measured against how it improves our neighborhoods. Tonight we have invited our neighborhood Presidents to be here, and I would ask now that they stand and be recognized for their commitment to their neighborhoods and to our city. Current State of our City Ladies and gentleman, tonight I am proud to say that the State of our City is strong and growing stronger every day. Last year at the State of the City, I outlined Columbia's renaissance over the last decade. We have without question made progress that is unprecedented in Columbia's history. We have before us unparalleled historic opportunities. However, we have much work to do. We have unresolved problems, and we face many new challenges. 2004 saw our renaissance continue. From the Main Street construction to the Meridian Building, the First Citizens Bank Headquarters, and the streetscapings on Lady Street to Two Notch Road to Five Points to Farrow Road, 2004 was a year of renewal. At last year's State of the City, we placed creating jobs and expanding Columbia's economic infrastructure as the city's biggest challenge and number one priority. From 2002 to 2003 the Columbia region lost 10,000 jobs. In 2004 that trend reversed itself. We increased jobs and now rank 88th out of 318 metro areas for job growth. According to the South Carolina Employment Security Commission, in the last year, the Columbia region has gained over 12,300 jobs. Columbia's unemployment rate remains the lowest of all the metro regions in South Carolina. In 2004 we made great strides in entering the information and technology economy. Engenuity continued to lead the region in implementing our Technology Strategic Plan. In August City Council approved WiFi on all new city projects, and staff will soon present a plan for WiFi cloud over the center of our City. The City and University signed the lease for the Laurel Street Technology Incubator in November. A groundbreaking was held for the USC Research Campus in December. Midlands Tech continued to be a strong technology partner. We have established a clear plan of action to create a Next Energy Strategic Plan. Unitrends is a great example of our work. The city partnered with Trelys, the only venture capital fund in Columbia, to invest in start up technology companies. Unitrends is a pioneer in the development of data protection software. Last year they had thirty (30) employees. They just recently announced they have secured over eight (8) million new dollars in investment and will expand their payroll to seventy (70) high paying, high tech jobs in Columbia. Tonight we have with us the President of Unitrends Jacques McCormack. Please stand and be recognized. I am also pleased to announce that Trelys has, just this week, made another investment in another Columbia company, Ometric. Ometric is a start up from the Nanotechnology Center at USC. Last year, we outlined the need to make visitors a more integral part of our economy. In September we opened the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. In 2004 we established a new branding campaign, "Columbia Riverbanks Region- Where Friendliness Flows". In 2004 we completed the transformation of the old Confederate Printing Plant to a new Publix. Since the Publix opened last fall, there has been fifty ($50million) million dollars of new private residential development committed to the area. The Canal embankment opened in November. Yesterday, City Council heard proposals from two of the most successful developers in South Carolina for CanalSide. A decision will be made this month. The Kline Iron and Steel property will now be two magnificent office buildings. This spring we will break ground on the Columbia Hilton. In 2004 Main Street made tremendous progress. The Meridian building has been completed. Two blocks of our streetscaping of Main Street have been finished, and the headquarters of First Citizens Bank is underway. We are and will continue to promote housing in downtown Columbia. A critical part of that strategy is to bring the City Center "alive" with culture, arts, and housing to create a vibrant City Center. We are near the completion of a project with the Center City Partnership for a Downtown Housing Study that is looking at every parcel in the City Center to determine if residential adaptive reuse is practical and economically sound, especially when compared to the costs of suburban sprawl. State of the City

Update on office space downtown Office complex planned Project will add 350,000 feet of office space downtown By JIM DuPLESSIS Staff Writer Columbia

I think it depends on the type of development they intend to do with Bull st. If they plan to build some entertainment venues and a grocery store or something I could see it pulling some development away.

Yeah the Vista needs a few more ammenities such as a movie cinema, Barnes & Noble, & maybe a central plaza around the convention center, other things that you see out off of Harbison Blvd. or Two Notch. I think it will come when the residential developments around the area are completed (Canalside, R-Campus, W. Cola river developments, Bull St. projects, etc..) I definately wish I had some money I would definately invest in the riverfront area.

Here is one of the original articles that I saw that initially disscussed the possible impact this development would have on the area (ie "Cola is to hydrogen as Houston is to oil"). Hydrogen energy heats up Fuel cell research expected to power growth at USC and in Columbia area By C. GRANT JACKSON Business Editor Fuel cell research could do for USC and Columbia what semiconductor research did for the University of Texas and Austin over the past two decades. In the 1980s, Austin and the University of Texas attracted the Microelectronics and Computers Technology Corp. consortium and SEMATECH, the Semiconductor Manufacturing Technology consortium. The result was explosive growth and the Texas capital's emergence, along with Silicon Valley, as one of the nation's premier locations for high-tech industries. By 1993, more than 20 major firms had located in Austin. USC and industry officials believe the same thing could happen in Columbia, with Monday's formal announcement that the National Science Foundation has chosen the university as the nation's first Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Fuel Cells. "The industry consortia that I have seen formed in other states typically creates a critical mass," said John Goodman, chairman of the fuel cell center's industry advisory board. "Companies that want to benefit from the research, the access to faculty and to the students coming to the university, tend to migrate toward that critical mass," he said. National Science Foundation funding for the center will total $210,000 over three years. Eleven initial industry partners will add an additional $1.2 million. Fuel cells use hydrogen and oxygen to create a chemical reaction that produces electricity. The only emission is water vapor. A lot of attention has been given recently to automobiles powered by fuel cells. But USC has been involved in fuel cell research for years. "In fact, USC was involved in fuel cells, before fuel cells were cool." said Harris Pastides, interim vice president for research at USC. The potential impact of fuel cells has been likened to that of semiconductors. When SEMATECH was formed in Austin, "That city went from a very nice place to live, a nice city, to really one of the major cores of semiconductor research in the country," Goodman said. Goodman, whose company, Entegris, is located in Minnesota, was in Columbia on Monday to take part in the announcement. Entegris serves the microelectronics industry. Its customers are companies that make fuel cells. "I would expect that as the programs here advance, we would see a similar desire by industry to locate near that source of talent and source of intellectual property." USC president Andrew Sorensen hopes to persuade industries involved in the center to locate in Columbia. He wants them to partner with the university to build facilities for the center on a new university research campus. Many of those are national or international companies such as BASF, DANA Corp., W.L. Gore Associates, Showa Denko, and CD adapco Group. Goodman said his experience with the National Science Foundation research center for microelectronics leads him to believe the USC center can be successful. Intel and IBM, both household names today, are two of the partners in the microelectronics center, Goodman noted. "The reality is, when you look at fuel cells, we don't yet know who the IBMs and Intels will be. One of the things I would bet on is that companies that come together and do collaborative research like we do at this center are going to be among the leading companies as we move to the hydrogen future," he said. The center's mission is to help industry advance technology and commercialization of fuel cells by performing research, said John Van Zee, the USC professor named director of the center. That mission is accomplished by educating students, Van Zee said. "It is important that we educate these students, not for tomorrow, not in technology, but in the basic science which will allow them to make contributions 30 years from now in this emerging technology."

There have been quite a few articles about this development. I thought this thread would be a good continuation of continuing articles and ideas. USC Fuel Cell Research Center to involve 11 corporate partners By By James T. Hammond STAFF WRITER COLUMBIA

Little update on the Village at Sandhill. New multiplex in Northeast to offer extra amenities By MAURICE THOMAS Staff Writer When

Just hold your horese's, guys, I really do see alot of urban development coming with the building and development of the research campus simply because it will be like having two large urban university campuses in the core of the city & the newer campus will be dedicated to research development and commerce. It will be a multi-use facility that house's the faculty that work there. I don't think there will be anything quite like it that will affect the community the way it's supposed to! I remember back in the late 90's the "Green Diamond" project by Burroughs & Chapin was supposed to be a RTP type of development, but obviously that got shot down because of its location. However the research campus is in a much better location than "Green Diamond" would have been in. I have absolutely no doubt that win it's rolling the area will see unprecedented development, and it's developing pretty strong right now. Even in the late 80's I haven't seen so much focus placed on developing DT Columbia. I remember the hotspots then were NE. There were a few new towers that went up (AT&T (south trust)for those who remember), & the C&S (BOA tower), but the present day vista was a dump! 5points was still happening though (Hootie & the Blowfish).

Vista’s Renaissance Plaza filling up with tenants Businesses will include sign company based in West Columbia, firm that sells airplanes By C. GRANT JACKSON Business Editor An international sign company and a company that sells airplanes are among the businesses that will own live-work town homes at Renaissance Plaza at Lady and Pulaski streets. Fifteen of the 17 live-work units are spoken for in the upscale residential community that developers Ben Arnold and David Bryant are building in the Vista. Bryant said the other businesses include an ice cream shop, a dress shop, a hair salon, a home builder, a real estate agent and a doctor’s office. “I feel like we are dragging Main Street to Lady Street,” he said. “A lot of interest has come from people with clients who come to Columbia from across the country and around the world. With the office downstairs and high-end living space upstairs, these companies can entertain their clients right here in the Vista,” Bryant said. Colite International might use its live-work town home to accommodate clients visiting Columbia. The West Columbia company, founded by brothers Marty and Peter Brown, has installed signs in more than 100 countries. Marty Brown said he and his brother have discussed two or three options for their unit. One would be to put a sales office on the first floor and fix the two upper floors for visiting clients. Another option would be to lease the first floor to a retailer like a coffee shop or art studio, something that would fit into the Vista, and put a sales office on the second floor. Brown said his salespeople don’t need to be located at the West Columbia factory. “We were thinking that it might just be a different concept to free up the sales guys, and they can concentrate on selling.” Whatever they decide to do, Brown is bullish on that part of the Vista. The recently announced redevelopment of the Kline Iron and Steel property at Huger and Gervais streets means more people in that area. “That was certainly good news,” Brown said. Rick Crout of Bruce Jenner Aviation isn’t sure of his plans, either. “I bought (the unit) primarily because I think it is going to be a good investment,” Crout said. Bruce Jenner Aviation, which buys and sells corporate aircraft under the former Olympian’s name, is in the Foreign Trade Zone at the Columbia airport. Crout has about six people researching airplanes in a building that is scheduled for demolition to make way for highway construction. He could move to another building in the office park. “It is a very convenient place, but the Vista is pretty exciting,” Crout said. He said he might put his office on the first floor and lease the second and third floors. With a home on Lake Murray, he has no plans to move into the town house. If it increases in value, he said he probably would sell it. “I bought it, No. 1, because it is a good investment and, No. 2, I thought it would be a fun place to work out of,” Crout said. Bryant said the developers have broken ground on the town homes and expect them to be ready in September or October. The units have been selling for between $400,000 and $500,000, he said. Renaissance Plaza

It doesn't matter it's only a name. Columbia's airport see's relatively as much traffic as the state's other "international" airports. There is no Hartsfield, or Douglas in the state, were still not quite that important yet. You can see the airport traffic numbers in the article posted by the_future. Charelston: 1.83 million Greenville: 1.58 million Columbia: 1.2 million

Here is some good news refering to the midlands and state of SC refering to number of home sales within the past year. Record number of homes sold in S.C. in 2004 Other areas of the state also saw increases in home sales: _ In the Midlands, 10,010 homes were sold, up from 9,271 the previous year. The median price of those homes was $141,000. _ In Greenville, 7,477 homes were sold, up from 6,789 the previous year. The median price was $133,000. _ In Charleston, 12,671 homes were sold, up from 10,673 the previous year. The median price was $179,000. COLUMBIA, S.C. - A record number of homes were sold in the state last year as buyers rushed to take advantage of low interest rates, according to the South Carolina Association of Realtors. It was the fourth consecutive year a record number had been sold. An increase in second-home sales along the coast, as well as first-time and move-up buyers across helped the numbers, according to real estate and mortgage experts. More of the same is expected this year with predictions that interest rates will hover between 5.5 percent and 6.5 percent, said Jim Peters, association president. "A relatively small increase in interest rates will preclude some from buying homes," said Ron Rogers, director of the South Carolina Real Estate Center at the University of South Carolina. "But as long as rates stay around the level they are, people will continue buying." In 2004, 59,413 homes were sold across the state, a 17 percent increase from the previous year. The median value of the homes was $136,000. The area that includes Horry and Georgetown counties saw the largest increase in home sales in 2004 from the previous year with a 35 percent jump. Mil Servant, broker-in-charge of Surfside Realty at Surfside Beach, attributed the spike in sales to low interest rates and baby boomers choosing to spend their discretionary income or inheritance money on ocean properties. "Based on the first nearly 30 days of this year, I'm expecting more of the same," Servant said. "That is, unless we see double-digit increases in interest rates, a natural disaster or another country disaster like 9/11." Not the biggest news but enough to show that the states metros are seeing significant growth.

I think Lexington Co. has a good shot of seeing a mall within the next ten years. RNE and Kershaw have the village at Sandhill plus Columbia Place to feed of off for the next few years. Sorry about the numerous post I just hit a manic phase!