Innovista

[digital_sandlapper]

That is Assembly Station. I found that picture on Holder's website so I know its on there. It will be built at the corner of Assembly and Whaley across from Addam's Bookstore.

Thanks for that. The project is indeed on the Holder website, along with a very brief description--but no map, address, or mention of appoximate location (and no one had mentioned that here either.) What's there now? Is it vacant? I don't go down Assembly that way these days since my gym moved closer to my work. I must admit I don't miss the USC traffic and I especially don't miss those damn trains!

[Spartan]

Thats at Assembly & Whaley, right? I think its a vacant lot.

[krazeeboi]

I believe this project was discussed in detail in the general developments thread.

[Spartan]

It seems pretty much everyone is in support of the larger Innovista Project. 90% of people are in favor, according to a recent survey as well as other informal polls.

[krazeeboi]

I really couldn't imagine why anyone would be against it. It's also very interesting that creating and maintaining parks ranked as a very high priority in association with the overall development.

[krazeeboi]

So we've got two insurance software companies that are looking to locate in Innovista, but Craig Davis, the private developer behind the Horizon and Discovery blocks, is having trouble securing financing for the private buildings that will complement the publicly-funded ones (the ones that are nearing completion on each block).

The two new Columbia-based companies, EagleEye Analytics and Dovetail Insurance Corp., will develop insurance industry software. They were formed by Pequot Ventures, the New York-based, $2 billion venture capital firm, which wants to locate them in Innovista, Pequot partner and Columbia businessman Larry Wilson said. The companies would join Pequot

[CarolinaSouth]

I agree... He needs to get things on the ball...if we start losing potential tenants while trying to build Innovista up...it can be seen as a red flag for others looking at Columbia and that area to place businesses. He really needs to not mess this up

[Spartan]

FINALLY, Innovista has landed its first fuel cell company! Even though this is a small start- only 3 employees, I think its a good sign for the research campus.

Article

[krazeeboi]

I knew you'd be happy about that...LOL.

I don't think the issue wasn't really whether or not Innovista was truly targeting hydrogen fuel cell companies, but what the strategy was--one or two big fishes vs. a couple of minnows. I think once a few more smaller companies like this one get on board, it will be a bit easier to land larger companies.

[CorgiMatt]

Also, in case anyone reads your post without clicking on the article, Spartan, I want to point out that they expect to have 100 employees within a couple of years.

[scguy88]

Has anyone heard anything about the Hydrogen gas station we are required to have in order to hold the conference in December? I remember from a while back that is was supposed to be built somewhere near the Lady/Washington Street area, but haven't heard anything else about it. They only have 8/9 months, so I assume things must be nearing construction.

[IRR-SC]

An aerial that I took in November 2007

[CorgiMatt]

It makes me want to see up into the heart of downtown, with the Colonial Center at the bottom left of the photo. But your pics are so clear and beautiful. Keep them coming.

[krazeeboi]

Another great aerial, IRR-SC. It definitely shows that shortage of land will not be a problem for Innovista in the future. However, at the present, it seems as though the present economic climate has presented some problems for Innovista's private partner, developer Craig Davis.

[krazeeboi]

Kevin Fisher at the Free Times can really irk me sometimes. As much as I think Coble isn't aggressive or visionary enough as mayor, he's sure a hell of a lot better than Fisher who only complains and does little in the way of presenting solutions.

His latest rant is in the current edition of the newspaper about the article The State published a few days ago (I posted the link in the previous thread) about some of the issues surrounding Innovista right now. It seemed as though he did very little research on this one. First he says. "While Innovista’s inability to take off as projected by USC has been common knowledge for some time among those involved in or following the project, until now the general public has been given little information about how badly things are going." He obviously missed the story in The State that was published on January 28 about the delay in getting the privately-funded buildings up.

Then he says, "In a nutshell, not much has happened with Innovista...The lone exception to that (and the only Innovista building that has made it from the drawing board to reality) is the Arnold School of Public Health." So I guess Duck Creek Technologies, Gecko Energy Technologies, Collexis, and the Loccioni Group--confirmed tenants for Innovista--are "nothing." And then there are the companies with strong interest that are just waiting for firm commitments about a building to locate in. Secondly, I guess he hasn't seen the Horizon I and Discovery I buildings and their attendant garages that have been built.

Fisher then goes on to say that Innovista is anything but innovative and was only planned to be a carbon copy of Centennial Campus at NCSU in Raleigh but that this plan was flawed because Centennial Campus has RTP in the area as an advantage. It's obvious that Fisher knows nothing about the plethora of research campuses across the country that have seen success that don't have a large, well-established research park in close proximity (e.g., Piedmont Triad Research Park in Winston-Salem, Michigan State University Corporate Research Park in Lansing, Coldstream Research Campus in Lexington, KY). Furthermore, he fails to see how the model that was created with RTP and the research universities in the Triangle can be replicated in other areas. Why can't it happen in Columbia? I would also say that if Innovista is merely trying to be a carbon copy of Centennial Campus, there wouldn't be a heavy emphasis on hydrogen research; the major focus would have been biotech. Innovista will indeed be innovative in the sense of how the campus is being built: within an existing urban context with a mix of uses including research space, residential, retail, and recreational.

I agree with Fisher in that the relationship between Craig Davis and the university should have been more defined and that some sort of penalities should have been put in place for a failure to deliver according to some type of mutually agreed upon timetable. But his overarching points here are simply inaccurate and misleading.

[krazeeboi]

A local team consisting of the Columbia Development Corporation, the Columbia Design League, the S.C. Arts Commission, Ellefson and the owners of One Eared Cow Glass Mark Woodham and Tommy Lockartwants to bring affordable art studio space (back) to the Vista. As tentatively envisioned by the team, the project would be artist-owned studios on a 1.5-acre lot, behind One Eared Cow Glass at 1001 Huger St., on the west side of Huger, owned by the Columbia Development Corporation.

[waccamatt]

A local team consisting of the Columbia Development Corporation, the Columbia Design League, the S.C. Arts Commission, Ellefson and the owners of One Eared Cow Glass Mark Woodham and Tommy Lockartwants to bring affordable art studio space (back) to the Vista. As tentatively envisioned by the team, the project would be artist-owned studios on a 1.5-acre lot, behind One Eared Cow Glass at 1001 Huger St., on the west side of Huger, owned by the Columbia Development Corporation.

That would be awesome; one problem with the Vista's success is that "starving artists" are forced out by higher rents.

As far as your other post about Kevin Fisher - if he was truly relevant he wouldn't have lost by a landslide in the last Columbia Mayoral race. Mayor Bob isn't perfect - I get frustrated by his desire for a consensus on virtually every issue, but his heart is in the right place and he is a very positive individual. Kevin Fisher's negativity really gets on my nerves.

[krazeeboi]

At this point, I think it's probably best to have new affordable artist space in Vista West. The property this proposed project will be on will be in the waterfront district of Innovista, and I see that portion of the campus being more recreational in use.

[dobboard]

Some apparent good news on the Innovista front. It appears that a two developers of the University of Kentucky RC are being brought in to bail out Craig Davis. According to the article we may see construction on Horizon II and Discovery II in the not too distant future.

Innovista News

[krazeeboi]

The article also says that they already have tenants waiting and can start building as soon as their agreement with Davis has been signed. They built eight private buildings together at the Coldstream Research Campus at UK, totaling about 1 million square feet, and attracted such tenants such as IBM, Hewlett Packard, and Minolta. They were already in talks with John Parks, who was executive director of that research campus before assuming the role for Innovista, about getting involved.

[BrasilnSC]

Discovery I and parking garage.

[johnpro318]

Nothing too interesting architecturally but two fairly nice buildings nonetheless.

Thanks for the photos BrasilinSC

[Spartan]

I have to say that the only thing that bothers me from that last picture is that fact that the building is so much smaller than the parking garage next to it. I realize is just the angle.... but I would really like to see more "wrapped" parking decks within the USC campus expansion. It would be a good place for condos or offices... anything just to hide the ugliness of a parking garage.

[CorgiMatt]

Discovery II will sit along Lincoln St. and create a corner plaza with Discovery I, blocking the view of the parking garage from that angle. Two out of state investors are supposed to be kick-starting construction of Discovery II and Horizon II.

[dobboard]

Nothing too interesting architecturally but two fairly nice buildings nonetheless.

You can say that again. It certainly is an improvement over the old asphalt parking lot that used to reside there, but architecturally speaking, that building offers very little.