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The Village at Sandhill

StevenRocks

By StevenRocks
in Columbia

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krazeeboi Gigalopolis

krazeeboi

Posted
Posted

VAS is nice but its not as upscale as everyone claimed it was going to be. Birkdale villlage in my opinion is more ELITE

I knew a Charlotte comparison would still pop up. Everyone doesn't put such a high premium on "upscaleness," nor is it required to have a diverse, impressive development--which VAS definitely is.

I completely agree. And that is a true shame...it will only spell further dilapidation of the Decker area.

At least there are already plans in place to revitalize the area and help it find its niche.

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Temeteron Burg

Temeteron

Posted
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I knew a Charlotte comparison would still pop up. Everyone doesn't put such a high premium on "upscaleness," nor is it required to have a diverse, impressive development--which VAS definitely is.

At least there are already plans in place to revitalize the area and help it find its niche.

Diverse and Impressive describes VAS? It's nothing but Middle Aged Women stores, and children's clothing. There's only one store that caters to men and it's Jos. A. Banks. Belk? Like we didn't have a zillion of those already in Columbia!

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Spartan Gigalopolis

Spartan

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Diverse and Impressive describes VAS? It's nothing but Middle Aged Women stores, and children's clothing. There's only one store that caters to men and it's Jos. A. Banks. Belk? Like we didn't have a zillion of those already in Columbia!

Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment.

As long as Columbia Place has sotres that are unique tot he Northeast's market, the mall will remain a draw to the area, but to what extent it dies is all relative to how much of a draw VAS becomes. It could be that Columbia has enough people moving into that side of town to support two "malls."

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waccamatt Town

waccamatt

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Coming from you, I'll take that as a compliment.

As long as Columbia Place has sotres that are unique tot he Northeast's market, the mall will remain a draw to the area, but to what extent it dies is all relative to how much of a draw VAS becomes. It could be that Columbia has enough people moving into that side of town to support two "malls."

Yes, and those of us that live in-town don't want to drive all the way out to VAS very often. Columbia Place's demise has been greatly exaggerated. It is probably nearly 90% leased and it is very crowded on the rare instances that I go there. I still want to see Richland Mall redeveloped as that is my preferred shopping destination.

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krazeeboi Gigalopolis

krazeeboi

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Columbia Mall caters to alot of blacks and I dont' see them going anywhere because VAS DOES NOT offer any stores really like that

Yeah, VAS isn't trying to cater to the "urban" demographic at all (besides general sneaker stores).

Columbia Place's demise has been greatly exagerrated. It is probably nearly 90% leased and it is very crowded on the rare instances that I go there. I still want to see Richland Mall redeveloped as that is my preferred shopping destination.

I agree with you about Columbia Place. People attempt to draw Columbia Place and Eastland parallels, but Eastland is definitely in worse shape, generally speaking, than Columbia Place.

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emerging.me Burg

emerging.me

Posted
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We drove out to VAS for the first time since it has been really established today. Maybe this has been mentioned here before -- I think maybe it has -- but the big thing that struck me is that the sidewalks are WAY WAY WAY TOO SMALL. They should be twice the size that they are if not three times.

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Charleston native Burg

Charleston native

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Yeah, VAS isn't trying to cater to the "urban" demographic at all (besides general sneaker stores).

I agree with you about Columbia Place. People attempt to draw Columbia Place and Eastland parallels, but Eastland is definitely in worse shape, generally speaking, than Columbia Place.

I'm going to disagree here and say you guys are in denial. The nearby strip malls are looking rundown, and the mall is not the draw in anyway shape or form like Columbiana. There are no plans to redevelop the old Winn Dixie shopping center (or from what I've heard and seen), and the tenant to replace JCPenney isn't exactly on the same level as Sportman's Warehouse or Dick's. Many of the stores in there are becoming more local, similar to Dutch Square. The mall is not dead right now, but I don't see it improving. Meanwhile, VAS is starting to become the draw like Harbison...the traffic in and around VAS is steadily getting worse.

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Spartan Gigalopolis

Spartan

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Yes, and those of us that live in-town don't want to drive all the way out to VAS very often. Columbia Place's demise has been greatly exaggerated. It is probably nearly 90% leased and it is very crowded on the rare instances that I go there. I still want to see Richland Mall redeveloped as that is my preferred shopping destination.

I agree 100%. When I was at Carolina, I made it a point to avoid Harbison at all costs. You can get to Columbia Place in the same amount of time, and it had all of the stores I needed- most notably Old Navy. As a poor college student I can't pass up that place. But if I felt like splurging they had AE and those type of stores too. I think the center city market is what Cola Place and even Dutch Square rely on to survive.

I'm going to disagree here and say you guys are in denial. The nearby strip malls are looking rundown, and the mall is not the draw in anyway shape or form like Columbiana. There are no plans to redevelop the old Winn Dixie shopping center (or from what I've heard and seen), and the tenant to replace JCPenney isn't exactly on the same level as Sportman's Warehouse or Dick's. Many of the stores in there are becoming more local, similar to Dutch Square. The mall is not dead right now, but I don't see it improving. Meanwhile, VAS is starting to become the draw like Harbison...the traffic in and around VAS is steadily getting worse.

This is true, but while you do have those old strip malls, you also have restaurants still seeing enough potential in that area to open up shop. And Best Buy is still there (for now). Those are some reasons why I'm not convinced the mall is dead yet. Though like I said before, VAS could very will do it in. I think its alittle too early to see how things will shape up with VAS sv Columbia Place.

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xyhamiltonboi Whistle-Stop

xyhamiltonboi

Posted
Posted

Columbia Place is far from dead.

Lets just be glad that the Northeast Market isn't shrinking and that people have to continue to drive to Columbiana for goods and services. I've seen areas lose retailers where their closest presence is over 100 miles away. The Decker Corridor is in the process of change and there is some exciting news of whats to come in 2007 and 2008. Including The Comedy House Theatre planning to reopen around August in the former Winn-Dixie supermarket building at Decker Boulevard and Two Notch Road. No it's not retail, but this shows people still have interest in the area and will invest and with investment comes better traffic.

Columbia Place continues to attract national retailers that have no immediate plans of coming to Sandhill. Examples are PacSun, Charlotte Russe, and Limited Brands. As long as Columbia Place keeps and continues to attract retailers and isn't poised for mixed use redevelopment; it only shows evidence that Northeast Columbia can support 2 regional shopping centers.

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irmoscdad Crossroads

irmoscdad

Posted
Posted

Columbia place is pretty crowded every time I go. I think there are plenty of people in downtow/Cayce/West Columbia who would rather shop there instead of driving waaaay out to VAS. I haven't been out there yet, and may not for a while, because the traffic is so bad.

There are obviously still tons of major retailers not at VAS....why is that? Maybe they are asking too much per square foot considering you are betting that one day it will be busy enough to pay for the next year or two stores do almost nothing? Also it sounds like some of the current stores have all types of say-so in who else can come in and where? Is a giant mall like that going to flourish when the control is in the hands of a regional retailer and lagging department stores? Seems to me the developer needs to take charge of who is going to be coming in........

I think Columbia Place should thank VAS for sending so many retailers back down the street towards them or to them.

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xyhamiltonboi Whistle-Stop

xyhamiltonboi

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I think Columbia Place should thank VAS for sending so many retailers back down the street towards them or to them.

It helps to grow the market and puts dollars back on Two Notch Road. Columbia's market is growing and I'm happy that Columbia Place is still around to see it.

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Temeteron Burg

Temeteron

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Is it just me :whistling: or do alot of the stores and restaurants at VAS seem smaller than what one would traditionally expect? :dontknow:

Well, from what I understand, my friend works at the Lane Bryant there, and says that that store was supposed to be twice as big, if not more than that. But the Village wouldn't give them the space. Now they are trying to find a different space within the Village to move to because they have outgrown their volume.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Jrb986 Unincorporated Area

Jrb986

Posted
Posted

I was not impressed with VAS at all.

1. Too far from the center city...Ridiculous urban sprawl as usual

2. Not enough selection

3. The site looks ridiculous in the middle of no where..why try to hide that it's a strip mall complex with a town center design? Give me a break

4. There are perfect opportunities to redevelopment parts of Two Notch rather than put all of that junk in the middle of nowhere. When will Columbia be more responsible?

I wasted gas and time to come out and see this development. I usually frequent downtown and Harbison since it's closer to me. It may fit the population's needs out on Two Notch, but I feel that some parts of Two Notch could have been redeveloped. It's just a waste... :-(

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krazeeboi Gigalopolis

krazeeboi

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4. There are perfect opportunities to redevelopment parts of Two Notch rather than put all of that junk in the middle of nowhere. When will Columbia be more responsible?

I wasted gas and time to come out and see this development. I usually frequent downtown and Harbison since it's closer to me. It may fit the population's needs out on Two Notch, but I feel that some parts of Two Notch could have been redeveloped. It's just a waste... :-(

It's all about demographics, and the fact that retail follows rooftops.

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Charleston native Burg

Charleston native

Posted
Posted

Well now that I live in Northeast Columbia I feel it fits our needs. Because Harbison is a LOOONG drive

Exactly. I think one of the reasons why VAS is being developed is to actually ease the traffic at Harbison! NE residents didn't have a comparable place near them except Cola Place, which doesn't appeal to some residents, including myself. Especially since I live off of Sparkleberry, this shopping center is sooooo much more convenient.

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TheSuperPope Whistle-Stop

TheSuperPope

Posted
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I actually just back from riding out there to show it to my parents (they love malls for some reason). The condos have the appearance of being finished with construction around the Belk area, but are definitely not inhabited yet.

Other than that, it looks amazing out there and is growing at an alarming rate out in NE. We were all quite shocked.

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