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I don't see the big difference to be honest. From a business perspective, I think H&M definitely has the edge. And Uniqlo still doesn't have "that" image yet that H&M has succeeded in getting. If you asked a random person on the street "do you want H&M or Uniqlo in your mall", H&M is gonna win most every time.
I really don't see how they could fit a 20,000 square foot (the average size of an H&M) store in that space. There is no way that space is more than 6,000 square feet.
I really don't see how they could fit a 20,000 square foot (the average size of an H&M) store in that space. There is no way that space is more than 6,000 square feet.
Mall management did say we'd be in for "a big surprise." To me, that sounds like a re-fit or small expansion may be in store.
The current courthouse opened in 1980 and is 200,000 square feet.
For reference, this is roughly the size of 1221 Main (NBSC, Oak Table, etc.), which is 16 stories (10 stories of office + 5 stories of parking + ground floor) and on roughly the same size lot (I think).
Rose says, if the county were to explore constructing a new courthouse, it would be his preference that it be in the city center.
There are not many open lots and the city already owns the former United Way land catty-corner to the current courthouse.
However, the mayor says the current courthouse likely is not big enough for the city’s long-term consolidation needs.
"Our needs assessment calls for us to have about 300,000 square feet to consolidate all existing city offices in one space,†Benjamin says. “[The courthouse] is 200,000 square feet, with some significant rehabilitation needs."
So to recap, the county needs 200,000+ square feet and the city needs 300,000. If we use 1221 Main as an example, each floor on that size lot would be roughly 20,000 square feet. The city may be able to eke out another 5,000 if it builds straight up (1221 main juts in slightly), so let's say 25,000 for good measure. If the city decides to build on its current plot, we're talking about 12-15 stories of office space. They would also probably need to include garage parking and a ground floor, so we're talking about say 18-24 stories, depending on requirements.
That's just the city. Include the courthouse and you add 8-10 floors minimum. Now I can't see the building feasibly having 10+ stories of parking, so they would probably construct a separate parking garage. Still, we're talking about 21-26 stories with city offices, courts, and ground floor retail. If the county really is busting at the seems, 25-30 stories may be more realistic.
The scenario that Benjamin originally discussed involved a public-private partnership. Give that the county is the county, they probably have more of an appetite for a lower scale building. The city, on the other hand, clearly wants a skyscraper. Here's how I see this playing out:
Columbia partners with a private firm to build a 25-30 story building on the former United Way site. This would include ground floor retail, 8 floors of parking, 14 floors of city offices, and say 4 floors of private office space. This would allow the city to sell any owned office buildings and break leases in rented space.
Richland County buys land (maybe on Assembly across from the library?) and builds a 10 story courthouse: 6 floors above 3 floors of parking and a ground level on a half block. I don't think it's feasible to expand the existing courthouse, nor would they want to, so they'll probably sell that land and free up space for something overlooking Finlay Park.
I think the timeline for this is 5+ years, but it's still very exciting. Part of this will also mean a selloff of city and county surface lots downtown to finance the new construction. This is far more exciting as each entity owns valuable land in the CBD. GrowingUp15, I'm starting to embrace your sense of optimism!
As this is highly speculative on my part and I'm not an expert, feel free to poke any holes in my logic.
If the city and county building a building together, plus parking, plus a hotel/private office, you could build a large, large building. With parking and the 500,000 square feet of space the city/county would occupy could justify a private 800,000 square foot building. Here is an example of a building that size... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_at_PNC_Plaza a smaller version of a building around 600,000 square feet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/400_West_Market.
Personally I would like to see is a upscale extended stay hotel with 70-90 rooms and 50-80 apartments that could access all the facilities of the hotel in the building for amenities. This would take up 200,000 square feet. So 500,000 sf city/county, 150,000 sf hotel/apartments, 50,000 sf class "A" office space, 150,000 sf parking for 1,000 spaces = 850,000 square foot building... could go up to 40 floors.
If the city and county building a building together, plus parking, plus a hotel/private office, you could build a large, large building. With parking and the 500,000 square feet of space the city/county would occupy could justify a private 800,000 square foot building. Here is an example of a building that size... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tower_at_PNC_Plaza a smaller version of a building around 600,000 square feet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/400_West_Market.
Personally I would like to see is a upscale extended stay hotel with 70-90 rooms and 50-80 apartments that could access all the facilities of the hotel in the building for amenities. This would take up 200,000 square feet. So 500,000 sf city/county, 150,000 sf hotel/apartments, 50,000 sf class "A" office space, 150,000 sf parking for 1,000 spaces = 850,000 square foot building... could go up to 40 floors.
That would be cool and ideal for downtown. I would totally approve of this in that location of downtown.
The question is: from the perspective of the mall manager, what does he think qualifies as "a huge surprise" from the perspective of enough people for him to say that? Apple? Cheesecake Factory? Or the stores you guys have been speculating on?
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