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The Homeless Cneter that has been talked about for a few years may be close to becoming a reality. I saw a tweet that mentioned Farrow Rd as the location but the article did not confirm that.
COLUMBIA — Gov. Henry McMaster’s budget request for the upcoming legislative session includes $10 million for a homeless center in Columbia.
If approved toward the end of this year’s legislative session, around May or June, the Hope Center would be an upgraded version of the Columbia’s rapid shelter, a hub of services and 50 short-term shelters announced in September 2022 in the area.
The City of Columbia and Richland County would each pitch in an additional $10 million for the facility, which would house 500 people in separate units and include services like mental health and addiction treatment, urgent care, counseling, a food bank and pharmacy, Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann said during a Nov. 6 interview.
The center is based on a model used by Houston, Texas, which has helped the city reduce their homeless population, McMaster said.
Several state agencies offering health services have made plans to move out of their current offices on Harden Street, making the need for consolidation more important, Rickenmann said.
The announcement comes in the wake of Finley Park’s closing near Main Street, which displaced a number of people experiencing homelessness and food services that took place there. Protests against the park’s closure, part of the city’s redevelop of the downtown park, called on the city to do more to aid its transient population.
The city is set to annex a total of 82 acres, 7 acres in Northeast Richland (Elgin) and in Kershaw County (75 acres) for a housing development. Looks like from the master plan for Woodcreek Farms the city will continue annexing into Kershaw county for the rest of the development. The city of Columbia will now span between three counties.
Wow...when the city annexed into Lexington County it caused a small firestorm..in part.. because the were annexing a part of Columbiana Center. There were certain politicos that opposed the incursion into Lexington County as well. The City of Cayce annexed undeveloped land in Richland County south of Columbia.. but dont know if that was encourage because of that same issue. I believe some of the student housing off of Bluff Road near I-77 is in Cayce City Limits. At any rate.. I doubt Kershaw County raises a fuss for this project...but Town of Elgin might...LOL
The issue may be if other land owners continue to push to be annexed into the City of Columbia in Kershaw County. As I understand it.. they would then fall under the City of Columbia's Planning and Zoning guidelines and not under Kershaw Countys..but the impacts will likely be felt more in Kershaw in terms of traffic and schools.. So at some point there may come a reckoning if the City pushes for more suburban development and Kershaw residents want more rural or exurban development. (i.e. less density larger lots)
Spartanburg was really a Richardson-specific thing since he went to Wofford. I doubt there was ever any intention to keep it outside of Charlotte. Training camps are becoming more popular to watch/monitor and players themselves want to be in nicer locations- either home or somewhere warm. I don't blame Tepper for switching it up.
Yeah but to make that move AFTER he burned Rock Hill/York County is quite the signal.
I disagree, Charlotte could have absolutely been the sole Panthers named city. Charlotte became the headquarters for Bank of America in the early 90s and that's when their big population boom began. The original owner, Jerry Richardson, was determined to give the Carolinas an NFL team and that was going to be the only viable option especially with it being geologically in the center of the two states and the biggest city. Remember that NFL owners all have to vote on NFL expansion teams, who owns it, and where it's located. Apparently, they all agreed that Charlotte was a destination that could sustain a new team back then and in the future. Also, Bank of America Stadium was built in 1995 and opened in 1996. In 1996 it could hold 73,000 fans and is the largest stadium in NC history so I'm not sure where the 80k seat stadium comes from. If you were referring to basketball then the normal capacity for basketball arenas is around 18k-20k.
The issue is that us, South Carolinians, are unrealistic when it comes to any team. We are horrible fans. We have the Gamecocks in town and people complain about Beamer when he's in the process of trying to turn the team around. That normally takes years but we expect it to be done on day 1. It took Spurrier about 5 years. Dawn Staley has won multiple championships, has the best team in the country, and could of had more if not for Covid. Everyday I see fans tearing her down saying she's racist because she actually stands up for her players, and is prideful of the community she comes from (which is not frowned upon when it comes to other Ethnicities/Heritages). We're lucky enough to have an NFL team an hour away but we complain that they're in NC. News Flash: We are not a metropolis and are too close to Atlanta and Charlotte to ever have any major sports team. Also, Atlanta's metro population is more than our entire state. The Panthers have been to two Superbowls in their short history which is not common (ask Jags, Texans, Titans etc.) but we still complain. Heck, fans complained when they were winning in 2015 because Cam Newton was having too much fun. We are putting a bad taste in the mouths of future coaches, free agents, and more because our fan base is terrible.
I think you're overthinking the issue big time. Of all the things SC'ers routinely complain about, the Panthers might not even make the list.
I guess it seems like its the "carolina" panthers in name only. Having a training camp in SC would seem to be the minimum that one could do to carry that banner along with maybe a few exhibition games.. I have no idea if USC has had a change of heart or not. But, It seems that they would do more in SC to cultivate an SC fan base.. Do they give grants to build playgrounds or have to the team come out and do things in various parts of the SC? Maybe they do in Rock Hill and that checks the box. I suspect that the Jets and the Giants may do things in both states in a similar manner in the NY Metro and maybe the Patriots in Boston Metro which could span beyond Mass. It just seems that you would be active in whatever area you consider to be your fan base. Again, maybe they are in Rock Hill and Greenville Spartanburg and that is likely the extent of the SC fan base... .LOL
"Moving forward, if I’m given the opportunity to represent the beautiful states of North and South Carolina, situations like this would not, and I mean will not happen,” Newton said. “Not on my watch.”
Yeah but to make that move AFTER he burned Rock Hill/York County is quite the signal.
Totally agree, though I think it's a calculated assumption that fans in Rock Hill/York County identify with Charlotte metro (meaning they'll stay loyal) and there aren't enough season ticket holders in the rest of SC to make it an immediate problem. It's probably short-sighted on his part, but it's not surprising if he knows there's financial upside to moving the offseason back to Charlotte.
Wow...when the city annexed into Lexington County it caused a small firestorm..in part.. because the were annexing a part of Columbiana Center. There were certain politicos that opposed the incursion into Lexington County as well. The City of Cayce annexed undeveloped land in Richland County south of Columbia.. but dont know if that was encourage because of that same issue. I believe some of the student housing off of Bluff Road near I-77 is in Cayce City Limits. At any rate.. I doubt Kershaw County raises a fuss for this project...but Town of Elgin might...LOL
The issue may be if other land owners continue to push to be annexed into the City of Columbia in Kershaw County. As I understand it.. they would then fall under the City of Columbia's Planning and Zoning guidelines and not under Kershaw Countys..but the impacts will likely be felt more in Kershaw in terms of traffic and schools.. So at some point there may come a reckoning if the City pushes for more suburban development and Kershaw residents want more rural or exurban development. (i.e. less density larger lots)
Agreed and to be honest I'm a bit worried about sprawl going up 20. Fort Jackson creates a really linear development corridor, meaning they'll have to keep going out in a straight line for the most part. Kershaw creates an artificial tension point if they have to continuously annex land / get pushback, but it's feasible that they could keep building incremental neighborhoods and slowly creep out.
Agreed and to be honest I'm a bit worried about sprawl going up 20. Fort Jackson creates a really linear development corridor, meaning they'll have to keep going out in a straight line for the most part. Kershaw creates an artificial tension point if they have to continuously annex land / get pushback, but it's feasible that they could keep building incremental neighborhoods and slowly creep out.
You right that corridor is prime for annexation because the city is already out there and they are doing most of the annextation pre development as opposed to when the community is built out. The City is also taking the path of least resistance. Lower Richland has been challenging as has NW Richland County for reasons we have already mentioned. The Bythewood Corridor is not contigious and NE Richland is mosly built out Additionally many of these areas are already receiving municipal services that would have been an incentive to go into the City by the County as trash pick up and water.. though the City may have agreements to provide some water and sewer services.
I am curious to what the incentive there is for a subdivision in kershaw County to annex in to the City of Columbia? I mean they are closer to Camden and Elgin.. why not push to come into those cities (camden may be a stretch) but certainly Elgin. I bet Elgin will step up their game in the next few years or risk losing population and tax base to Columbia. Elgin could easily overtake Camden as the largest City in Kershaw.. In fact people in Richland County near the Kershaw line already have Elgin postal codes so.. Elgin could easily counter by annexing into Richland County.
Municipalities in South Carolina have such little power to "close donut holes" and to help make their city/town more cohesive. This is crazy now that Columbia will be in three counties, with land as far as 16 miles being incorporated into the city but some land less than 1.5 miles is not.
You right that corridor is prime for annexation because the city is already out there and they are doing most of the annextation pre development as opposed to when the community is built out. The City is also taking the path of least resistance. Lower Richland has been challenging as has NW Richland County for reasons we have already mentioned. The Bythewood Corridor is not contigious and NE Richland is mosly built out Additionally many of these areas are already receiving municipal services that would have been an incentive to go into the City by the County as trash pick up and water.. though the City may have agreements to provide some water and sewer services.
I am curious to what the incentive there is for a subdivision in kershaw County to annex in to the City of Columbia? I mean they are closer to Camden and Elgin.. why not push to come into those cities (camden may be a stretch) but certainly Elgin. I bet Elgin will step up their game in the next few years or risk losing population and tax base to Columbia. Elgin could easily overtake Camden as the largest City in Kershaw.. In fact people in Richland County near the Kershaw line already have Elgin postal codes so.. Elgin could easily counter by annexing into Richland County.
There's a clear opportunity for branding.
Lexington has done a solid job locally of promoting itself as "not Columbia", basically a safe, suburban, family-friendly alternative to downtown and Forest Acres is equally well-respected locally. Since Columbia doesn't have a national or even regional reputation, there's less incentive at the moment to say "I live in Columbia" as most people outside the state will still ask "where's that?".
Columbia has never really figured out its core identity and that brick flag exercise (hideous) a few years ago didn't help. There was an article recently about pushing the rivers and I think that's an interesting angle. I was in Chattanooga recently and quickly realized that the branding far exceeded the actual experience of the city. Chattanooga has become known as a big outdoor city, but when you see it, there's very little actual development on the river and the city is still mid-conversion on a lot of factories and warehouses. Still, the branding resonates and seems to work based on the tourism infrastructure I saw.
By contrast, Columbia has a well-formed downtown and it keeps getting better. They could easily start promoting adventure tourism (rafting, hiking). Once the Boyd bridge, Williams Street extension, and more of the path to Lake Murray are in place, the city can really work on signposting with the goal of building out something similar to the Colorado River/Lake Travis/Lady Bird Lake in Austin.
Alternatively, Elgin could focus on branding and position itself as a nice alternative to Columbia, just depends on which is better and faster at storytelling.
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