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Yeah it's the start of the surface parking lot for the County services building (Voter registration, car taxes, etc) but could be utilized in the future. It does look a bit out of place right now, but I hope the finished project blend after they get the paint on some of it.
My hope is that the lot next to Cook Out and the Service Station is removed and an equally nice "gateway building" goes there.. But with no other "incentives" on the table it may be awhile for any new big projects outside of main st or the Vista. The NE Corner could also use some improvement. Maybe the medical office next door will expand and do a small three of four story office building.
As for the County lots up Harden.. I was pissed when Richland County moved their government offices out of downtown and over to Harden Street. Now its a mute point.. but when they did it downtown was struggling and it was considered bad form for the local government to move their offices way from Main Street. Still.. if they had stayed maybe there could have been a nice and true Government Center Built to house Richland County and the City of Columbia. That was thrown around for the Old Post Office when that site was kicked around for potential closure. City Hall would remain but all other government offices would have consolidated over there in a new building built on the post office "podium" but it was not to be.....
Interesting that this dynamic doesn't really seem to happen in the Columbia area. First, it's not suburbs or bust for us. Certain downtown neighborhoods (Shandon, rosewood perhaps) do in fact have better/decent schools associated with them BUT at the same time some of our more expensive downtown neighborhoods are associated with relatively poor schools (elmwood, cotton town etc.). Our suburbs tend to have decent schools but it certainly isn't more expensive to live in the suburbs in this area. I find it strange to pay a ton of money just to get into a certain school district though I'm sure it happens across the country. I'm glad Columbia isn't really like this for when I may one day have kids.
There's an interview article in the Post and Courier today about the vice president of purchasing and manufacturing for Volvo. In the first paragraph, the writer refers to the plant as "Volvo's first U.S. manufacturing site in Berkeley County." In the second paragraph he refers to "construction at the site off Interstate 26 near Ridgeville." He begins the third paragraph with "Before moving to the Charleston region last year," etc. He begins the fourth paragraph with "Having found a Charleston-area home near the beach," etc. He ends that paragraph with a mention of the subject having been "overwhelmed with Charleston's famous hospitality." In the fifth paragraph he refers to the "$500 million Berkeley County campus..." For the entire second half of the article, the only word used to denote the concept of place is the word "region," when the writer asks the subject her favorite thing about doing business in the region and she replies that the region is very business-forward.
Why did I write all of that? The reason is that I have noticed for a long time that when The State Newspaper writes about business in Lexington County in the form of new manufacturing plants, Columbia is scarcely mentioned if it is mentioned at all. The writers don't talk about the region; they always mention Lexington County schools, Lake Murray, and Lexington and Lexington County, seldom Columbia or the Columbia region if ever. The reason given for a plant locating in Lexington County is never about the Columbia area. It's never about the proximity to Columbia. Neither Columbia nor the Columbia region is ever mentioned as a factor in what drew the company to Lexington County.
Is the difference a result of differing mindsets of the writers? Could it be that the writers with The State who cover Lexington County business reside in Lexington, whereas Post and Courier business writers all live in Charleston County? Does The State just try to keep Lexington County happy by writing glowing articles about their business climate without a mention of the Columbia region? If I had collected examples of what I'm talking about, I could write a paper on the topic. I know it's not my imagination.
The State at best is a "rag" and more interested in USC at the expense of all other news. The ex-Head Ball Coach farts and it is front page. Volvo building in Berkeley County is of no interest to The State.
The State at best is a "rag" and more interested in USC at the expense of all other news. The ex-Head Ball Coach farts and it is front page. Volvo building in Berkeley County is of no interest to The State.
The State's interest in Volvo or lack thereof is beside my point. Apple could announce it was coming to Columbia to establish a huge new phone manufacturing plant, but if the plant just happened to be locating next to Amazon and Nephron Pharmaceuticals in Cayce, The State would report on it as a major deal and game-changer for Lexington County, not for the Columbia region. The Columbia newscasts would do the same thing. But Volvo locates in Ridgeville in Berkeley County and the Post and Courier writes about it as a major deal for the Charleston region, mentioning the site of the plant only to pinpoint which part of the Charleston region it's in. The local newscasts would do the same. The media helps affect how the local populace sees itself, regionally versus provincially. Why does Columbia get the short end of the stick from its local media?
The State's interest in Volvo or lack thereof is beside my point. Apple could announce it was coming to Columbia to establish a huge new phone manufacturing plant, but if the plant just happened to be locating next to Amazon and Nephron Pharmaceuticals in Cayce, The State would report on it as a major deal and game-changer for Lexington County, not for the Columbia region. The Columbia newscasts would do the same thing. But Volvo locates in Ridgeville in Berkeley County and the Post and Courier writes about it as a major deal for the Charleston region, mentioning the site of the plant only to pinpoint which part of the Charleston region it's in. The local newscasts would do the same. The media helps affect how the local populace sees itself, regionally versus provincially. Why does Columbia get the short end of the stick from its local media?
I agree and I think quite honestly it's a cultural thing. Whereas people in the charleston region of all cultures flock to the water and coast, in columbia the water (or at
least big water) is lake Murray in Lexington. And I think there is a deep deep cultural divide between richland and Lexington counties. It reminds me a little of how suburban Atlanta folk trash the Marta and even have racist nicknames for it "moving Africans rapidly through Atlanta." I hate to even say that because I like the Marta but I have heard this mentioned from several Atlanta folk.
And I feel it's sort of the same vibe that drives the divide here. It's unfortunate. I mean just look at the republican primary votes. I believe, and someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Lexington county went for Trump and Richland for the more reasonable (at least on manners) Rubio. That tells ya something there I think.
There's an interview article in the Post and Courier today about the vice president of purchasing and manufacturing for Volvo. In the first paragraph, the writer refers to the plant as "Volvo's first U.S. manufacturing site in Berkeley County." In the second paragraph he refers to "construction at the site off Interstate 26 near Ridgeville." He begins the third paragraph with "Before moving to the Charleston region last year," etc. He begins the fourth paragraph with "Having found a Charleston-area home near the beach," etc. He ends that paragraph with a mention of the subject having been "overwhelmed with Charleston's famous hospitality." In the fifth paragraph he refers to the "$500 million Berkeley County campus..." For the entire second half of the article, the only word used to denote the concept of place is the word "region," when the writer asks the subject her favorite thing about doing business in the region and she replies that the region is very business-forward.
Why did I write all of that? The reason is that I have noticed for a long time that when The State Newspaper writes about business in Lexington County in the form of new manufacturing plants, Columbia is scarcely mentioned if it is mentioned at all. The writers don't talk about the region; they always mention Lexington County schools, Lake Murray, and Lexington and Lexington County, seldom Columbia or the Columbia region if ever. The reason given for a plant locating in Lexington County is never about the Columbia area. It's never about the proximity to Columbia. Neither Columbia nor the Columbia region is ever mentioned as a factor in what drew the company to Lexington County.
Is the difference a result of differing mindsets of the writers? Could it be that the writers with The State who cover Lexington County business reside in Lexington, whereas Post and Courier business writers all live in Charleston County? Does The State just try to keep Lexington County happy by writing glowing articles about their business climate without a mention of the Columbia region? If I had collected examples of what I'm talking about, I could write a paper on the topic. I know it's not my imagination.
I read, hear on TV, and see people discuss/write the Midlands/Midlands area/Midlands region when mentioning new business to the region almost daily.
I read, hear on TV, and see people discuss/write the Midlands/Midlands area/Midlands region when mentioning new business to the region almost daily.
On second thought, you're probably right that charlestondata's assessment of the media may be off, and perhaps I was a bit harsh or was a bit overkill in my assessment. But on a broader level, going beyond what gets written, I do feel he speaks to something real whether or not it can be seen in the media. There's some subtle conflict between Richland/columbia and Lexington that just doesn't exist in the low country IMO and I think it's mostly cultural. I just feel it sometimes so maybe that's why I jumped the gun.
To be fair to the region, though, I'm probably the type that's hypersensitive and may see or feel things sometimes that others don't (not saying they're real just because I feel them). So it's not like the people in Lexington openly curse the city of columbia by any means. I don't want to hurt the region's reputation.
I looked and the only two counties that didn't go for trump in the republican primary were richland and charleston. So I probably shouldn't be too hard on Lexington county for going for trump.
What I'm talking about can definitely be seen and heard in the media. I'm not saying you never hear about development as a Midlands development, but I have followed the way Columbia media cover Lexington County business developments for years, and they definitely present it as a Lexington County coup more so than a Midlands or Columbia-area one lots more often than not. I was raised in Lexington County and lived in the city of Columbia 31 years, and I didn't just make this up in my mind.
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