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That entire area is the "forgotten City" part of Columbia. I think that area is perfect for some infill mixed use developments with the focus on workforce rental housing. Tear down the old car dealerships.. build apartments with service retail on the first floor and surface parking. Add developments, such as senior housing to some of the vacant parking lots near the grocery stores and build smaller multi family development on consolidate lots that contain residential structures that front Beltline between Farrow and Two Notch (lets face it most people would NOT want to walk out their front door of their single family home onto a street named BELT..anything.. because it is a highway. A new development can design to limit its intrusion...Because it is a major east west corridor.. bus lines can easily be enhanced to take people cross town, in town and out of town to suburban areas. Existing retail would be supported by the influx of new residents. As the core of Columbia becomes more expensive and desirable.. lower income residents may be displaced. They cant move to the Summit because of the increase in commuting cost. Redeveloping Beltline would be a good opportunity to provide additional housing options for seniors and working families closer to the core.....
It will be decades before this even becomes a pipe dream. This area is currently not a desirable place to live for many people. It is perceived as having high crime and some of the worst schools in the area. Broad River and St. Andrews are more likely candidates for gentrification before Eau Claire.
Their old office tower was functionally obsolete and they wanted to consolidate disparate employees into one corporate HQ. Columbia Common was probably not considered because of the cost and red tape, not to mention the redevelopment plans that have been in play for so long. There were some people who suspected the new campus was built to make them more attractive for a takeover by Duke or Progress since it a more economical option than renovating the Palmetto Center. Time will tell if that speculation proves true.
I think LexCo gave SCANA some nice incentives too because the city was doing everything in its power to retain them. I believe John Holder even offered his services to build SCANA a campus in or close to downtown within the city.
SCANA's nuclear plant is seeing delays, and I read an opinion yesterday that the cost of the delays likely will be passed on to the customer. SCE&G also recently ranked low on a customer satisfaction survey. If Duke will have them, I don't think it will be long before they take them over. I'm starting to be glad some other city's name besides Columbia's is attached to them.
It will be decades before this even becomes a pipe dream. This area is currently not a desirable place to live for many people. It is perceived as having high crime and some of the worst schools in the area. Broad River and St. Andrews are more likely candidates for gentrification before Eau Claire.
At the center of that is one or two problem complexes (i.e. Bethel Bishop Apts. and The Colony). I agree that it may take some time and currently it is NOT a priority of the City Goverment.. which would be required for any revitalization effort to begin......That said, I can certainly see Dutch Square area portion of St. Andrews improving in the near future.
As Cola Data stated Eau Claire stretches from Farrow Road to the Broad River and from I-20 to Sunset Drive... Alot of area.. Eau Claire is by and large Columbia's largest community though it is comprised of dozens of neighborhoods in various states of stability, improvement, and decline.
At the center of that is one or two problem complexes (i.e. Bethel Bishop Apts. and The Colony). I agree that it may take some time and currently it is NOT a priority of the City Goverment.. which would be required for any revitalization effort to begin......That said, I can certainly see Dutch Square area portion of St. Andrews improving in the near future.
As Cola Data stated Eau Claire stretches from Farrow Road to the Broad River and from I-20 to Sunset Drive... Alot of area.. Eau Claire is by and large Columbia's largest community though it is comprised of dozens of neighborhoods in various states of stability, improvement, and decline.
Are you including Earlewood and Keenan Terrace as parts of Eau Claire?
It will be decades before this even becomes a pipe dream. This area is currently not a desirable place to live for many people. It is perceived as having high crime and some of the worst schools in the area. Broad River and St. Andrews are more likely candidates for gentrification before Eau Claire.
As an Eau Claire resident I can tell you there are lots of great sections of Eau Claire - it isn't all a problem area.
I used to live in Earlewood and enjoyed the area. It was the first place I ever lived in Columbia and was surprised at how convenient it was to so many things. Depending on your demographic, lifestyle, etc., it can be a very desirable area.
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