If any of you have any additional information please feel free to share. I have mixed emotions about this plan... a 12.4 sq. mi TIF seems HUGE. Linking Innovista with North Main has some advantages.. but as the article mentions.. Innovista will generate most of the tax $ to support the TIF.. so, what arrangement is being developed to "share" the revenue between these two distinct parts of town? Someone is going to cry foul..... I also do not believe during the current economic climate that Richland County or the School District will forgo the the increased revenue to support this.... I do think it is forward thinking to get it in place.. but we'll see what happens.
Waterfront District Part of Renaissance Plan
In Addition to North Columbia,
Tax District Would Pay for Redevelopment Near Innovista
BY AL DOZIER
While north Columbia is often cited as the main benefactor of a proposed economic development tax district, the University of South Carolina’s vision of a live-work-play waterfront district tied to the university’s Innovista research campus is also part of the revitalization plan.
A special tax district City Council is considering to pay for redevelopment efforts in a huge swath of Columbia would include a proposed live-work-play waterfront district tied to the University of South Carolina’s Innovista research campus. In fact, the Innovista area could be the biggest revenue generator in the entire tax district, which would encompass a huge 12.4-square-mile swath of the city.
A tax increment finance (TIF) district City Council is considering to pay for the Columbia Renaissance Redevelopment Plan would tap growth in property tax collections in the district and place them in a special account designated for development efforts in the district.
City officials often reference north Columbia when they tout the Renaissance Plan, which would help rebuild blighted areas in that historically neglected section of town. Council members Tameika Isaac Devine, Sam Davis and E.W. Cromartie say they believe a TIF would spur development in the city’s poorest north Columbia neighborhoods along Farrow and Two Notch roads.
Richland County and Richland School District 1 have been asked to join in the project, a move that would substantially increase funding available for it. But so far, the county and the school district have not decided whether they will participate in the effort.
On Sept. 1, County Administrator Milton Pope told members of County Council’s Economic Development Committee that he has asked Innovista director John Parks to meet with County Council members so they can get up to speed on what’s happening with Innovista.
USC recently fired Michigan developer Kale Roscoe, who was the chief builder for the private portion of the research campus. University officials say Roscoe was fired because he failed to secure financing to complete construction projects in a timely manner.
Free Times has been reporting at length about Roscoe’s background, his working relationship with Parks and their involvement in Innovista.
Mayor Bob Coble says the economic problems facing Innovista are the same faced by real estate developers across the country during the current difficult times. But Coble is optimistic about the future of Innovista despite its ongoing troubles. “We’ve already had successes at USC,” he says. “We already have companies that want to locate there.”
While some say the waterfront district doesn’t belong in the same TIF as north Columbia, Coble says USC officials are on board with the plan.
Drawn up by USC’s planning firm, Sasaki Associates of Boston, it calls for bringing the university and lands along the Congaree River together in a mix of residential, retail and green space development with a waterfront park as the focal point. The park would follow the river from Gervais Street south to Granby Village and feature a grassy amphitheater and walking and biking paths connected to the Three Rivers Greenway.
Some work on the waterfront district has been completed and more is under way.
A recently adopted, flexible zoning overlay is in place, making it easier for the area to develop quickly. The city is now working to obtain federal grants to implement the plan, according to Lucinda Statler, an urban design planner for the city.
New sections in the works include a $4.5 million esplanade at CanalSide and a $10 million “CanalFront” project at EdVenture Children’s Museum.
In addition, the city has a $6.3 million plan for a Saluda riverwalk park near Riverbanks Zoo and Garden.
Driving the move for a TIF is the successful use of such a revitalization tool in the Vista, a buzzing strip of restaurants and retail shops that fill old empty warehouses along Gervais Street. Devine, a chief proponent of a new TIF, says the Vista success inspired her to push for one for the Renaissance Plan.
Fred Delk, director of the Columbia Development Corporations, says a TIF for the idea offers a recipe for success: Put into the TIF map an underdeveloped area that you know will soon be transformed into a major enterprise — the waterfront district. “It works when you have a project you know will be providing a substantial tax refund,” Delk says.
The Vista had some factors working in its favor with close proximity to the Congaree, downtown and the USC campus.
The waterfront district has similar attractions.
North Columbia, on the other hand, doesn’t offer the same amenities, although some say including the old State Hospital campus properties on Bull Street in a TIF could be a major asset if they are redeveloped.
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Columbia's Renaissance Plan
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