What will be Columbia's next hot neighborhood? (Greenville, Sumter: houses, neighborhoods)

[Brandon Hoffman]

Originally Posted by waccamatt

While schools are important, what percentage of the adult population has school-age children? Maybe 40%? I'm a huge advocate of good public schools, but there are successful neighborhood revitalizations even without highly ranked schools. It certainly does help, though.

That's a legit question but from my experience it is important. First time buyers or young families without children want good schools for when they do have children. Some adults without children that are buying with plans to sell in 3-5 years want a good resale so they consider school district based on perceived value. Same thing with older couples relocating sometimes wanting a good district in case their children with children decide to follow them down because they'll want their kids to live close.

On the flip side, there are a lot of people that don't care at all about school district but just being in a general location. I'd say it's about 50/50.

[Woodlands]

Originally Posted by waccamatt

Those are some good points, Woodlands. Those problems would be solved with a city/county consolidation...maybe someday that will happen.

Consolidation would be an idea, though historically the midlands has not been very receptive. In the past the Columbia and the County had discussed merging Planning functions and recently I had read where there were discussions on merging some of the law enforcement functions. Both efforts never got off the ground. I think one of the problems with consolidation would be the rural areas of Richland versus urbanized area of Columbia. The Lower Richland section of the County has always believed they have gotten the short end of the stick and if the City and the County merged, many rural areas may feel that they would be excluded/under represented. That in addition to some of the elected officials may loose their seats with the restructuring...not to mention some of the top administrators. There was the effort to consolidate the "tri-cities" back in 80's (Springdale, West Columbia, and Cayce) At that time it would have yielded a city that would have been in the top ten in the State but the effort was also defeated. I think Augusta-Richmond, GA and Jacksonville, FL are the closest examples of consolidated government, though I do not know if they are successful or not compared to their previous form...

[Woodlands]

Originally Posted by Brandon Hoffman

That's a legit question but from my experience it is important. First time buyers or young families without children want good schools for when they do have children. Some adults without children that are buying with plans to sell in 3-5 years want a good resale so they consider school district based on perceived value. Same thing with older couples relocating sometimes wanting a good district in case their children with children decide to follow them down because they'll want their kids to live close.

On the flip side, there are a lot of people that don't care at all about school district but just being in a general location. I'd say it's about 50/50.

There were two major developments planned/underway in the Bluff Rd-Shop Rd corridors south of the City. Bibleway Church is involved in one with the development of an extensive subdivision near their church on Atlas Rd and the other was the old "Green Diamond" development along the Congaree River near Bluff Rd. which, the last time I checked no official announcement on if anything was going to occur on that site or not. What is interesting is what will this do to development patterns in this area? Both have great access to I-77 and to I-26 and when I checked on the school zoning for the area, I believe it was for Dreher HS and its feeder schools..which gets back to your comments on how schools could play a role in a revitalization effort. Ironically, the "Green Diamond" development area is being annexed by the City of Cayce, which will be its first expansion into Richland County. If a development occurs there it will be interesting to see how they provide services for those residents (water, sewer, garbage collection, fire, and police) since it is separated from "Cayce proper" by some distance.

[cbakerlmt]

I hate to interrupt but since you have lived in Columbia all your life, could you help me with a decision? I just posted a thread about transferring to USC. I could use some guidance. Thank you.

[justNancy]

If you don't mind, I'd like to throw in my 2 cents since it was brought up, that is, if older people look for good schools when house hunting. For me, the answer is yes. Of course, since I don't have children, the schools don't matter as much as if I did, but the quality of the education in a neighborhood and surrounding area should matter to everyone. If schools have lots of programs such as music, art, sports and after school activities and put an effort (along with the parents) into keeping kids off the streets, then it affects all of us.

[Woodlands]

Does anyone know if there has been any progress to revitalize Decker Blvd? I was glad to learn that the County is working to revitalize this commercial corridor. One comment that I read was that this area represents most of Columbia's international community along this corridor and efforts were going to be made to enhance/promote that characteristic to draw other businesses and people to visit the area. Unfortunately, it may never become a walkable/pedestrian oriented commercial corridor since that was never part of its design, which is more for cars and your typical suburban commercial development. I think the County is realizing that is should pay attention to older commercial corridors like "inner" Two Notch, Broad River Rd, and Bush River Rd. I imagine the continuing rapid development of Clemson Rd, Garners Ferry beyond Walmart, and the Blythewood areas are beginning to meet with opposition from resident and some community leaders who are angered by traffic and strained public services.

More Midlands City politics- Next time you are driving along Decker towards I-77 from Two Notch, you will notice that the Forest Acres' City Limits extend up to that point. This community has been quietly annexing properties up to the backs of the commercial section of Decker between Percival and Two Notch. I imagine that their goal is to 1) position themselves to annex the commercial base along Decker should it take off and 2) not to become engulfed by Columbia as it marches towards the lucrative tax base of the NE. There is a large wooded area along Trenholm Rd just as you go north of Decker appears prime for development. I would not be surprised if it is not in Forest Acres cross hairs for annexation since the City does not have much undeveloped land within its borders. Columbia Place may be up for grabs... Forest Acres is probably closer and may want the tax revenue, though I question if they want the responsiblity for policing it... unless the County still opted to do so......

[OconeeMountains]

You mentioned Rosewood near S. Beltline below Owens Field as a potential 'hot' area: I can tell you from formerly living in a home on S. Kilbourne Rd. and having several friends in the area that it is definately becoming a nicer, more desireable place to live. In fact, the character and diversity of the homes, abundance of mature trees and many parks in the area make it down right charming.

The 'shady' spots of this end of Rosewood have been and are bieng consistently converted into affordable, in-town living spaces. There isn't a whole lot of shady spots left! There are a lot of very cute streets replete with vintage Rosewood character.

The area is great to live in (according to my friends) b/c the brick bungalows are well built (almost all have original hardwood floors, good 'bones'), have decent yards for in-town lots, are very close to downtown, USC, the river, and even closer to I-77. They love the fact that they are just a quick jump to bluff road which lets them hit up Congaree national park in 10-15 minutes.

If I had money to invest, this is the part of Rosewood I would do it in. Prices are still affordable, but homes are turning over (and improving) even in this 'down' economic time. Plus, the in-town schools put kids in Hand for Middle and Dreher for High School - as stated, schools are imperative for an area. Hope someone appreciates the perspective-

[Woodlands]

I agree that the lower end of Rosewood is seeing alot of activity. There have been several infill condos and townhome projects that have occurred in the area and its only a matter of time before some of the older apartments near Beltline are rehabbed or redeveloped.

Back up in the Eau Claire area, two little commercial strips that I feel would be nice neighborhood amenities as these neighborhoods redevelop are the little commercial strip right before you get to Hyatt Park (on the left if your are going north along Main Street-near the new North Main Street Plaza) and the small aging strip along Colonial Drive before you get to Farrow Road in Colonial Heights. Colonial Heights, I believe, has a great deal of potential. Nestled between Farrow Rd and I-277 it has such major employers such as the Richland Memorial Hospital and several medical office buildings.It is bisected by Colonial Drive and Sunset Drive. It is biking distance from downtown, Earlewood Park, the Drew Wellness Center, and Five Points. If the old State Hospital project takes off, this may be an area to watch. There are some nice older homes/bungalows off Colonial and several vacant lots/substandard homes that could be torn down and rebuilt with homes that fit the character of the neighborhood. The old commercial strip on Colonial could be redone with some nice stores, cafe or bars to cater to both the hospital crowd and residents. To top it all off, the City should allow its maintenance yard to be closed/relcoated and that site should be redeveloped with housing and mixed use. It could offer nice access to downtown, not to mention one of the best views of the skyline.........

[Captain Worley]

I'm really surprised the mill villages, both Olympia/Granby and the one at the west end of the Gervais Street bridge have taken off.

[ShanaP]

Originally Posted by waccamatt

I have my fingers crossed for the various neighborhoods of Eau Claire since I live in Keenan Terrace, which is at the south end of the Eau Claire area.

What schools are in this area? I'm still shopping for homes but couldn't find a district zoning map that would help me determine which schools service the Keenan Terrace area.

Thanks for your help.