What will be Columbia's next hot neighborhood? (Greenville, St. Andrews: condo, hotels)

[Chi2Midlands]

Originally Posted by ShanaP

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.

Shana - while I would really wish and hope that up-and-coming urban neighborhoods have improving public schools, unfortunately (and I hope waccamatt will understand this) I can't in good faith recommend Keenan Terrace's zoned public schools (there are frankly not the better ones in Richland 1). If you are going to look into good Richland 1 schools in or near the City of Columbia, I would strongly recommend sticking to the Rosewood ES/Hand MS/Dreher HS or Satchelford ES/Crayton MS/Flora HS clusters, which are generally in the Shandon/Rosewood and Forest Acres areas, respectively. I would have no problem recommending neighborhoods like Keenan Terrace, Earlewood, etc., if you did not have kids or planning to send your kids to private schools, but if you're looking at public schools, I would have to say you would likely need to look elsewhere. Richland 1 does have a limited school choice program, but I'm not sure how practical that option might be (Richland 2 has a more aggressive school choice program that makes it relatively easy for parents to specifically pick and choose schools or programs).


Here is the Richland One school zone mapping website:

Web School School Locator - a U.S. Computing, Inc product.

Let me know if you want to expand your search to Richland 2 or Lexington/Richland 5 neighborhoods (those two districts are definitely better overall, although as I mentioned, you can find good schools in Richland 1 if you carefully find a home zoned for those schools).

[waccamatt]

Shana, Chi2 is correct. The schools Keenan Terrace is zoned for are not the best in town. If I had children I would live in either the Dreher or AC Flora (and feeder schools) zoning area. As it is, though, I got a lot more house for the money over here.

[OconeeMountains]

Agree with above two folks. Zoning for schools favors rosewood/shandon/forest acres. I also agree that schools guide where people choose to live greatly (for their own kids or for resale). This is true in Cola, in Upstate SC where I spend time, or anywhere I have spent time. If I were moving to Cola, I'd focus on these areas. Not to mention, there are still affordable parts of Rosewood and Forest Acres (not so much Shandon) which feed in to the best schools. I like the character and diversity of Rosewood, but that's a personal preference.

[ShanaP]

Okay, thank you for letting me know. I thought I found a nice sized home there that just needed some flooring and appliance upgrades but I can't do it if the schools aren't great for a younger child.

I'll keep looking. I appreciate all of your help.

[waccamatt]

Originally Posted by ShanaP

Okay, thank you for letting me know. I thought I found a nice sized home there that just needed some flooring and appliance upgrades but I can't do it if the schools aren't great for a younger child.

I'll keep looking. I appreciate all of your help.

I would look at the Rosewood area, Shana. The schools are better, but the housing costs are more reasonable than in most of the rest of the Dreher feeder schools' area. In the AC Flora district you may be able to find some bargains in some parts of Forest Acres.

[Woodlands]

Alas... schools are probably one of the issues holding back some of these areas, particuliarly for those who are seeking to send their children to neighborhood schools. Last time I was in Columbia I did notice that there were some major renovations at both Eau Claire HS and Gibbs Middle two of the main schools that serve many of these areas. Does anyone know if this is part of a modernization program or are there plans to rezone/ expand? Last I heard enrollment was dropping particuliarly at ECHS which has lost a letter (I believe it is a 3A down from 4A), which would make me wonder why they were being expanded/renovated...unless they were in poor condition and there were health and safety issues. Gibbs was demolished and totally rebuilt......

[Captain Worley]

I'm pretty sure ECHS was being remodeled/bought up to current code.

[Woodlands]

At one time, the City was making great strides to eliminate most of the at grade railroad crossings that are in the downtown and central city. About 20 25 years ago they obtained federal funding to build "the corridor" which placed all of the tracks in the Vista below grade. This also eliminated the track at the current Blue Marlin restaurant (former Amtrak Station-which relocated to its current location) A new bridge was built in Elmwood Park over Park Street to direct all train traffic onto the new route and the old route by Finley Park was abandoned. A railroad bridge that began where Convention Center and Damons are located and span all the way down to just behind the Capital City Baseball stadium on South Assembly was dismantled. Many at the time felt that the bridge should have been preserved to serve as a bike trail/pedestrian walkway but it did not have enough local support.

At that time, there was also some momentum to build a switch near Farrow Rd and Fontaine Rd so that train traffic coming in along Farrow would join the line coming in from Two Notch that leds into the corridor thus eliminating all the remain City crossings along Taylor, Five Points/USC. the route would reconnect to the existing route via a switch somewhere in the vicinity of Wheat/Whaley/Sumter Street that would allow the Farrow line to then continue on to Sumter. A bridge would be built on Assembly Street to eliminate the grade crossing near California Dreaming. Other than the bridge at Assembly which is still on the table, not sure whatever happened to the rest of this plan.. a combination of availability of funding in addition to political issues with the railroads, one line is CSX and the other was Norfolk Southern may have delayed or killed the effort to share the corridor.

If the rail relocation ever occurs, it would be nice to preserve the Harden and Gervais street Bridges and the right of way to create two dedicated bus lanes that would have its own exit onto I 277 where it crosses the current railroad (Farrow Rd Line) near Carver Village and the Clyburn pedestrian overpass. Bus Rapid Transit or BRT is being explored in many cities as an alternative to trains. Many have two segmented coaches and travel in their own dedicated roadway. I believe Greenville is currently exploring using this type of vehicle. A BRT could travel from NE Richland (or Camden) along surface streets stopping at selected parking lots before inbounding to Columbia on I-277. After it crosses Fontaine Rd an exit ramp for "buses only" should allow it to move down to the former RR right of way and travel along that route over Harden Street and Gervais Street down toward Five Points/Downtown. All grade crossings could be signalized so that the buses could either cross or turn onto these streets(Taylor or Greene) and immediately become regular "city buses" with limited intown stops in the Downtown/USC area.The limited stops and express nature may make the route attractive to suburban riders.. on weekends or off peak hours when the route is not being utilized, it could serve as a bike trail. Of course all of this would depend on the NE continuing its current growth rate, gas prices remaining high, and a paradigm shift for some residents, but it may be worth exploring.

BRT Policy Center

[Steve_I]

I recently bought a house in a small subdivision called Woodwinds which is just south of Bush River and near the Saluda Shoals park. The houses/yards are all well kept up and it has a very safe feel to it. I'd guess most of the houses are valued in the 150k+ range. The school district is Lexington/Richland 5, which was an important factor in my purchase although I don't have kids. The proximity to the river and park was also a big plus.

A bright yellow storage unit business and power easement aesthetically mar the extreme NE corner of the neighborhood but 95% of the neighborhood has rolling hills and nice tall pine and oak trees.

[Woodlands]

Here is a link to an article on how the City plans to use the increase in tax dollars generated by redevelopment projects by funneling them back into the areas where those projects or located. This is what was done in the Vista in order to fund some of the public improvements such as the streetscape and to place the utility lines underground. Could be a real boost for North Main and Beltline if approved, the loss of those dollars to the City's coffers for services is however in question.

The State | 04/16/2008 | North Main Street | Revival through tax plan pitched