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I'm actually fine with the location. It doesn't really garner a lot of attention from those that are just passing through Columbia because it isn't right next to an interstate, but it gets plenty of traffic from the locals alone. Columbia Place mall and Richland Fashion mall were just victims of bad placement. They aren't visible from an interstate like most malls. Sandhills is open air and locals don't really look at it as going to the mall since you can just pull up to the store front instead of having to walk from a parking lot and walk through people to the store you want (especially for introverts). It's super convenient and nice to walk on a sunny day. Kahn is dragging it down by not selling and letting it go to someone with the funds for upkeep and reasonable rent rates.
Seems like it could have done better at Clemson and I-20 or I-77 in Blythewood..When Columbia Mall(Place) was built it was on the edge of town and Dentsville was thriving...Of course that was in the late 70s early 80s.. Richland Mall once if was redeveloped never hit its stride..It too used to be an "open air" mall anchored by a JB Whites Dept. Store.nbIt had a Woolworths among other stores in it and was quite popular for awhile.. I remember it from the 70s but apparently is was in high demand in the 60s as well. Its interesting that out of all the old shopping centers in Columbia.. only Trenholm Plaza seems to have survived the times...though it has a rough patch but never had high vacancies. Even Woodhill Mall had to be redeveloped and has been successful as well.
All that being said, there is a master plan that others may have mentioned for Pontiac (Sandhills) and all the development north of Clemson Road and between Two Notch and I-20 could certainly continue to support Sandhills
I think the key, if it ever materializes, is to develop Clemson Road from I-20 to Sandhills as a kind of corridor lined with restaurants, possibly a couple of Hampton Inn/Holiday Inn Express-type hotels, and so on, only problem is, all of this already exists at the intersection of I-20 and Clemson. I don't know who you are going to attract, when it is already a schlep from I-20 to Sandhills. Sandhills is just a little too far away, and you kind of "have to be going there to go there".
If Sandhills had been built just to the west of Sparkleberry, beyond the intersection where you have Krispy Kreme, CVS, and so on, it might have done a whole lot better, and might have been Harbison on a somewhat smaller scale. But I'm assuming the land at the intersection of Two Notch (which is a commuting disaster) and Clemson was available for the right price, and Kahn took that fact and ran with it. Aside from Academy, there is really no reason for Sandhills to exist east of the traffic circle. The area around Belk, the cinema (all cinemas have hit the skids since COVID, that couldn't be helped), Moe's, Five Guys, and the niche retailers such as GameStop, is the only viable part of Sandhills. And those over-the-store apartments are borderline scary.
I've seen this thread a bunch of times and for some reason when reading the title it never occurred to me which intersection it was. It dawned on my right now though, like a switch getting flipped in my brain, and I said "Oh...THAT intersection." Maybe it's because it's been since before the pandemic that I've visited that side of Columbia. But yeah, that intersection definitely needed some fixing.
The only consistent place I ever went to at Sandhills was Rita's for a gelati (custard, then water ice, then custard on top), and I guess that closed a little while back, so I don't know that I have any real reason to go into the actual Village at Sandhills again anytime soon, unless I need to cut through it to get to Plex or the Burlington/CiCi's/Sam's Club-area from Clemson Rd.
Places I visit in Sandhills are Blaze Pizza, Lowes Foods (Formally Bi-Lo), Marble Slab/Great American Cookie (Since Nestle Tollhouse Closed ) and Le Peep.
Kahn sold it all to Navient realty recently and they have done a pretty good job around Columbia filling and attracting business. So hopefully after COVID we can see this place really shine. Adding in all the apartments will surely help as well as it will just be convenient consistent business.
Kahn sold it all to Navient realty recently and they have done a pretty good job around Columbia filling and attracting business. So hopefully after COVID we can see this place really shine. Adding in all the apartments will surely help as well as it will just be convenient consistent business.
Thank goodness. I really didn't see a reason for him holding on for so long. His debt causing him to raise the rent is the sole reason why that place is a ghost town. That place used to be packed with vehicle and foot traffic on Saturdays. Is there an article that details the sale because the last I heard he didn't sell he just got a different management company.
Thank goodness. I really didn't see a reason for him holding on for so long. His debt causing him to raise the rent is the sole reason why that place is a ghost town. That place used to be packed with vehicle and foot traffic on Saturdays. Is there an article that details the sale because the last I heard he didn't sell he just got a different management company.
Anything would be an improvement. I never got a good feeling about trying to build a retail-lifestyle village out in the middle of a soybean field (or whatever they used to grow out there). "Build it and they will come" didn't work out quite the way anyone planned.
Kahn sold it all to Navient realty recently and they have done a pretty good job around Columbia filling and attracting business. So hopefully after COVID we can see this place really shine. Adding in all the apartments will surely help as well as it will just be convenient consistent business.
Anything would be an improvement. I never got a good feeling about trying to build a retail-lifestyle village out in the middle of a soybean field (or whatever they used to grow out there). "Build it and they will come" didn't work out quite the way anyone planned.
The area was actually doing very good before the owner fell into financial trouble. He had to sell most of his properties, but he held onto Sandhills and ran up the rent to compensate(which was a bad idea). Ten years ago that place looked completely different. Still, today there is tons of traffic that flows through there all day, there just aren't any stores in the "town" part. I have no doubt that in the right hands it will thrive again.
Drive thru Sandhills today to eat a Moe's. GD the place is pitiful. So many shops are closed. It will only get worse if the movie theater doesn't open up this year.
Game Stop is surrounded by empty buildings. Marble Slab is the same way, so many closed storefronts.
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) and Le Peep.
