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I think Columbia has had some failures/scale backs, false starts over the last 20 to 30 years ( I know that is a long time) that have made it somewhat gun shy. Its still far more "progressive" than Richland County, but more "conservative" and thus complacent than say Charleston or Greenville. Three Rivers Music Festival, Finlay Park, Downtown Trolley, Air South, Convention Center, Carolina Panthers First Season at Williams Brice (I just had throw that one in because it pissed off the business community).
Good points, but the Carolina Panthers first season was in Clemson so Greenville won that battle as well LOL
Good points, but the Carolina Panthers first season was in Clemson so Greenville won that battle as well LOL
There was alot of hype and excitement when they expressed interest and then a collective gasp when Mike McGhee.. athletic director of USC at the time said "NO" because he didnt want to impact USC Football. I get where he was coming from NOW but back then.. USC Police likely had to sit outside his house until he retired. THe fact that I and many other Columbians that didnt go to USC but know who the AD is/was but not the University President.. is telling in its own right....LOL
I think he’s saying USC turned them down, they wanted to play in Cola.
Columbia had one NFL Game.. I believe it was the Bears played the Bills at Willams Brice.. in the 90s.. not sure how that game or those two teams were chosen. But I have always thought that the Panthers would/could play a pre season game or two in Columbia. It would truly make it Carolinas Team. I see more Carolina Cowboys, Steelers, Giants and Commander Fans (and even 49ers) in Columbia than I do Panthers.. I believe people rally around them when they are winning but revert back to childhood teams or teams from the cities they moved from during the down times.. which seem to be a plenty... Then after what happened to their training facility in Rock Hill.. SMH..they might as well become the Charlotte Panthers
Columbia had one NFL Game.. I believe it was the Bears played the Bills at Willams Brice.. in the 90s.. not sure how that game or those two teams were chosen. But I have always thought that the Panthers would/could play a pre season game or two in Columbia. It would truly make it Carolinas Team. I see more Carolina Cowboys, Steelers, Giants and Commander Fans (and even 49ers) in Columbia than I do Panthers.. I believe people rally around them when they are winning but revert back to childhood teams or teams from the cities they moved from during the down times.. which seem to be a plenty... Then after what happened to their training facility in Rock Hill.. SMH..they might as well become the Charlotte Panthers
Yeah I know, I was just throwing that out there because their first game is still stuck in my head. I was supposed to go with my Aunt and brothers, but my brother convinced me to let his friend go instead. Still sour LOL
Over the last 30 years Columbia has gone in reverse in most of these areas while Greenville has been headed in the opposite direction.
If Columbia has truly gone in reverse over the last 30 years, then it would be in worse shape now than it was in 1993 and clearly that's not the case. But certainly Greenville and Charleston have benefitted over the past few decades from the state's economic development strategy of doubling-down on manufacturing. That was always going to disfavor Columbia comparatively speaking.
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In recent years new council members have tried to fix the ease of business and tax burden issues to the extent they can. The problem is there are so many entities that tax commercial properties around here, it’s going to take cleaning out every council to really make a change. And unfortunately that’s not going to happen in some areas.
The problem isn't the councils; the problem is state law which has been a hindrance to Greenville and Charleston too. Sure they are doing better than Columbia but they are still very much peer regions. They aren't exactly Charlotte and Raleigh in comparison.
Political inefficiency, which is also reflected in the state's higher education system, is why the industry coming to the state is rather narrow and for all the hype Charleston and Greenville get, they haven't been landing F500 headquarters or big Apple/Google campuses. Heck, the Charlotte 'burbs barely meet that standard with Domtar which has sense fallen out of the F500.
Non-unionized workforces skilled in manufacturing, the presence of the port, histories as centers of state political power, and heavy investment in their downtowns have helped Charleston and Greenville somewhat blunt the impacts of the state's bad tax structure, but they still have their challenges because of it. And the state's restrictive annexation laws work hand-in-hand with that.
Now this isn't to say that local governments in the Columbia area have stellar records or anything because we know that's not the case. But the more taxing jurisdictions in an area, the more likely balkanization will result to some degree. The irony is that greater coordination between all of them requires yet another level of quasi-bureaucracy.
If Columbia has truly gone in reverse over the last 30 years, then it would be in worse shape now than it was in 1993 and clearly that's not the case. But certainly Greenville and Charleston have benefitted over the past few decades from the state's economic development strategy of doubling-down on manufacturing. That was always going to disfavor Columbia comparatively speaking.
The problem isn't the councils; the problem is state law which has been a hindrance to Greenville and Charleston too. Sure they are doing better than Columbia but they are still very much peer regions. They aren't exactly Charlotte and Raleigh in comparison.
Political inefficiency, which is also reflected in the state's higher education system, is why the industry coming to the state is rather narrow and for all the hype Charleston and Greenville get, they haven't been landing F500 headquarters or big Apple/Google campuses. Heck, the Charlotte 'burbs barely meet that standard with Domtar which has sense fallen out of the F500.
Non-unionized workforces skilled in manufacturing, the presence of the port, histories as centers of state political power, and heavy investment in their downtowns have helped Charleston and Greenville somewhat blunt the impacts of the state's bad tax structure, but they still have their challenges because of it. And the state's restrictive annexation laws work hand-in-hand with that.
Now this isn't to say that local governments in the Columbia area have stellar records or anything because we know that's not the case. But the more taxing jurisdictions in an area, the more likely balkanization will result to some degree. The irony is that greater coordination between all of them requires yet another level of quasi-bureaucracy.
I was pretty young 30 years ago so I don’t remember what Columbia was like before the mid 90’s. I just find it strange how many business towers were built downtown from the late 70’s through the 80’s and wonder why there’s basically only been 2 or 3 built in the last 35 years. I understand in the last decade companies require much less office space with work from home becoming a thing, but that doesn’t explain the prior 25 years of little development in Columbias central business district. I was listening to a local sports podcast the other day and one of the hosts mentioned that Columbia had the opportunity to become a banking hub like Charlotte back in the 80’s but the city leaders didn’t want to grow at that rate. I have no clue if that’s true, maybe someone on here can confirm or deny that.
Agree on a lot of what you said, State Act 388 is a huge hindrance to businesses and commercial property owners. It also appears nothing is going to change as it relates to the law since politicians would have to raise everyone’s property tax to fix the situation they caused.
I was pretty young 30 years ago so I don’t remember what Columbia was like before the mid 90’s. I just find it strange how many business towers were built downtown from the late 70’s through the 80’s and wonder why there’s basically only been 2 or 3 built in the last 35 years. I understand in the last decade companies require much less office space with work from home becoming a thing, but that doesn’t explain the prior 25 years of little development in Columbias central business district.
The 90s was when Charlotte's banks really went on a tear, scooping up banks from coast to coast so that's partially explanatory. Even so, three office towers downtown were built in the first decade of this century, and that doesn't include midrises, mixed-used developments, and redevelopment of existing properties that have occurred up until now.
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I was listening to a local sports podcast the other day and one of the hosts mentioned that Columbia had the opportunity to become a banking hub like Charlotte back in the 80’s but the city leaders didn’t want to grow at that rate. I have no clue if that’s true, maybe someone on here can confirm or deny that.
Not at all. NC state law is what set Charlotte up to be the banking hub it is today. Even then, no way would Columbia have been able to compete with true banking hubs in the region at the time like Winston-Salem, Atlanta, Birmingham, etc. Columbia wasn't at all in that conversation.
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Agree on a lot of what you said, State Act 388 is a huge hindrance to businesses and commercial property owners. It also appears nothing is going to change as it relates to the law since politicians would have to raise everyone’s property tax to fix the situation they caused.
God forbid they abolish school districts and SPDs as local taxing jurisdictions and just fold all local services and schools under cities and counties like a normal state.
The 90s was when Charlotte's banks really went on a tear, scooping up banks from coast to coast so that's partially explanatory. Even so, three office towers downtown were built in the first decade of this century, and that doesn't include midrises, mixed-used developments, and redevelopment of existing properties that have occurred up until now.
Not at all. NC state law is what set Charlotte up to be the banking hub it is today. Even then, no way would Columbia have been able to compete with true banking hubs in the region at the time like Winston-Salem, Atlanta, Birmingham, etc. Columbia wasn't at all in that conversation.
God forbid they abolish school districts and SPDs as local taxing jurisdictions and just fold all local services and schools under cities and counties like a normal state.
The State... General Assembly is/has been dominated by rural legislators.. I think that is where all of this starts in terms of the states position to anything corporate other than a factory and certainly anti annexation or urban. I am surprised Columbia has any highrises at all... If the state had a role in it they would have likely prohibited any building from beng taller than the state house...LOL
The 90s was when Charlotte's banks really went on a tear, scooping up banks from coast to coast so that's partially explanatory. Even so, three office towers downtown were built in the first decade of this century, and that doesn't include midrises, mixed-used developments, and redevelopment of existing properties that have occurred up until now.
Not at all. NC state law is what set Charlotte up to be the banking hub it is today. Even then, no way would Columbia have been able to compete with true banking hubs in the region at the time like Winston-Salem, Atlanta, Birmingham, etc. Columbia wasn't at all in that conversation.
God forbid they abolish school districts and SPDs as local taxing jurisdictions and just fold all local services and schools under cities and counties like a normal state.
This is why we don't see more statewide banks in Columbia- they were all acquired by banks based in Charlotte or other regional cities:
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Then after what happened to their training facility in Rock Hill.. SMH..they might as well become the Charlotte Panthers
