Canalside kicks off

By JEFF WILKINSON, jwilkinson@thestate.com

A Charleston developer today will break ground to transform an old prison site on the Columbia Canal into a posh, new neighborhood after a decade of starts and stops by the city.

Once home to South Carolina's Death Row, the 25-acre tract at the foot of Taylor Street will become CanalSide, a neighborhood of 750 single-family homes, town houses, condos and apartments.

The project will be the first of four major downtown residential developments to spring from the ground. The others are the Bull Street Neighborhood on the site of the former State Hospital, the Kline Center on Huger Street and Innovista, USC's research district.

These and other projects are intended to attract the "creative class" of researchers, entrepreneurs and others who are expected to transform Columbia's economy in the next decade.

Today's ceremony fulfills a vision set forth by the city in 1995, when it purchased the site of the old Central Correctional Institution from the state for $3.3 million.

"It's a historic day," Mayor Bob Coble said. "We waited. We planned. And now we have a development that will transform downtown Columbia and significantly add to the tax base."

In addition to the purchase price, the city spent another $3.6 million clearing and marketing the site, the mayor said.

Developers initially were slow to embrace the property because of the presence of the Prison Industries Building. The site's last remaining building, it was on the National Register of Historic Places. So the city decided to be its own developer.

But when estimates of $10 million came in for a second round of site improvements in 2004 - adding water and sewer, roads, sidewalks, etc. -the city got out of the development business. It tore down the building and sold the property to The Beach Co. for $6 million.

The Beach Co. is one of South Carolina's pre-eminent development firms. Its resume includes the Isle of Palms and Kiawah Island, the latter being the largest real estate transaction in South Carolina history.

"The downtown areas of Columbia are where Charleston was many years ago," Beach Co. chairman Charlie Way said. "People want to live downtown, and we're going to build that housing. This is a home run for us."

The site plan is impressive:

* Two eight-story condo towers would front the canal.

* Taylor Street would be extended, forming a wide boulevard through the center of the property.

* A new park and city-built "esplanade" would overlook the canal and connect the development to the Three Rivers Greenway.

* Six blocks of single-family homes would form a traditional neighborhood.

* Town houses, condos and apartments would line newly built streets.

* Stores would be located in the first floor of the condo towers, hosting coffee shops, dry cleaners and other neighborhood shops.

* A rooftop bar and restaurant would provide unmatched views of the city and the river.

The company will spend the next few months building streets and other infrastructure, said Beach Co. vice president Dan Doyle, who is CanalSide's project manager.

"Vertical" construction - i.e. buildings - should sprout by this fall, he said.

The plan calls for 200 apartments, 30 single-family homes, 40 town houses and 480 condos.

The first phase of construction is to be completed in three or four years. It would include:

* A three-story apartment building on the south edge of the property, bordering Hampton Street

* Three-story rows of town houses lining Taylor Street

* One of the eight-story condo towers, to be located on the northwest corner of the property, overlooking Riverfront Park

The second phase would include the single-family homes in the northeast quadrant and the second condominium tower.

The third phase would include a third condo building in the interior of the site and a second apartment building.

The time frame for the second and third phases of the project would depend on the market, Doyle said, although he predicted a five- to 10-year build out.

The company hasn't released prices for the units. Doyle said "price points" should be locked down this summer.

However, in the past the company has said most of the homes will sell for more than $200,000, though there could be some condos that sell for slightly less.

The apartments, too, could provide lower-priced options.

"Everything in CanalSide will be market rate," Doyle said. "The question is what is that rate. It's very relative."

The architecture will be cohesive, but diverse, governed by covenants and design guidelines, said Kristen Lee, The Beach Co.' s marketing director.

"There will literally be something for everyone in terms of price point and style," she said.

Prior to the sale, the city withdrew a requirement that the developer include "affordable housing" in the plans.

The city had asked that whoever bought the site make 25 percent of the residences affordable for people who earn 80 percent of the area's median income or less, which equals about $32,500.

Instead, Coble said the city will use some revenue from the sale to offer low-cost mortgages for housing in CanalSide and elsewhere in the city.

The particulars of that program have not been developed, the mayor said.

"We are obviously creating a housing boom, and we want to make sure working families can afford to live in downtown Columbia," he said.

Although fraught with delays, CanalSide is the first major residential development to break ground in downtown Columbia.

Doyle said that is both an advantage and a challenge.

It's an advantage, he said, because the company will be the first to tap what research shows is an untapped desire for downtown living by aging baby boomers, empty nesters, retirees and the vaunted "creative class."

"There is a lot of excitement and we'll be able to capitalize on that," Doyle said.

But the timing is a challenge because CanalSide will be the first major project to test the theory of selling downtown Columbia as a residential destination.

Buyers might wait to see what other options become available.

"It's great to be first, but others may benefit as well," Doyle said. "Others may leverage the excitement we create. But that's OK."

Coble predicted the various projects will complement, rather than compete with each other, creating a greater buzz about downtown.

"We're glad that all those companies and people are interested in investing in downtown. We have tremendous developments announced from Two Notch Road to the river. All of the pieces are starting to fit together."

Reach Wilkinson at (803) 771-8495.