IN FOCUS: Five Points parking garage

• Growth is good, but preserve what’s special

There is wonderful growth and development happening in downtown Columbia.

But there is much to treasure about the old parts of Columbia, too. The old neighborhood where I live is adjacent to Five Points. In March, the City Council declared us an architectural conservation district. After a three-year process, Wales Garden is protected from developers who would build McMansions that destroy our ambience and human scale. Wales Garden will be preserved as a part of Columbia’s history.

Now, two months later, City Council may vote almost $6 million to purchase two floors of parking in a six-story McBuilding at the bottom of Saluda Avenue — the gateway to our historic neighborhood. The council would be ignoring Five Points’ own development guidelines for preserving its historic village character of human scale.

Though we feel deserted by our representative, Anne Sinclair, who is retiring in June, the mayor and the rest of council seem to be supporting her decision about this project in her district.

The developers are pressing for a quick vote and for the money the city has promised. If this building is a mistake, it will be a huge mistake!

Is there a Solomon who can suggest a compromise? Please Mr. Mayor and council, let’s not rush this vote on taxpayer money and the uniqueness of Five Points.

EMILY L. ISRAEL

Columbia

• Large building won’t fit with Five Points

I have followed the progress of the new Five Points construction enterprise for more than a year with growing concern about the impact that such a large complex will have on the area and the neighborhoods that border it.

There are several facets of the project that are very troubling, but I’ll name just a few.

First, this structure is too large, and it will overwhelm the buildings near it.

Furthermore, the integrity of the area, created over more than 80 years, will be severely compromised. This will result from not only the aesthetics and scale of the proposed structure but also the additional environmental impacts, especially traffic congestion, that it will create.

The concentration of more vehicles in a sector already overwhelmed by traffic jams, and the increasing air pollution that this will generate, can only add to our city’s problems with air quality, which will further compromise the health of its citizens. And not only will these problems increase, but the additional congestion will detract from (and threaten) the pedestrian-friendly village character of Five Points.

I am appealing to Columbia City Council to reconsider its vote on this project and recommend that the size of the structure be completely redesigned so that the scale and height will be consistent with the existing buildings in this unique Columbia neighborhood.

FRITZ HAMER

Columbia

• City seems to be rushing project

It was disturbing to read in Tuesday’s State of the decision to quickly approve the Five Points condo/parking project.

The chief reason seems to be to execute a contract with the developers. At a recent meeting of more than 100 concerned homeowners with Mayor Coble and Columbia City Council members Tameika Isaac Devine and Daniel Rickenmann, many concerns were voiced. Among the most startling was the reading of the proposed contract, which thoroughly covers the developers’ rights and benefits but leaves the city’s exposure to future actions and costs at best poorly defined.

No wonder the developers want quick action. My business experience has taught me that spending other people’s money is much easier than spending your own.

The city has gone without this kind of structure for many years. Why the rush to commit millions of taxpayers’ dollars without a full discussion and adequate safeguards? Is City Council protecting the homeowners’ tax dollars or the developer’s investment?

JIM THOMAS

President

Wheeler Hill Neighborhood Association

Columbia

• Five Points garage carries quite a price tag

Watch your wallet! If some Five Points merchants and Columbia developers have their way with Columbia City Council at its next meeting, the average family in Columbia will be spending about $100 to construct a parking facility in Five Points.

Council is being asked to commit $5.8 million for construction of 200 parking spaces. Calculate it — $29,000 per space! That’s possibly the most expensive public parking ever constructed in Columbia.

Who needs it? Certainly not many of the citizens in the communities around Five Points, who have been opposing these done-deal, back-room politics for nearly a year.

In fact, most of us don’t think there is a parking problem in Five Points. Five Points created new parking spaces about four years ago by installing two-hour parking meters everywhere in sight. Those spaces provide for a good traffic flow and turnover during the day.

The real problem is at night, when patrons of local bars park in our neighborhood. They do this even when the pay-parking lot in the middle of Five Points has empty spaces, and they will continue to park along the neighborhood streets after the construction of the parking structure. Better to park on a side street and walk a few blocks to save $5 for a beer or snack!

The bottom line is that the additional parking is not needed in Five Points. It will not be used by night-time clients, and Columbia City Council should rethink its priorities. These are tight times, and there are better ways to spend money. Actually, it’s your $100.

JOHN BAYNES

Columbia