Will young professionals drive next downtown Columbia housing wave?

When 23-year-old Scott Fowler came to the University of South Carolina last month to pursue his master’s degree, he shied away from the new student housing complexes that have popped up around USC’s campus.

Fowler liked being downtown, within walking distance the bars and restaurants in the Vista. But he didn’t want to go the pure student route.

Instead, he opted for Pulaski Square, a more traditional apartment complex at Pulaski and College streets that rents by the unit, rather than the bed. The Gettysburg, Pa., native hooked up with two roommates through social media and the three pay a total of $2,100 a month for a three-bedroom, three-bath apartment with a two-car garage.

“I wanted to be in the heart of things,” he said. “But I didn’t want to deal with all the young people.”

Experts predict that more of the new housing developments opening downtown will cater to clients like Fowler and his roommates. They are called “market rate” apartments, as opposed to the purely student housing that rents by the bed.

Already, about 90 percent of downtown non-undergraduate residents fall between the ages of 25 and 35, according to Ben Johnson, an analyst with CBRE commercial real estate. And experts predict those numbers will grow as more market rate housing becomes available.

Fred Delk, executive director of the Columbia Development Corp., said that all of the units along Main Street — most in converted office buildings — are full and have been “for years.”

“Clearly there is a shift in what is being developed in the market,” said Delk, whose organization encourages and guides investment in the Vista and other downtown areas. “There are a surprising number of young professionals and empty-nesters coming in.”

Pulaski Square learned about that shift unexpectedly, said property manager Shayla Riley. Its developer, the Columbus, Ohio-based Woda Construction, at first thought its leases would be snapped up by high-end undergraduate students. Instead, about 60 percent of the rentals so far have been to grad students and young professionals.

The complex, which opened Aug.1, is about 70 percent full. It is having an open house Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. geared towards “alumni and talented professionals.”

“This property has taken a turn to young professionals,” Riley said. “The Vista didn’t need another student housing complex of this size.”

Riley called the company’s new market more “transitional” — graduate students, recent graduates or professors and other university employees.

Fowler, the Pulaski Square resident, is finishing up his graduate studies in health care administration, is working as an intern with the state Department of Health and Human Services, and is starting to think about life after college.

“I love it here,” he said of his new town and his new apartment. “I just couldn’t do the undergraduate thing anymore.”

This story was originally published September 22, 2015 at 8:12 PM with the headline "Will young professionals drive next downtown Columbia housing wave?."