Development on tap for low-foot-traffic block of Harden Street in Five Points

One of the developers responsible for saving and revitalizing 701 Whaley in Olympia now has stepped in to protect part of a worn-down stretch of Five Points storefronts.

The 900 block of Harden Street is poised for redevelopment now that two properties have been purchased by Richard Burts, an active force in Columbia development, and Elizabeth Ward.

The buildings’ location, across the street from the Food Lion shopping center, is a potentially lucrative spot – a block away from the Greyhound bus station that is to be replaced by a $50 million, private student dormitory.

Burts and Ward originally bought the buildings at 942 and 946 Harden not with development in mind but to save them from demolition, Burts said.

“It’s really a nice little stretch of Harden Street, and I would have just hated to see the storefronts be missing,” said Burts, who owns a number of other buildings in Five Points.

But now the two are beginning to make plans for how to redevelop the spaces, which sit next to longtime businesses Hipwazee, a vintage clothing and costume store, and El Burrito. On the other side of Burts’ and Ward’s properties are a pair of vacant, recently-bricked storefronts owned by former state Commerce Secretary Joe Taylor, who also plans to open a specialty doughnut shop on the opposite end of the block.

The Unexpected Joy, an Orthodox Christian book and icon store that occupies part of Burts’ and Ward’s new property, will keep its place for as long as it wishes, Burts said.

Retail is the likely direction for future tenants, Burts said, though he and Ward are exploring the possibility of mixed uses. Since the roofs of the buildings are already caving in and have to be replaced, there is a good opportunity to consider building upward and putting residential units above retail or restaurant businesses on the street, Burts said.

Burts and Ward have incentive to move quickly on the renovations since the buildings have already been condemned and must see fast improvement. Burts said his ideal timeline for developing the properties would have retailers in the space in time to capitalize on the Christmas season.

Hipwazee’s owner, attorney Leslie Minerd, said she’s open to seeing almost anything come into the space – retail, restaurant, residences. Just not another bar, she said.

“It would bring some foot traffic to this end of Five Points, which doesn’t see a whole lot of people walking around,” Minerd said.

It’s been at least six or seven years since her 16-year-old store has had a neighboring business on either side, Minerd said.

The 900 block’s location just a couple blocks from a planned student apartment complex at the corner of Harden and Gervais streets makes it a promising location for retail services that the area will demand as more people move in, said Fred Delk, director of the Columbia Development Corp., which helps guide downtown development.

As an entryway into the popular downtown entertainment district, Harden Street is ripe for development, Delk said.

“Everything in all of downtown is buzzing right now” when it comes to development, Delk said. “Five Points is part of that whole big city-center buzz we have going, and it’s just going to get better.”

This story was originally published January 15, 2015 at 7:35 PM with the headline "Development on tap for low-foot-traffic block of Harden Street in Five Points."