Student housing complex near USC Greek Village held up again

The developer of a proposed student housing complex near Olympia on Monday received more time from the Columbia Planning Commission to discuss the project’s plans with affected residents.

Aspen Heights, a Texas-based student housing developer, is planning a project with a price tag large “enough to qualify for the tax credit,” said attorney Toby Ward.

Ward would not say the project’s exact cost or the number of beds it would include.

After requesting a second deferral from the Planning Commission on Monday, the company might be pressed to receive the city’s approval in time to qualify for Columbia’s 50 percent property tax break, which ends Dec. 31.

Developers must invest at least $40 million and have a parking garage of at least 400 spaces to be eligible for the tax break, which lasts 10 years.

Aspen Heights’ request won’t go before the Planning Commission until October, allowing the company time to continue “dialogue with the area and those that are interested in it,” Ward said.

Ward would not say what specific issues there are to address but said the developer wants to make sure it’s a “good fit for the area.”

Aspen Heights is requesting a zoning change to a four-acre parcel at Catawba and Lincoln Streets for proposed residential use. The lot is currently zoned M-2 for heavy industrial. That category allows for private dormitories but limits them to 150 beds per acre, said Krista Hampton, Columbia’s director of planning.

The developers are proposing changing the site’s zoning to MX-2, for mixed-use urban development, which allows for private dorms as well as other potential commercial developments. MX-2 zoning allows for the 150-bed-per-acre limit to be exceeded with a special exception from the Columbia zoning board, Hampton said.

Bob Guild, the neighborhood association president for nearby Granby, said that neighbors are receptive to student housing projects but want to see measures in place to enhance traffic flow for the area’s growing population.

“We want to make sure that these projects don’t get in the way of what’s best for the existing neighborhood in terms of these transportation flows,” Guild said, adding that Aspen Heights representatives have been “positive and responsive” in earlier talks with neighbors about their concerns.

Aspen Heights already has locations in Charlotte and Clemson, among others, according to its website.

This story was originally published September 14, 2015 at 6:32 PM with the headline "Student housing complex near USC Greek Village held up again."