TheState.com: North Columbia: Crisis or Comeback?

Chapter 1: Hope

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 09:37 EDT

When three murders occurred in as many months at Gable Oaks apartments in North Columbia earlier this year, residents and city officials took action.

They called the media, leaned on politicians and pressured owners to ramp up security.

We want to be safe, they said.

The murders focused the city’s attention on the sprawling area of 40 neighborhoods called North Columbia. City manager Charles Austin even called the area a “community in crisis” and said “things must change.”

Which is what North Columbians had been saying all along.

Chapter 2: Hurdles to clear

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:56 EST

Crime — clustered around large, poorly secured apartment complexes — is the most evident and dangerous challenge to North Columbia. But it is not the only thing holding back this area of great potential.

Criminals use abandoned houses as refuges. Many landlords are absentee and do not keep up their properties. Children attend schools that in some cases are underachieving.

North Columbia is a vast area of 40 neighborhoods that encapsulates almost all that is good and bad in the city

In this project, The State newspaper is taking an in-depth look at both the area’s challenges and its promise.

The challenges are real:

Chapter 3: The search for solutions

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 08:01 EDT

For 15 years, North Columbia has waited for its moment.

Community leaders watched as other parts of the city began to flourish. New housing in Waverly. Luxury apartments in Olympia’s old mills. Entertainment, nightlife and restaurants in the Vista. Beautification in Five Points.

There was even a condo boom around Williams-Brice Stadium.

And while North Columbia has its modest successes — Elmwood Park, Cottontown and Earlewood, for instance — most of the 40 neighborhoods that make up North Columbia have unrealized potential.

The city has tried. It’s invested millions of dollars in a retail center on North Main, renovated the old Eau Claire Town Hall and printing plant and improved its parks. And it’s just begun a long-awaited streetscaping project on North Main.

Chapter 4: 'This is our time'

Thu, 10 Jul 2008 16:43 EDT

Forget attempting to typecast North Columbia, to pigeonhole it as one thing or the other, although any number of people have tried.

Its sprawling network of neighborhoods can be at once eclectic and charming, solidly working and middle class and frighteningly on the skids.

But there are people who wouldn’t live anywhere else.

Here, within a few miles of the State Capitol, stately old columned homes and arts-and-crafts cottages line neighborhoods that are minutes away from swaths of ramshackle houses with dirt-swept yards. The pall of that poverty is eased just blocks away with a cul-de-sac of new $200,000 homes.

City manager Charles Austin called North Columbia a community “in crisis” in the wake of three slayings this year.

Volunteers answer the call in North Columbia

Mon, 11 Aug 2008 09:06 EDT

Donning fluorescent orange vests and armed with trash bags and bottles of water, more than 200 people worked together Saturday to clean up North Columbia.

Volunteer groups picked up everything from empty bottles and cigarette butts to bits of fireworks and empty food wrappers, filling hundreds of trash bags.

Eleven sanitation trucks, each capable of carrying nearly three tons of debris, were on standby to haul away the trash at the end of the event.

The city is focused on North Columbia because there have been more than 250 serious crimes reported in the area in the past three years.

The cleanup gave North Columbia residents a chance to learn more about their neighbors.

North Columbia: City considers requiring security at apartments

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 06:51 EDT

Columbia Mayor Bob Coble will ask City Council this week to require apartment complexes in the city to hire private security guards and install security cameras.

The proposal would be citywide but is mostly aimed at a handful of government-subsidized apartment complexes in North Columbia in response to growing crime problems there.

“This is in everybody’s financial interest to do,” Coble said. “Less crime means higher occupancy rates and means a more secure environment.”

Pati Gerrard, who manages the Colony Apartments off West Beltline Boulevard, said the Colony has already installed security cameras and lighting.

“The only thing we have not done is private security — no money for that at Colony,” she said. “That is probably true for most property owners.”

North Columbia: On the verge of change?

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 09:33 EDT

Caroline Whitson knows a lot of people drive through North Columbia with their car doors locked and their eyes straight ahead.

The president of Columbia College has heard it before — the fear not so much expressed as implied. She thinks that’s a shame.

“I know there are people in Columbia who equate poverty with danger, very wrongly,” she said. “It’s amazing to me. When I lived here (on campus) for five years, people that I would invite out were very nervous about coming out here.”

Those who do journey past their fears and prejudices often are surprised to find leafy neighborhoods with distinctive Arts and Crafts houses and an energetic community spirit that hearkens back to a more relaxed era.

The community — black and white, old and young — has refused to give up on this sprawling, diverse network of 40 neighborhoods, even though there are sections pockmarked by retched poverty, and crime and neglect remain stubborn impediments in some areas.

Volunteer assistance

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:21 EDT

Want to volunteer in North Columbia? Here are agencies that provide assistance:

Eau Claire Community Council. A clearinghouse for neighborhood associations and liaison with the city of Columbia. Also runs the Eau Claire Youth Health Initiative, which assists in teen pregnancy prevention.

830 Wildwood Ave.

Columbia,SC 29203

(803) 691-1168

Solutions to growing the economy

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:32 EDT

After several years of fits and starts, the North Main Streetscaping Project is adding curbing and landscaping to make the gateway to the area more appealing. That’s the most visible evidence that changes are starting. A look at what else community leaders say needs to be done:

• Clean out vacant lots and trim back overgrown trees and underbrush

• Open more stores and restaurants within walking distance of neighborhoods

• Drum up more private investment

• Complete streetscaping to Fairfield Road

North Columbia: On the verge of change?

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:16 EDT

Caroline Whitson knows a lot of people drive through North Columbia with their car doors locked and their eyes straight ahead.

The president of Columbia College has heard it before — the fear not so much expressed as implied. She thinks that’s a shame.

Abandoned houses pose problems for area

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:21 EDT

Cpl. Glenn Gates had to step over splattered food and scattered clothing while searching a house at 3 a.m. one recent morning.

The home, abandoned on the end of Marsteller Street amid a jungle of dandelions and crushed cigarettes, has been empty for about a year.

North Columbia had more abandoned and boarded-up houses in 2007 than the rest of the city combined, according to a list of code violations.

It’s one of the bigger problems that get in the way of North Columbia’s prosperity.

Abandoned houses hurt property values and provide a place for criminal activity. With its low per-capita income — only $14,000 a year — North Columbia is more prone to abandoned homes because people are forced to leave after they can’t make mortgage or rent payments.

Community members help make Children’s Garden work for struggling families

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:21 EDT

Children’s Garden is an eclectic mix of hues and hustle, of people and problems.

This child development center, located on the backside of Columbia College inside a United Methodist church, is a place where mostly homeless and poor families bring their children for care. Most of the parents are working but still cannot make ends meet.

As many as 40 children of many races and ethnicities take part in computer learning, reading and good old-fashioned playtime. Ten unborn babies are already on the waiting list.

And, like this Wednesday morning, at 9 a.m., it’s busy.

A woman at the office is on the phone with a volunteer and helping an intern on her first day.

Low-performing schools put to the test

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:21 EDT

When school starts this fall, residents of North Columbia should know whether their schools have improved enough to stand on their own, away from state oversight.

Five schools that serve the area are on the state Department of Education’s “watch list” for chronically underperforming schools.

Low test scores over the previous three years landed Alcorn and Gibbes Middle schools and Eau Claire High School on the Education Department’s “Palmetto Priority” schools list in 2007. Students consistently performed poorly on tests and failed to meet minimum standards for growth.

Also on that list are W.A. Perry Middle School and C.A. Johnson Preparatory Academy, which serve students who live in North Columbia.

The state Department of Education could have taken over the schools but gave them a last chance to improve. State education Superintendent Jim Rex also assigned several of his deputies to help the schools.

Solutions to code, school woes

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 11:21 EDT

Houses

North Columbia had more code violations for boarded-up and abandoned houses in 2007 than the rest of the city combined. A city-sponsored task force examining code enforcement will present its list of recommendations to City Council in August. Some ideas include:

• Require landlords to have business licenses. It’s easy to spot the decaying houses, but finding their owners is a challenge. Business licenses would make it easier for the city to find owners when their properties violate city code.

• Have the city’s community safety officers, who function as security guards under the Homeland Security department, trained to spot and write code violations.

• Change state law to streamline the process the city has to go through to condemn a house.

Feds don’t require security at complexes

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:22 EDT

The apartment complexes that are the site of most of the problems in North Columbia all accept federal Section 8 housing vouchers.

But while they accept tax dollars, they are not required by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to provide security for the residents.

The feds only dictate that apartments have essential features such as heating and air conditioning, screens on windows and street numbers.

So an intruder could blow up six people with a hand grenade outside a Section 8 unit and all the federal government would require is that the screens be patched.

That’s outrageous to Bobby Gist, chairman of the Columbia Housing Authority, which administers most, but not all, of the federal housing vouchers used by the poor in Columbia.

Mayor offers security plan

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:22 EDT

Mayor Bob Coble’s call for a city policy requiring all large apartment complexes to develop and institute a safety and security plan could break new ground nationally.

After several meetings with officials of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development both here and in Washington, the mayor thinks the city can require security measures at troublesome complexes despite the absence of a national precedent.

“If you can solve the crime problems in these big complexes, you can go a long way to solving the crime problems in all of Columbia,” the mayor said.

“Everything that we would require would seem to be good for business,” he said. “We have to work to show people it’s to their advantage to have security.”

The plan would:

WHO OWNS THEM?

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:51 EDT

The owners and managers of five of North Columbia’s most dangerous apartment complexes

Gable Oaks

901 Colleton St.

Owner — Mid-City Financial Corp., Silver Spring, Md., and Stratford Capital Group, Boston

Manager — Edgewood Management, Silver Spring, Md., (301) 562-1620

All quiet in Gable Oaks ... for now

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:21 EDT

Sitting on the porch at the Gable Oaks apartments was a luxury that tenants couldn’t always enjoy. It could get them killed.

But for the past three months, one longtime resident, Annie “Grandma” Gill, has been able to enjoy the air.

“It’s much quieter,” she said.

The 76-year-old Gill has lived in the embattled Eau Claire apartment complex for 15 years. She keeps an array of weapons behind her door — an old, yellow mop handle, a stick and a bat.

When three killings occurred in as many months in and around the complex earlier this year, Gill was too afraid to talk to police.

Solutions to lessen crime

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:34 EDT

What officials say needs to happen to lessen crime that spills out of North Columbia’s most dangerous apartment complexes and into neighborhoods

• A safety and security plan for each complex. The city would mandate measures such as fencing or security guards if needed.

• A renewed commitment to community policing by the Columbia Police Department

• Better cooperation between the Columbia Police Department and apartment managers and residents

• Security requirements for apartments that accept federal housing vouchers and money to assist in security measures

For reporter, North Columbia not just an assignment

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:23 EDT

North Columbia, the community where I grew up, is both home and unfamiliar.

It’s where my mom and two of my sisters still live. It’s also recently seen more than its fair share of violence and has been labeled “in crisis” by city leaders.

I have to say, I don’t have bad memories of growing up in North Columbia. With the exception of two nice front porch rocking chairs that went missing 15 years ago (to this day my mom is convinced they were spirited away in the night by our former neighbors), no one has ever stolen anything from our house or menaced us on the street.

Growing up, my friends’ parents wanted the same things for their children as parents in Shandon and Spring Valley. We were expected to be respectful, hardworking and do well in school.

That colorful dress my mom is wearing? That’s what she wore one overcast August day in 1980 when she married my father in Earlewood Park.

Voices: Couple’s mission: Help children succeed

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:20 EDT

Tracey and Bert “Hap” Ely had built their dream house when they realized their dream had changed.

Their life’s mission was to make a difference among the children of North Columbia.

So, 10 years ago, they pulled up stakes in the Reflections community off Leesburg Road and moved to Eau Claire, where they have been tutoring children ever since.

“My first experience was in Hyatt Park (Elementary School),” Tracey Ely said. “I did everything I could do to help, but it was not enough.”

Ely found that the standard roadblocks to reading — failure to comprehend vowels or articulate correct sounds — were compounded by lack of reading materials and little understanding of standard English.

Cleanup for North Columbia set for Aug. 9

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:23 EDT

The city of Columbia has declared Aug. 9 cleanup day for North Columbia.

Mayor Bob Coble said the city, working in conjunction with what he hopes will be an army of community volunteers, will mobilize its city crews and heavy equipment throughout that day.

Henry Hopkins, executive director of the Eau Claire Community Council, has pledged his support and is asking neighborhood associations, congregations and youth programs to join in.

‘I especially want the youth involved,” he said.

City Councilman Sam Davis, who represents North Columbia, said he hoped abandoned and overgrown vacant properties would be targeted.

Voice: Urban pioneer stakes claim and brings others with him

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:21 EDT

Rhett Anders cannot shake the feeling that North Columbia is a place apart, distinct from a city that has moved, at least psychologically, west toward the Vista and the Congaree.

Anders has lived and worked in North Columbia as a real estate agent for more than a decade, renovating and selling the old houses that form the solid bones of the established neighborhoods.

But he cannot help but pepper his speech with references to “out here,” a slip of the tongue that reveals the psychic isolation of a place a stone’s throw from City Hall.

Nowhere else in the city, he said, can you find elegant, refurbished old mansions on one street, and grinding Third World poverty on the next.

The product of a century of racial and economic politics, North Columbia has been poised for a renaissance for so long it totters.

Voice: Time ‘to get serious’ about development

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:21 EDT

If it is possible to telegraph a wince over the telephone, the Rev. Wiley Cooper does so as he talks about the latest label placed on his neighborhood.

Is North Columbia in crisis? Well, that depends on what year you’re talking about.

He talks through lunch at Bert’s, a soul food eatery off Farrow Road, about his family’s move more than a decade ago to a North Columbia church and the real estate agents who told him “you don’t want to live there.”

He likes to say he doesn’t live in the same community he moved to 13 years ago, although his address hasn’t changed.

When he and his wife, Emily, moved into their College Place home in 1995, a house of prostitution flourished just down the street. Two drug dealers openly plied their trade on his block. As he walked home one evening, a robber demanded his wallet.

Charter school plan in limbo

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:23 EDT

A group of Columbia-area residents — backed financially by a Washington, D.C., nonprofit organization formed to nurture charter schools — is in limbo over its plans to offer a public school choice option in North Columbia.

The Richland 1 school board and the state Board of Education this spring both rejected a proposal to open a K-5 elementary charter school in the heart of Eau Claire.

Glenn Jones, chairman of the Imagine North Main Academy organizing committee, said the panel has shelved ambitions to open the school this fall but is appealing the local and state decisions before an administrative law judge.

The goal now is to open for the 2009-2010 academic year. But it stands to be a difficult challenge to overcome.

The Imagine North Main committee also has a lawsuit pending in circuit court, where it claims Richland 1 failed to issue its decision in a timely manner and thereby forfeited its right to pass judgment on the charter school application.

City hopes economic ‘seeds’ bear fruit

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:22 EDT

In the long run, North Columbia’s future depends on private investment, boosters say.

The city has invested millions of dollars into public projects in North Columbia. Now, it’s time for private investment to kick in, city officials and neighborhood leaders say.

“It’s about planting seeds and jump-starting projects,” said Sam Davis, who represents most of North Columbia on Columbia City Council. “We’ve planted the seeds. And now we’re waiting on the private sector.”

Those seeds have come at a high price.

Among the projects:

‘Our progress has no speed limit’

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:22 EDT

North Columbia was a place apart until 1954, a town with the name of “Eau Claire,” its own amenities and services, and a catchy slogan, “Our progress has no speed limit.”

Eau Claire was incorporated in 1899, in part to prevent the building of a public cemetery in the area of Hillcrest and Monticello roads according to documents in the files of the Columbia Historic Foundation.

There were fears that a large number of blacks might be buried in the then almost all-white enclave.

So the first ordinance on the books stated that no one could be buried in Eau Claire except in existing family and church cemeteries.

The town, which grew to 12,000 before it was merged into the city of Columbia in 1954, was known for its institutions of higher learning, three freshwater springs, and Hyatt Park, a popular turn-of-the-century entertainment venue for whites that included an open-air auditorium, zoo, water tower, fountain and vaudeville theater.

Teacher: ‘There is so much potential there’

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:23 EDT

Jason Lee is a rarity in public education — a man teaching a regular class of bright-eyed third graders.

This past school year, Lee was one of two men to fill that role at Arden Elementary School in North Columbia.

He wouldn’t have it any other way.

“I like working with inner-city youth because there is so much potential there,” said Lee, 33. “They need that guidance from a male perspective. I feel like I provide that.”

With an enrollment of 360 students, Arden Elementary, in the heart of Eau Claire, is among Richland 1’s smallest schools.

Voice: Native comes back to open coffee shop

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 06:18 EDT

North Columbia business owner Shennice Cleckley gave a 12-year-old boy $5 on a Friday morning for a box of doughnuts to raise money for his church.

Cleckley, who owns Literary Sweets Cafe on North Main Street, turned her phone off in March and May because she couldn’t pay the bill.

But she bought the doughnuts anyway to support the community.

“I don’t have the $5, but he was too cute,” she said chuckling.

Cleckley worries about making ends meet, but she is determined to stay open.

Far more code violations . . .

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:20 EDT

While it is far smaller than the rest of the city, the number of the code violations in North Columbia exceeds those all othr areas of the city combined

Abandoned vehicles

North Columbia	862
Rest of city	816

Boarded up housing

North Columbia	112
Rest of city	102

Care of vacant lots

North Columbia	322
Rest of city	282

Source: City of Columbia