Exclusive: Hotel, rooftop bar pitched for Columbia’s historic VA office building
You could soon sip a cocktail from the tallest point in Columbia, overlooking the newly renovated Finlay Park and the city’s downtown.
A developer hopes to turn the historic Veterans Administration building at 1801 Assembly Street into a full-service hotel with roughly 100 rooms, a ground-level cafe and bar, and ideally a rooftop bar as well, confirmed developer Webb Yongue with Georgia-based Capstone Property Group.
Capstone Property Group is currently under contract to purchase the long-vacant property, a sale Yongue said should be closed by early June.
“After that we would look to get started immediately,” Yongue told The State.
The goal would be to develop the site as either a Hilton or Marriott property, and the developers are also looking at how to create parking in the building’s basement. The rough estimate for the project is just under $40 million, Yongue added.
Yongue also said he’s been in conversations with Columbia officials about ensuring the hotel project meets the NCAA’s definition of full-service. The city was recently passed over by the NCAA in its bid to host March Madness tournament matches specifically because the city does not have enough full-service hotels. Often that means a property that includes 24-7 food service and dedicated meeting space.
The towering former office building sits at the corner of Assembly and Laurel streets, considered the highest point in the city. Built in 1949, the building features a granite sculpture built by famed artist Edmond Amateis depicting Thomas Clemson and South Carolina farmers.
Yongue said the redevelopment would protect the building’s historic and unique exterior.
The Veterans Administration building has been mired with false starts, with numerous efforts to redevelop the site falling through since it became vacant in 2015.
In 2018, the Paris-based diplomat Justin Etzin purchased the property for about $2.6 million with the goal of turning it into luxury apartments. Then in 2022, Etzin handed off the project to Greenville-based developer Blackstock Development, but the apartments never materialized.
Yongue said he feels confident that Capstone will close on the sale and that the hotel will become a reality.
Federal officials with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs relocated their offices in 2009, but some call-center employees remained at the 1801 Assembly St. property until 2015.
Then, federal officials wanted to level the building in favor of more downtown parking. That proposal was quickly shot down by then-Mayor Steve Benjamin and historic preservation advocates across Columbia.
The news comes alongside several other new hotel plans underway across Columbia.
Among the numerous hotel projects on Columbia’s horizon include a new hotel being planned right next to the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, a boutique hotel taking the place of a historic fire station in the Vista, and another boutique hotel in the BullStreet District near Segra Park. Capstone Property Group is also involved in the ongoing effort to bring a hotel and parking garage to Five Points.
