A multi-story apartment complex planned for downtown Columbia. Is it too tall?
A project that would put a seven-story apartment complex in downtown Columbia was given initial approval for tax credits by Richland County. Two county council members voted against the incentives, one citing concerns from neighbors about the project.
Plans for the plot of land at the intersection of Catawba and Lincoln Streets, right behind the University of South Carolina’s Greek Village, include 237 units, 300 parking spaces and new sidewalks around the property.
“From a neighborhood perspective, the traffic and vehicular load that will be placed on the neighborhood, as well as the height of the building, it really isn’t appropriate for this area,” Viola Hendley, a community leader in the nearby Olympia neighborhood. “If they’re going to approve that height then, at the very least, the developer should put forth significant monies to address the vehicular infrastructure that’s going to be required to manage the traffic.”
The State attempted to reach Tommy Sinnott, vice president of development for the Denver-based company behind the project, with questions about the apartment complex and did not receive a response by time of publication.
Some neighbors have expressed reservations about the project to County Councilwoman Allison Terracio, she said during a Tuesday night council meeting. While she declined to share specifics with The State, citing confidentiality concerns since the project has been discussed in executive session, she said some neighbors had expressed concerns about the height of the building.
“While there’s been support for the project itself, there’s been some feedback about just the way that it is contemplated in its design, and so I look forward to working with my counterparts at the city and with other folks, and especially the neighbors, to try to get something that is suitable to the character of the neighborhood,” Terracio said during the Tuesday meeting.
Terracio, along with Councilman Jason Branham, voted against incentives for the project, which was approved on first reading by the council.
The development company, Cardinal Group Investments, is set to receive a 50% credit towards its fee payments to the county for its $63.5 million investment. The city of Columbia’s planning commission had previously signed off on the project in November.
When the project was brought before the city of Columbia’s planning commission in November of last year, only one citizen spoke up about the project. Regan Freeman, an advocate for bicyclists and pedestrians in the area, told the planning commission that he was excited about the project and the company’s plans for a bike path.
“This’ll be the first cycle track in Columbia,” Freeman said at the November meeting. “I think that’s tremendous, it’s incredible. I am in support of this really because it’s the public right-of-way improvements that are great to see.”
