After 6 years, Assembly Street student housing tower is finally under construction
A 17-story student housing building is under construction on Assembly Street next. to the Richland Library’s main branch. The project at 1401 Assembly St. is expected to be completed by fall 2023, according to the developers.
The site is a vacant lot that’s a few blocks away from the University of South Carolina.
This $80 million project was first proposed to Columbia City Council in 2015. Columbia’s Design/Development Review Commission was the last board to approve design features of the building, but had some contentious meetings with the developers last winter. The apartments were previously referred to as “The Edge.”
“This new development fits well in an urban setting that bridges both the Main Street and Vista districts and brings smart density to a long-vacant parcel,” Matt Kennel, CEO of Main Street District property owners’ advocacy group City Center Partnership, wrote in a letter of support of the project in November.
The building will have 247 units and 678 beds with studio to 5-bedroom floor plans, according to Landmark Properties. Amenities will include private bathrooms, stainless steel appliances, a clubhouse, an elevated pool deck, a fitness center, a study lounge and a sports simulator.
Georgia-based developers Landmark Properties, in partnership with Chicago-based CRG, are behind the housing development. Landmark Properties developed The Retreat at Columbia on Bluff Road in 2008 and has two student housing properties in Clemson.
The developers announced two other student housing projects Wednesday: one near Indiana University and the other in Philadelphia near the University of Pennsylvania and Drexel University. Landmark Properties is the country’s largest student housing development company with more than $75 billion of assets under management, according to the company.
