New apartments, retail planned for Lady Street

A new set of loft apartments and more retail are coming to a key block of downtown Columbia.

Columbia developer Ben Arnold plans to build 12 loft-style apartments on the top floor of what formerly was Howards Sports. Retail is planned for the first floor. The two-story, 20,000-square-foot building wraps around the former Moe Levy’s building and has entrances along Lady and Assembly streets.

Also, for the first time in 94 years, a new retailer will be able to open its doors at Assembly and Lady streets.

The former Moe Levy’s building officially went on the market this week as a “rare lease opportunity,” according to a marketing flier from commercial firm NAI Avant.

Arnold owns nearly the entire block. He already has brought several unique concepts to the block, including a Miami-style apartment complex called The Palms, Cantina 76 restaurant, a crossfit gym and a spinning studio.

The new apartments will be called The Lofts at The Palms and will feature 13-foot tall, turn-of-the-century metal ceilings, exposed brick and old hardwood floors, he said. The development will be connected to The Palms and allow residents to use the same amenities, he said.

The one- and two-bedroom apartments will contain between 500 and 1,000 square feet each and should be ready in about a year. Arnold has not yet set rental rates.

Arnold expects the apartments to rent quickly. The 53 units at The Palms three years ago rented out within 30 days, he said, and continue to be at 100 percent occupancy.

“There’s a lot of demand,” he said, for downtown living. “This is exciting for Columbia. The more people that live downtown, the better it is for restaurants and retailers.”

The bottom portion of the building can be rented by one retailer or split into two spaces, he said. “It’s just wide open.”

Meanwhile, the Moe Levy’s building also is for rent.

The clothing store known for its Levis and Dickies and later its skiwear shut its doors last year after family matriarch Florence Levy died in 2013 at age 106 -- just weeks after she stopped going to work for health reasons.

Now that the nearly 6,000-square-foot building is on the market for $22 per square foot, developers want to bring something unique to it, NAI Avant broker Patrick Palmer said.

“We’re looking at the possibility of a rooftop restaurant,” for example, Palmer said. Developers hope to bring in a national restaurant that doesn’t have a presence in the Midlands or a new concept from a Charleston or Asheville restaurateur, for example, Palmer said, with the possibility of a boutique or cafe next door.

Whatever goes in the space is important in helping connect Main Street with the Vista, said Fred Delk, executive director of the Columbia Development Corp.

“It is a great spot,” with good visibility, Delk said, calling the Lady Street corridor a natural pedestrian connector between the two shopping and entertainment districts.

“We’re trying to mesh and get away from two central markets and really combining those two into one market, and we see that happening,” Palmer said. “This is kind of the first step in bridging that gap.”

This story was originally published January 16, 2015 at 12:08 AM with the headline "New apartments, retail planned for Lady Street."