Coble stresses Innovista

Columbia Mayor Bob Coble used his last State of the City address Thursday night to make one last push for the project that has come to define the final years of his tenure: USC's Innovista research campus.

"Without question, there are other critical issues from budgets to law enforcement to the form of government," Coble, who is not seeking re-election after 20 years in office, told an audience of hundreds at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. "But if I could pick one that has the potential for transforming our economy, creating jobs and increasing our per capita income, it would be the completion of Innovista and the entire Innovista Master Plan."

Coble made his pitch to a packed house of Midlands leaders - including Richland County Council chairman Paul Livingston, Richland 1 school board chairman Vince Ford and members of the Richland County legislative delegation - the very people who will have to take up his vision once his term ends in July.

Coble's speech came on the same day USC announced the hiring of Don Herriott to lead Innovista, which has struggled to attract private businesses despite spending $100 million to build two research buildings.

But Coble framed the success of Innovista in the context of Columbia's assimilation into what he calls the "knowledge and green economy" - a vision of Columbia that moves away from economic dependence on state government jobs and more toward the creative minds of young professionals who can build private businesses.

To do that, some City Council members are proposing a special tax district for the Innovista camps, as well as portions of north and east Columbia, that would funnel commercial property taxes into public infrastructure projects.

"Investing in public infrastructure leads to private investment," Coble said during the speech.

But so far, persuading other local governments to agree to the plan has been difficult. Richland County and Richland 1 - the two other governments city officials have been courting to join the tax district - have both said they will not participate, citing "significant questions" with the plan.

"I see (Innovista) as something that could revitalize our community. I just think we've got to make sure it's done right," Livingston said after the speech.

The seven mayoral candidates have said little about the tax district or Innovista during their campaign speeches, focusing instead on the more traditional topics of crime and taxes.

Coble said after his speech that he understands why candidates feel they have to talk about those issues, saying he did it too when he first ran for mayor 20 years ago.

"But looking back, as mayor now, Innovista - that's the one thing that if we could get it done could really transform our economy," Coble said.

Before his Innovista push, Coble reflected on what he believes to be his greatest accomplishments during his 20 years as mayor, including the riverfront development, downtown redevelopment, neighborhood revitalization, the convention center and Colonial Life Arena.

But Coble ended his speech with some unsolicited advice to the next mayor: a quote from President Theodore Roosevelt: "It's not the critic who counts."

"I would read it after you read the newspaper articles and the editorials, after you watch the nightly news, after you read the blogs, the Web site, the tweets and the anonymous posts and e-mails," Coble said. "'Who, at best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at worst, if he or she fails, at least fails while daring greatly.'"

This story was originally published January 29, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Coble stresses Innovista."