EXCLUSIVE: Vista site could see mix of apartments, retail

A requested zoning change for a prime location in the Vista could open the door for more residential and mixed-use development.

There is no specific project planned yet for the site, which borders Lady and Park streets behind Mellow Mushroom and Marble Slab Creamery. But an Isle of Palms man who recently purchased the property has asked the city for a zoning change that would allow residential and commercial use with no building height restriction.

Development at the site, a block from Assembly Street and two blocks from the State House, could help better connect the Vista and the Main Street business and entertainment districts.

The rezoning would give the property owner or future owners more control over what can be done with the site, said Sarah Lewis, director of the Vista Guild, which represents many businesses in the district.

William H. Bailey purchased the three lots at 1000 and 1010 Lady St. and 1218 Park St. for around $650,000 in December. The sites total about .75 acres – or about a quarter of the block.

The lots are currently used as paid surface parking – and have been parking lots for decades.

The site’s current M-1 light industrial zoning with a design development overlay already allows for residential use but has a 75-foot height restriction. A change to C-4 central area commercial zoning with a design development overlay would remove the building height limit.

Many of the neighboring properties in the Vista and Main Street are also zoned C-4 or C-5 with no height restrictions.

Bailey’s application for the zoning change did not include any site plans or details about what could be developed there, but the application asks for the change to allow for “new apartment and mixed use development.”

Attempts to reach Bailey on Thursday were unsuccessful.

The city’s Planning Commission will consider the zoning request Monday.

Fred Delk, who as director of the Columbia Development Corp. encourages and keeps close tabs on development downtown, said he was aware of the parcels being for sale and of the request for the zoning change but did not know of any specific project plans for the site.

Brian Cook, the city’s zoning administrator, also did not know of specific plans.

But he guessed that the site would not likely be used for student housing, as projects closer to the center of the Vista are likely to draw a more professional crowd, he said.

This story was originally published April 2, 2015 at 8:41 PM with the headline "EXCLUSIVE: Vista site could see mix of apartments, retail."