Thought Columbia's student apartment boom was over? Think again: 2 new ones planned

Private developers have their eyes on a pair of new student apartment projects in Columbia, possibly extending a recent student housing building boom in the city, but prompting some tensions among residents, developers and local leaders.

One apartment proposal is facing push back from surrounding residents in the heart of downtown Columbia, and the other is crossing its fingers for a 10-year tax break for an old warehouse property near the University of South Carolina's Williams-Brice football stadium.

In the Vista, Florida-based student housing developer 908 Group hopes to build a 650-bed apartment complex at the site of the former Richland County Sheriff's Department headquarters and magistrate court on Huger Street.

Richland County Council recently approved selling the property to 908 Group, despite critics who questioned the county's marketing of the property and said student housing might not be the best use of the site.

The property's current zoning would allow up to 486 bedrooms, but the developer is seeking rezoning for higher density.

However, a group of Vista residents stands adamantly against student housing being built on the site.

"We need variety, and we need people to make our city a better place, not just a place to accumulate and maybe get an education in the meantime," said Rick Rowe, a Vista resident who spoke at a Columbia City Council meeting Tuesday. "We do not need to be overcome by a large number of individuals who are away from home for the first time."

Rowe and 10 others protested the rezoning before City Council members this week. Council deferred a vote on the zoning.

City Councilman Howard Duvall said he agrees that student housing is not the best use of the Huger Street property, which sits along a major gateway to downtown Columbia and to the Congaree River, where local leaders have long hoped to see increased recreational activity.

"I think student housing in that location is totally wrong," Duvall said. "That needs to be a multiuse piece of property with a high quality mix of retail, restaurants, condos or a hotel."

About 3 miles away on Shop Road, another Florida-based developer, Reign Living, hopes to build a 187-unit, 550-bed apartment complex in the shadow of Williams-Brice Stadium.

Dalhi Myers, the Richland County Council member who represents the area, says the apartments ultimately will benefit the surrounding area.

"I don't think all student housing is reflexively bad," Myers said. "We've spent some time on improving student behavior, but this developer understands the need to be a positive part of the surrounding community, and I think each project has to be evaluated on its own merits."

Reign is seeking a one-third reduction in property taxes for the next 10 years, which also has Duvall shaking his head.

Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin, though, supports the tax incentive as a way to grow the city's tax base.

"USC is one of the fastest-growing state universities in the entire country," Benjamin said. "We have to think of ways we can continue to commercialize and monetize that growth to the benefit of all taxpayers."

About 2.5 years ago, the city and county closed the door on a limited-time offer of property tax breaks for student apartment developers who invested $40 million or greater.

Four apartment complexes, all located in downtown Columbia, secured the 10-year, 50 percent tax reduction, resulting in some 2,700 new bedrooms for college students being added to downtown. One of the four, on Assembly Street across from the S.C. State House, remains under construction and is leasing apartments for the upcoming fall semester.

But Richland County Council shot down a fifth developer's request for the tax break for student apartments planned at the BullStreet development, with some council members arguing that the student housing market was becoming saturated and there was no need to offer a building incentive.

Looking at the 908 Group and Reign plans, Duvall and others have raised the same question of whether Columbia's student housing bubble is headed for a bust.

"I think we are overbuilt now, and the type of dormitories they're building for these students are not easily converted into usable housing once the students decide they don't want to live there anymore," Duvall said.

Plans for a 15-story apartment tower on Assembly Street near the Richland County library, called the Edge, have been long stalled. And in 2015, the university stifled a plan for another 15-story tower on Main Street, south of the State House, complaining it would be too tall for the area and would cast an unpleasant shadow on the school's historic Horseshoe.

USC, the largest of the city's colleges, has grown rapidly in recent years and plans to continue adding more students for several years to come. The university, which has about 34,000 undergraduate and graduate students, plans to cap its steadily growing freshman class at about 6,000 students within a few years, USC spokesman Jeff Stensland said.

USC has about 8,600 student beds available on campus now, Stensland said. That's enough to house the full freshman class and a small portion of upperclassmen.

The number of on-campus beds will grow to about 11,000 with the completion of the new Campus Village in several years.

That leaves a sizable demand for off-campus living arrangements, said Janie Kerzan, USC's community outreach director who oversees off-campus living.

There currently are about 20 apartment developments marketed to college students — not just USC students, but Benedict College, Allen University, Midlands Tech and others — in downtown Columbia and its outskirts, including Cayce and West Columbia, Kerzan said.

Student apartments differ from traditional market-rate apartments in that they typically are rented by the bed, not by the full unit.

Factors in students' searches for off-campus housing include the cost of rent, proximity to campus and amenities such as pools, gyms, lounges and activities. Many off-campus student apartments come furnished, too.

"When we hear from students right now, we're not hearing a tremendous amount of feedback that says they're having a difficult time finding a place to live off-campus that fits their needs," Kerzan said.

This story was originally published May 18, 2018 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Thought Columbia's student apartment boom was over? Think again: 2 new ones planned."