Is Richland Renaissance really dead? And what about the $8 million already spent?

The $8.8 million Richland County spent to buy new properties won't go to waste even though the County Council put the brakes on a controversial, countywide development plan, some council members said a day after abruptly deciding to "defer the whole thing."

While it appears that Richland Renaissance as a sweeping, all-or-nothing package of development projects is off the table, there remains support for some major components of the plan, including a new county courthouse and eventual reuse of three anchor stores at Columbia Place mall.

Since the Renaissance plan was first approved by a 6-5 council majority in December, the county has purchased half a dozen properties for more than $8.8 million, including the former Dillard's, Burlington and Sears anchor stores at Columbia Place off Two Notch Road. Others include the Old Antique Mall on Broad River Road, the former Haverty's on Colonial Life Boulevard and the All Medical building on Hampton Street across from the county administration building.

Those properties can still fit into the county's future, said three council members who opposed Richland Renaissance from its inception.

"It's like buying an oceanfront lot at the beach," Councilman Jim Manning said. "You know, maybe you'll never build a house there, maybe you will, maybe you'll retire there, maybe not. ... I don't think you threw away or you're wasting that money. You're just not using that property at the moment."

"We shouldn't have purchased (those properties) in the first place without a clear-cut plan," Councilman Seth Rose said. But "there are space needs in the county, and at this point in time, we need to determine what those space needs are and how those properties that have been purchased can be utilized to fulfill them."

In addition to a new courthouse, the county needs more space for offices including the Department of Social Services, health department and elections office, Councilman Greg Pearce noted. Columbia Place could come into play in a number of ways to meet those needs, he said.

"I believe that we definitely need to move forward in a reasonable fashion to develop the property at Columbia Place mall that we already have and make full use of it," he said.

Or, Manning said, if the county ultimately decides it won't use some or all of the properties it has purchased, it can just sell them later.

"I'm unaware of money being thrown away," Manning said. "I think that's a very poor characterization."

The important thing, all three said, is going back to the drawing board and inviting public input on the use of those properties.

County leaders should concentrate first on what to do about a new courthouse, Manning and Rose said. Pearce added that a new 911 call center is a top priority.

Pearce said he plans to bring a proposal to the council June 5 to get to work renovating the Sears store to accommodate the call center and some sheriff's department facilities.

The Richland Renaissance master plan included new county administrative offices — including DSS, the elections office and others — at Columbia Place, a new downtown courthouse complex, a transportation hub and business incubator in the St. Andrews area, a hospital and aquatics center in Lower Richland and a countywide historic trail.

But the package of projects fell apart Thursday night when it became clear that a majority of council members would not support moving ahead with the business incubator and transportation hub near Dutch Square mall.

For council Chairwoman Joyce Dickerson, killing those projects that border her district meant the whole Renaissance plan had to die.

“There’s no way I’m going to support a judicial center and a center over at Columbia Place mall without having the whole county included,” she said.

A 7-4 majority of council members supported Dickerson's motion to "just defer the whole thing and start all over." Voting in favor of halting Renaissance were Dickerson, Norman Jackson, Gwen Kennedy, Bill Malinowski, Manning, Pearce and Seth Rose. Voting against halting Renaissance were Paul Livingston, Chip Jackson, Yvonne McBride and Dalhi Myers.

From this point, pushing forward with a new courthouse and county offices might meet resistance from some other members of council who, like Dickerson, have bristled at not spreading the wealth of revitalization throughout the county.

"Revitalizing half the county and leaving the other half of it untouched and in desperate need of revitalization is a nonstarter," said Myers, who represents part of Lower Richland.

Asked what she believed would happen next with Columbia Place and the other properties purchased by the county for Renaissance projects, Myers said, "I think you should ask the people who voted to defer" the plans. She said she's "very curious to know" how those council members would "plan for all this stuff to be resolved."

Referring to council members who are not running for re-election or who may lose to challengers in upcoming elections, Myers said, "They're spending their last 12 months tearing things apart and leaving them to be repaired by other people once they've ridden off into the sunset."

This story was originally published May 25, 2018 at 7:34 PM with the headline "Is Richland Renaissance really dead? And what about the $8 million already spent?."