With new high-dollar homes, Devine Street is poised for Columbia’s next big boom
Devine Street is ready for its close up.
One of Columbia’s most up-and-coming spots for shopping, dining and living isn’t the most hyped. But it is one of the city’s most high-end areas. It is one of the most densely packed with locally owned and run businesses. And it is about to welcome some 200 new, high-income residents who are expected to spur more investment in this already quietly successful district.
The tony Devine Street, a fashionable, tree-lined corridor of shops, restaurants and offices nestled between two of Columbia’s signature neighborhoods, is poised to take off as one of the city’s most sought-after destinations for new businesses and residents.
“I think Devine is going to be more lucrative than BullStreet,” said Mark Rosenbaum, a professor and chairman of the retail department at the University of South Carolina. He compared Devine Street to Columbia’s slowly emerging BullStreet district, which is expected to be one of the largest commercial developments in the Southeast after a 20-year build-out.
Rosenbaum’s prediction hinges on an influx of new residents with significant income expected to move to Devine Street in the next year thanks to a pair of high-dollar residential developments under construction.
“I think that when these new apartment buildings are filled and the new condos, you will have a segment of the population that has disposable income, and they will be searching for services, grocery stores, restaurants, spa services and fitness and so forth. And those are coming online before BullStreet,” Rosenbaum said.
Unlike BullStreet, Devine Street already is well-established.
It’s known for classy boutiques, wide sidewalks, free parking and its integration with the Shandon and Old Shandon communities.
“It’s not downtown; it’s a more neighborhood feel,” said Jennifer Suber, a spokesperson for the district’s business association. “We have a reputation of very nice stores and restaurants, but they’re all small business owners. They work really hard for what they have, and I think (they welcome) any opportunity to get more people in front of their business.”
Devine Street’s potential for a near-future boom is largely thanks to the 114 new apartments and 31 condominiums — dubbed Devine District and The Trolley, respectively — being built in the 2700 and 2800 blocks. By the end of this year, the first residents will move into the apartments, renting for $1,200 to $1,900. And the condos, priced from $199,900 up to $360,000, already are selling before construction is complete.
The developer, Estates & Cos., already has built a model of success on the street in the nearby 700 Woodrow apartments, which opened in 2013 in the former Whitney Hotel. They’ve been fully occupied since they opened, Estates developer Matt Mundy said. Mundy said he expects similar success and similar demographics for Devine District and The Trolley.
“People are moving here because you can do everything you’d like to do in a very small footprint,” Mundy said.
It’s easy to sell living on Devine Street because “the real amenity is Devine Street,” said realtor Graeme Moore, who’s selling The Trolley condos. “Walk out your front door, go grab a beer, pizza, shop for clothing, walk the beautiful neighborhoods. Everything this district has to offer is the amenity.
“The fact that we’ve been able to pre-sell several of these things, and you’ve got sheetrock up and that’s all — people see the vision and see what Devine Street is going to be, or what Devine Street is,” Moore said.
More residents — with money to spend — likely represent two things for Devine Street: A boon for existing businesses and a lure for new businesses.
“I think that’s going to be a huge explosion for the merchants and restaurants,” said Perry Lancaster, manager of Brittons men’s clothing store. Brittons, along with fellow longtime businesses Bohemian Home and House of Frames and Painting, is an anchor of Devine Street, as is Lancaster, who’s become a de facto ambassador for the district.
Lancaster quickly names half a dozen new businesses that recently opened or are about to move to Devine Street — a bridesmaid dress shop, a florist, a coffee shop, a law office and others. And the whole district expects more to follow.
Jeb Babcock, who co-owns Za’s and Cantina 76 restaurants, said he’s recently spoken with a woman who’s interested in moving to Columbia to open a yoga studio on Devine Street.
Babcock and his business partners opened Cantina 76 a decade ago, and its success on Devine has led to four more locations opening in Columbia (on Main Street) and around the state. Babcock and his partners bought Za’s, an established Devine Street eatery, a few years later, and both restaurants continue to thrive.
“On a Friday night, if the weather’s good, the street is pretty bustling. It’s hard to get a parking spot. You’ll see people, especially at Cantina, gathered outside waiting on that corner,” Babcock said. “Devine’s been great to us.”
One of the newest businesses on the street, Blūm Coffee, opened this summer across the street from the apartments’ construction site. The only true coffee shop in the corridor, Blūm has filled an empty niche for Devine Street.
“One of the things I heard most was, ‘Oh, we needed this on Devine Street.’ It’s a big compliment,” owner Fran Miller said. “We would love to have some more of those regular customers, those people who pop in every day and you’re like, ‘I know what you’re ordering. I know what to get you.’”
A block over from Blūm, Tracy Wright knows a lot about serving regular customers at her 17-year-old boutique, Just the Thing.
“I care so much about it. I care about my customers and care about what I put in the store,” said Wright, who’s also the president of the district’s business association. “While I see so much has changed on the street, I still love that in 17 years, it feels the same. It hasn’t lost its charm. And because we’re all locally owned businesses, it means that the owners are in the stores. The owners care about what happens on the street.”
Even in the age of Amazon, shops like Just the Thing, LaRoque, Pink Sorbet, Pout, Non(e)such and Duck Duck Goose are making it on Devine Street. Rosenbaum, the USC retail expert, says it’s because they offer customers something they can’t buy online: an experience.
“Many people want to say that we’re in a retail apocalypse,” Rosenbaum said. “However, many brick-and-mortar stores are actually doing well, especially service organizations that provide customers with something that cannot be obtained online, such as fitness, yoga, nails, waxing.”
It just so happens, Devine Street is a hub for those very types of businesses.
But there’s room to grow. Many voices in the district agree there’s an appetite for more restaurants on the street.
“I think we need another fine dining establishment, like something where you could go after work and have drinks and appetizers and a nice dinner,” Suber said. “We’ve also talked about a place ... like Chopt, like Chicken Salad Chick. Something that has the flavor of Devine Street, it’s pretty and it’s nice, but it’s healthy.”
It’s not all highs for Devine Street, though. As the area grows, many people in the district have their eyes on traffic and safety.
The street actually is a four-lane highway — U.S. 378, which runs from western Georgia to Conway, S.C. Its breadth and the speed of traffic are a barrier and a hazard for pedestrians, say area leaders and business owners. District leaders have been lobbying the state Department of Transportation, which maintains the road, to work toward solutions to decrease vehicle volume and speed on the street, Suber said.
Tackling those issues is a price to pay for continued success.
“With growth comes challenges, and we’re ready to hit them head on,” Suber said. “The businesses are all excited. We look at that construction every day. It’s a fun time to be in this district.”
This story was originally published November 4, 2019 at 2:22 PM.
