Nearly 300 apartments could be built on Gervais Street downtown
A five-story apartment building could be built on Gervais Street in downtown Columbia, across the street from the University of South Carolina School of Law and near the USC campus and the Vista.
An Indiana-based developer, Trinitas, has applied to the city for design approval for the project.
While the design application does not specify that the proposed apartments would be geared toward college student tenants, Trinitas’ website indicates it develops properties for student living. The company has developed student communities in 12 states, including North Carolina and Georgia, according to its online portfolio.
An effort by The State to reach a Trinitas representative on Tuesday was unsuccessful.
The prospective project would include 276 studio, two- and three-bedroom apartments to be built in the 1600 block of Gervais Street, on property currently owned by former S.C. Republican consultant Richard Quinn.
The properties where the apartments could be built include the home of Havens Framemakers & Gallery, a 51-year-old Columbia-grown business.
Jackie Vazquez, the owner of Havens since 2004, said she does not know much about the apartment project or how it could affect her business. She’s been aware of talks about apartments for a year or so, she said, but nothing has yet materialized.
“I’m just a renter, so I guess whatever happens will happen,” Vazquez said. “I would like to stay, but I really don’t understand what they’re doing.”
Vazquez said she has considered looking for other locations for her business should it have to move.
“I try not to think too much about it until there’s something to worry about,” she said.
Veritas’ design application indicates it would include a parking garage, swimming pool, fitness center, study rooms and other amenities along with the apartments.
If the Veritas apartments are built on Gervais Street, they would join a flood of other student apartments soon to hit the market.
- On Shop Road, just below Williams-Brice Stadium, construction is well underway on a three-story, 550-bed complex by developer Reign Living.
- Construction work has just begun on a five-story, 486-bed development on Huger Street at the edge of the Vista.
- Zoning approval recently was granted for a 15-story, 679-bed tower of apartments on Assembly Street, next to the main branch of Richland Library.
- And USC is soon to begin construction on its 1,800-bed Campus Village, which is replacing some outdated dormitories and increasing the number of students who are able to live on campus.
These five projects could amount to some 4,000 new beds for college students in Columbia in the next few years.
Already, there are around 20 privately-owned apartment complexes catering to college students — not just USC, but Benedict College, Allen University, Midlands Tech and others — in downtown Columbia and its outskirts. Student apartments differ from traditional market-rate apartments in that they typically are rented by the bed, not by the full apartment unit.
This story was originally published December 31, 2019 at 2:35 PM.
