More apartments planned for Main Street in Columbia. Here are the details
Main Street is getting 28 more apartments.
The apartments at 1813 Main St., adjacent to Jefferson Square, would be the first residential renovation in the 1800 block since Main Street’s resurgence began a few years ago.
Developer Frank Cason, who is credited with much of Cottontown’s retail emergence, says he wants to help continue Main Street’s revitalization.
“It’s the logical next step in the progression of Main Street from the capitol to Cottontown,” Cason said. “We love the building and it has its own parking.”
Cason said he wants to offer “upscale apartments in a boutique setting” including a small retail store.
“Maybe wine bar or wine store or a restaurant,” he said.
The building would be converted into one- and two-bedroom apartments targeted to “young professionals and aging empty nesters,” not University of South Carolina or other college students, Cason said.
But there are still a couple of hurdles.
Cason wants to have the 1961 former government office building designated a city landmark, and also have it placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
City Council was expected to approve landmark status Tuesday evening. The federal process for designation is underway, Cason said.
The building presently has a brick and stucco facade that was added over the original green marble exterior, Cason said. “We want to bring back the mid-century modern look,” he said.
According to documents submitted to City Council from the city’s preservation staff:
The Klondike Building was developed in 1961 by Klondike Corp. and was designed by the architectural firm Lafaye, Fair, and Lafaye.. This building was part of the city’s urban renewal efforts in the mid-1900s “whose goal was to bring newer and more modern buildings to the Columbia skyline, visibly moving the City into the modern era.”
The building once housed three different government entities: the federal Bureau of Old-Age and Survivors Insurance, the U.S. Bureau of Public Roads and the state’s U.S. Army Quartermaster headquarters.
“These original tenants underscore the vital role government offices and entities have played in the development of buildings in Columbia,” city staff noted.
The firm of Lafaye, Fair, and Lafaye Architects was formed in 1903 and helped shape Columbia’s skyline. Their designs include the Wade Hampton State Office Building on the State House grounds, the World War Memorial Building on the USC campus and Tapp’s Department Store on Main Street.