New bank coming to vacant Five Points building after zoning nod
Columbia’s zoning board gave a key approval Thursday that will make way for a new bank in Five Points.
The city Board of Zoning Appeals granted a zoning variance for the 10,300-square-foot building located at 1940 Blossom St. That building was formerly home to a TD Bank, but TD moved to a smaller footprint on nearby Devine Street in 2019.
The building is now owned by Coastal Carolina National Bank, which currently has eight locations across South Carolina, including one at 1219 Assembly St. in Columbia. Coastal Carolina National Bank officials told The State they plan to move from the location on Assembly to the Five Points spot, which will be extensively renovated.
The bank’s current office on Assembly Street is slated to be developed into a new hotel called The Armory Hotel.
In a letter to customers, CCNB said it hopes to be in the Blossom Street location by the spring. The move from Assembly to Blossom will provide better amenities, including a drive-thru and ample parking, company officials said.
“We have anticipated outgrowing our Assembly Street location to better serve the needs of our customers with their convenience in mind,” CCNB president Laurence Bolchoz wrote in the letter. “We are building this branch to better meet the needs of this vibrant and growing community.”
On Thursday, the zoning board granted a variance to buffer requirements for the property, a term referring to neutral space between one property and an adjacent parcel. Scott Burris, of Weathers Contracting Co., which is working on the renovation, noted there is an 8-foot high fence between the bank property and a neighboring parcel, and it already had previously operated as a bank for decades. In unanimously approving the variance, zoning board officials said the request was procedural in nature.
There has been a bit of a banking shuffle in Five Points. Aside from TD’s 2019 shift, and now Coastal Carolina’s plans to move into that Blossom Street building, Wells Fargo announced it would be closing its location on Saluda Avenue in February.
This story was originally published January 8, 2021 at 11:28 AM.
