What’s happening to the old Walmart store near downtown Columbia? Here’s what’s planned
A site that once housed a Walmart near downtown Columbia is now set to be a warehouse for computer-related uses.
The Walmart location at 1326 Bush River Road in Columbia, just off Interstate 26 not far from the Dutch Square mall, closed in 2021. On Thursday, the Columbia board of zoning appeals approved a measure that will make way for the 200,000-square-foot-building to become a warehouse that would, according to city paperwork, “facilitate the collection, storage, assembling and disassembling of computers, servers and related products that have been leased/owned and upgraded by corporations.”
The entity that would operate the warehouse wasn’t identified in the zoning records, but the applicant was Texas-based Bunrootis, a company that works to facilitate various warehouse-related projects. According to a list of projects on its website, Bunrootis has worked on warehouse projects in a host of states, including South Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana, Texas and elsewhere.
The zoning board’s approval was needed for the former Walmart property to be changed from a retail facility to a warehouse use. Thursday’s approval was unanimous.
The property is about 6 miles north of downtown Columbia.
The Bush River Road Walmart closed in February 2021. Officials at the time cited low sales as the reason for the closure.
“We are grateful to the customers who have given us the privilege of serving them at our Bush River Road location. We look forward to serving them at our other Columbia stores and on walmart.com,” said Phillip Keene, director of global corporate affairs and corporate communications, said at the time of the closure.
