4-star Columbia Vista hotel project from Ben Arnold gets first OK for county tax deal
Developer Ben Arnold received initial approval Tuesday for tax incentives from Richland County to develop a 4-star hotel near the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center.
The Arnold Companies project, named Vista Depot Hotels and Apartments, includes plans for what would be Columbia’s largest and fanciest hotel. It also comes with nearly 200 new apartments and an underground parking garage. Arnold first shared details of the project in January.
The deal with the county requires a $135 million investment from Arnold, including $25 million for a 380-space parking garage, sidewalks and other infrastructure work, and the creation of 160 full-time jobs. Arnold has also said the work will generate 1,600 construction jobs.
In exchange, Richland County would give the project a 50% property tax break for 15 years. County Council unanimously approved the deal on an initial vote Tuesday. The deal requires two more votes before it’s final.
Arnold, a longtime Columbia developer who now lives in California, hopes to build the dual-branded Hyatt Centric and Hyatt House hotels at the intersection of Gervais and Wayne streets in Columbia’s Vista district.
He’ll build on roughly 6 acres of a 12-acre plot he already owns around the convention center.
The hotels will include an on-site restaurant, a rooftop bar and lounge, 24-hour room service, a swimming pool and a handful of other amenities.
The accompanying 183-room apartment complex will be modeled after another of Arnold’s projects, The Palms on Lady Street. Rents at that facility range from roughly $1,500 to more than $5,000 a month.
The new proposed apartment complex, called The Residence at Vista Depot, would face Wayne and Pendleton streets and offer studios and one- and two-bedroom units. A pool terrace, yoga studio, fitness center and dog spa also would be included in the apartment building.
This is not the first time Arnold has pitched a large hotel project to complement the convention center.
Arnold previously had been in talks with Columbia and Richland County leaders for a much larger project that would have involved expanding the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center along with constructing three luxury hotels and a massive parking garage.
That project had an estimated value of $511 million but relied on city money to expand the convention center and city and county assistance on paying back the cost of a parking garage.
That deal fell through when Richland County leaders balked at the cost of the parking garage after several months of back and forth.
Arnold has repeatedly lamented the decision as a major missed opportunity for Columbia. In January, Arnold said his previous plan for the trio of hotels to support the convention center would have benefited Columbia more, but “that opportunity went out the door.”
Arnold has said he thinks this new project will still be an economic engine for Columbia while providing something the city doesn’t currently have: a full-service 4-star hotel.
The project could break ground in early 2024.
