First look at farmer’s market, health facilities, more planned for a busy Columbia road
Earlier this year, city and state officials announced a major new project on Columbia’s Bluff Road that would transform 23 acres into a civic and commercial hub. Now, you can see what it will look like.
The Columbia Empowerment Zone Inc. shared a video with renderings of the site Wednesday. It’s the public’s first look at a new farmer’s market, health care office, government buildings and senior apartments that have been promised as part of the sweeping development for the corridor just southeast of Interstate 77. The project will be located on a parcel at the intersection of Bluff and Atlas roads.
Dubbed the Station at Congaree Pointe, the project is meant to inject new life, and dollars, into an area that city leaders acknowledge has been long-overlooked.
“It’s transformational,” said Columbia City Manager Teresa Wilson at a February press conference announcing the project. “The people that are here, the community members that are here, it warms my heart because some of them truly have been waiting for a quite a while to see these types of services in this area, where they don’t have to travel so far for them, particularly seniors.”
In all, the project will have a county magistrate’s office and sheriff’s substation; a new Columbia municipal court building and the Columbia Police Department’s Southeast region headquarters; a 15,000-square-foot Coopertive Health healthcare center with primary care, OBGYN services, pediatrics, dental and behavioral health; and a marketplace for fresh food, commercial kitchens and a cafe or restaurant space.
The project is being overseen by Columbia Empowerment Zone Inc, a small business development entity of the city. But it is a product of cooperation between the city, county and state governments.
“The partnership is historic and will serve as the linchpin to future improvements and the redevelopment of the Bluff Road corridor,” reads the release shared along with the video renderings Wednesday.
Empowerment Zone director Felicia Maloney previously said the market element of the project, which will include commercial kitchens, a farmer’s market and more, will cost at least $10 million.
The project already has $4 million from the state budget, and Maloney has said her team will also pursue grant dollars.
Construction on the project is expected to begin by February 2025.
This story was originally published November 20, 2024 at 11:46 AM.
