Local

Explore Columbia's new wave of urban transformations

Stories by The State journalists, with AI summarization

The articles highlight new projects shaping Columbia’s urban landscape. They all show how development, planning, and preservation efforts change the city and its surroundings. Builders add new housing and business spaces. Community leaders balance new growth with the need to preserve history and meet local needs.

A proposed apartment complex will serve senior veterans on North Main Street. A chain plans to build about 15 convenience stores in the greater Columbia area, starting with a new Market at Spears Creek site. Housing developments like Creekside Ridge in Batesburg-Leesville and a large Lexington County project will add hundreds of new homes. The city reviews proposals from six design firms to turn the Congaree Riverfront into a public park.

In Olympia, the county puts new construction and demolitions on hold to protect historic homes.

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The former site of the Midlands Arts Conservatory has been targeted for new apartments for senior veterans. By Provided

NO. 1: NEW APARTMENTS FOR SENIOR VETERANS PLANNED ACROSS FROM BUSY COLUMBIA PARK. WHAT WE KNOW

The developer plans to invest $1.2 million into the new Columbia apartments. | Published March 31, 2025 | Read Full Story by Morgan Hughes

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Developers want to more than double their initial plans for a new subdivision bringing a total of more than 600 housing units, if approved. By Provided

NO. 2: LEXINGTON COUNTY HOME DEVELOPMENT DOUBLES PITCH. HUNDREDS OF UNITS ADDED

The planned development would add more homes along a long-rural stretch of land in Lexington County. | Published April 16, 2025 | Read Full Story by Hannah Wade

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Many of the historic mill houses are rental properties like this one on Carolina Street. By Tracy Glantz

NO. 3: RICHLAND COUNTY BANS BUILDING IN OLYMPIA. HOW MUCH IS THE NEIGHBORHOOD CHANGING?

With the temporary building ban now in place, the county will consider new rules to help protect historic homes and properties in the area near downtown Columbia. | Published May 7, 2025 | Read Full Story by Morgan Hughes

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The Gervais Street bridge spans the Congaree River on Tuesday, September 10, 2024. By Joshua Boucher

NO. 4: COLUMBIA CONSIDERING 6 DESIGNERS FOR RIVERFRONT PARK. SEE THEIR PAST WORK

The proposed park promises access to Columbia’s untamed riverfront. Designers vying for the project have shaped hundred-million-dollar developments in major U.S. cities. | Published May 20, 2025 | Read Full Story by Morgan Hughes

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A preliminary plat of the Creekside Ridge subdivision planned for Batesburg-Leesville. By Screenshot from the Batesburg-Leesville planning commission

NO. 5: ‘LARGEST RESIDENTIAL DEVELOPMENT’ IN BATESBURG-LEESVILLE’S HISTORY MOVES FORWARD

The proposed subdivision would bring nearly 200 homes to a rural part of Lexington County. Here’s where. | Published May 30, 2025 | Read Full Story by Hannah Wade

The entertainment district Donati describes would likely sit on plots H and F.

NO. 6: WHAT ARE USC’S PLANS TO DEVELOP AROUND WILLIAMS-BRICE STADIUM? WHAT WE KNOW

Could a new entertainment district be coming to Columbia? | Published June 4, 2025 | Read Full Story by Jordan Kaye

The summary above was drafted with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists in our News division. All stories listed were reported, written and edited by McClatchy journalists.