Coworking space to open doors at popular Columbia food hall. Here’s when
A new coworking space with offices and more is set to debut at a popular food hall in a growing district in Columbia.
SOCO Gather will open on Feb. 26 at the Gather COLA food hall in the BullStreet District near downtown, according to a release from Gather COLA. The facility will have nearly 9,500 square feet for coworking, private offices and social and event space.
“Here’s what we know,” SOCO co-founder Greg Hilton said in the release. “People deserve to do work that is meaningful, with people that support them in incredible places that feed their mind, body, and soul. SOCO Gather will be steps away from one of the coolest entertainment and social venues in the city. You just can’t get that anywhere else.”
The Gather COLA food hall opened in December at 2191 Pickens St. in the BullStreet District. It has 10 different restaurants, a cocktail bar, a beer taproom and several retail spaces, along with a stage for music and entertainment. It is an effort from the team that previously opened the award-winning Gather GVL food hall in Greenville.
SOCO Gather will have 24 private offices, per the release, as well as three coworking areas, three meeting rooms, 1,000 square feet of outdoor meeting space, bottomless tea and coffee, and “blazing fast internet.” Members would have 24/7 access to the facility
The BullStreet District continues to grow. Hughes Development and the city of Columbia are in the midst of a two-decade effort to overhaul the sprawling, 181-acre former State Mental Hospital site, and there have been a number of announcements and activities that have proliferated at the district.
For example, right next door to Gather COLA there is a community lawn space under development, and it will be highlighted by a Coastal Crust pizza location in a portion of the former Williams Building.
Methodical Coffee, which has made a name for itself in the Greenville area, recently opened its first Columbia location in BullStreet’s WestLawn office building, and Tupelo Honey restaurant debuted a location in the district last year.
Meanwhile, hundreds of apartments are now located on the BullStreet grounds, including in the historic former Babcock Building. And in perhaps the most aggressive project at the district, the University of South Carolina is currently building a new medical school as part of a planned $300 million health sciences campus on the eastern side of the district. That medical school is slated to open in 2027.
The monthly Bullseye Vintage market recently kicked off at BullStreet near Segra Park baseball stadium, and the seven-story Grand Willow Hotel is under construction at 1571 Freed St. on the BullStreet property. And a new 50,000-square-foot Publix supermarket is planned for the district, next door to the REI outdoor store. The grocery store will break ground later this year.
