New town houses pitched for vacant lot near SC Governor’s mansion
Ten new town houses could soon fill a vacant lot in a historic Columbia neighborhood primed for new development.
Home-builder Randy Schrader with Lexington-based Guss Home Concept plans to build 10 new 3-story town houses at the corner of Laurel and Wayne streets, just around the corner from the newly renovated Finlay Park and the South Carolina governor’s mansion.
The town houses would sit in two rows, with five houses lined up on Laurel Street, and four homes along Wayne Street. The houses are also planned to have four bedrooms each and a ground-floor garage.
Schrader is asking Columbia’s Design/Development Review Commission to approve the aesthetics of the project, which will sit within the city’s Downtown Columbia Overlay District. That district sets parameters for how new development should look and what kinds of projects make sense for the downtown corridor.
Schrader’s application to the city board also notes that the vacant lot where the homes will be built was once home to 12 “grand trees,” but now only one remains. Those are trees of a certain size that receive extra protection from the city.
The town houses project would see that last grand tree removed and replaced with a cluster of Crepe Myrtle plants. Schrader’s application to the city also includes an assessment of that final grand tree, which the Sax & Freeman Tree Expert Company rated as being in poor condition.
The new housing would come online as the Arsenal Hill neighborhood is poised for fresh momentum. The city of Columbia just finished a $25 million rehabilitation of Finlay Park, and more new homes were just completed around the corner on Richland Street.
Columbia’s design board will consider Schrader’s application at it’s March 19 meeting.
