Strom Thurmond federal buildings are for sale. Could City of Columbia buy them?
The Federal Government wants to sell or otherwise offload the Strom Thurmond Federal Building and Courthouse. Columbia might buy them.
“I think [the office building] would be a perfect remodel for workforce housing,” said Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann in a meeting with reporters Wednesday.
Federal officials last year announced an “accelerated” plan to sell nearly 50 government-owned properties across the U.S., including Columbia’s Strom Thurmond building and the attached courthouse, at 1835 and 1845 Assembly St.
The property was officially listed for sale April 9 by the General Services Administration, the U.S. government’s real estate arm.
How quickly the property was listed surprised the mayor, he said. Columbia leaders had initially been in talks to lease the building from the federal government.
“And now, all of a sudden they’re saying, ‘no, we’re going to dispose of it.’” Rickennmann said. “Now, we’re trying to stay in line.”
Under the mayor’s vision, the city would purchase both the 16-story office building and the attached courthouse. He said the courthouse property has enough office space that the city could rent some of it out. For the tower, he said the property already has amenities like a daycare and proximity to bus lines, that it would be a good location for apartments design and priced for middle-income workers.
The buildings also sit just across Laurel Street from Finlay Park.
He added that the first step would be for the city to try to purchase the courthouse, but that most likely the city would have to purchase both buildings because they are connected.
It’s not immediately clear what it would cost the city to purchase the properties. Rickenmann said that the city could buy the property for “a minimal amount” if it was acquired for public use, but if a private developer wanted in, the price would change.
The office building is home to several federal agencies, including the Social Security Administration.
Federal officials say getting the property off the government’s real estate portfolio would save $56.3 million in “delinquent maintenance,” and more than $3 million in annual maintenance costs, according to a media release.
The property was built in 1979 and named for the late South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond. It’s also on the National Register of Historic Places.
In September, federal officials celebrated its first sale since announcing the “accelerated” disposition plans: offloading a historic former U.S. courthouse in Des Moines for $2.6 million. Developers who purchased that property plan to redevelop it into upscale housing, according to local news reports.
If the city were to flip the properties, the project could join another redevelopment on the table nearby for the former Veterans Administration office building at 1801 Assembly St. Developer Webb Yongue in January told The State his team is looking to turn the long-vacant office property into a full-service hotel with a rooftop bar.
