Hotel project damages sculptures, disrupts peaceful garden at Columbia art studio
When work crews arrived at a construction site last month along Huger Street, they moved quickly to clear a small grove of trees and brush that was in the way of a hotel project in Columbia’s growing Vista area.
But the work encroached on a popular art studio next door, ripping into a pollinator garden and damaging several sculptures that had been developed on the venue’s back lawn near a tributary of the Congaree River, say artists and board members at Stormwater Studios. The clearing also took out part of a fence made of native vines, leaving a gaping hole in what was once a lush border of vegetation.
Many familiar with what happened hope the developers will compensate Stormwater Studios for the loss, but they’re also shaking their heads at how something like that could happen. Those developing the hotel site were inconsiderate when doing the work, some studio supporters say.
“We didn’t have any heads up,’’ said Eileen Blyth, a local artist who works out of Stormwater Studios.
“I get it, it’s a hotel, and they are putting a parking lot in — but it’s just the way it was done.’’
Leaders at Stormwater Studios are working with a Mount Pleasant company and its subcontractors to compensate the site and the artists for losses. Board member Lee Snelgrove said he’s optimistic that some restoration will occur.
Still, the lost vegetation could take months to fully restore and damage to artwork is hard to fix, they say.
Blyth said an eight-foot tall metal sculpture she crafted fell over and broke after crews pushed a tree from the hotel site onto the studio property. The $2,200 sculpture, abstract art work that used materials from the old state mental hospital site on Bull Street, can’t be repaired, she said.
Another sculpture, crafted from wood by a different artist, was hit by the tree that was bulldozed from the hotel site, according to a video obtained by The State. The top of the sculpture broke away when the tree fell, the video shows.
Meanwhile, a pollinator garden – composed of native species planted to attract bees, butterflies and birds – suffered damage when work crews dragged away the tree they had pushed over onto the Stormwater land, said Karen Murphy, who planted the garden and the vegetative fence that suffered during the clearing.
Murphy, with help from two grants provided by Columbia Green and Richland County, had been working on the pollinator garden and vegetated fence for two years. The shady garden area was peaceful and private before the work was done, she said.
“All that area is just totally exposed and the garden has gone from being a shade garden, to full sun,’’ Murphy said. “They were very callous about this.’’
David Lane, a project manager with Construction Professionals Inc. of Mount Pleasant, said “we were simply clearing the property and it sounded to me like a tree got away’’ from a company subcontractor. Lane said the company and its subcontractor, which he did not name, are working with Stormwater Studios to make up for the loss.
The hotel project, a Residence Inn, has not been under construction long. Crews, so far, have been working on a parking lot that will serve the hotel. The area where the hotel is being built is along a developing corridor of hotels between Assembly Street and the Congaree River.
It seems unlikely that project officials will face any penalties from the city. A mistake caused some confusion when the city gave the project its approval, Columbia officials said.
Developers are often required to maintain certain buffers – typically vegetation – between creeks and project sites so that pollution doesn’t run unfiltered into the water. But in this case, the city said it failed to require buffer standards for the development project adjacent to Kinsler Creek.
“The city of Columbia acknowledges a review oversight during the approval process for the Vista hotel development near Kinsler Creek,’’ Columbia stormwater officials said in a written statement.
City officials did not elaborate, but said they have an agreement to install a device to filter stormwater before it gets to Kinsler Creek.
Congaree Riverkeeper Bill Stangler said the city’s mistake is unfortunate. Had city staff required the buffer rules, that could have helped save some of the vegetation and protected sculptures on the Stormwater Studios property, he said. Work crews may have taken more care, he said.
“They may not have been able to clear as aggressively as they did,’’ Stangler said. “The city dropped the ball in kind of letting this thing go through.’’ Stangler also said “these contractor folks need to be more thoughtful and careful.’’
This story was originally published January 13, 2025 at 10:51 AM.
