Opinion articles provide independent perspectives on key community issues, separate from our newsroom reporting.

Letters to the Editor

TitleMax building needs to be removed

Owen Chastain owns the badly damaged TitleMax building on Devine Street. Chastain has been unable to come to a resolution with the county on what will become of the building. He hopes to tear the building down and sell the property to a developer who will then develop on the land, but he said Richland County has told him that floodplain laws would restrict future development.
Owen Chastain owns the badly damaged TitleMax building on Devine Street. Chastain has been unable to come to a resolution with the county on what will become of the building. He hopes to tear the building down and sell the property to a developer who will then develop on the land, but he said Richland County has told him that floodplain laws would restrict future development. Tim Dominick tdominick@thestate.com
Columbia, SC

When I hear discussion of how long it will take to rebuild after Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, I need only drive to the intersection of Devine Street and Crowson Road to see the TitleMax building hanging precariously close to Gills Creek. It has been two years, yet nothing has been done about the three buildings that were damaged during the flood.

Are we to wait until another storm washes those buildings into the creek? Will there have to be more lives lost before these buildings are removed? Let us hope not. It is time for the city and county councils to come together in a bipartisan agreement to rectify this problem.

Mana Hewitt

Columbia

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