COLUMBIA, S.C. — Columbia City Council approved on second reading a new student housing development to be located at 919 Catawba Street in the Whaley/Olympia neighborhood. The project is part of an incentive deal in partnership with Richland County to offer tax credits to developers.
In this instance, Catawba Apartments LLC will invest approximately $72 million to develop the site bounded by Catawba Street to the south, Lincoln Street to the west and railroad tracks to the north and east. The site is just south, across the railroad, from the University of South Carolina's Greek Village.
According to Columbia's Department of Economic Development, six student housing projects have been approved and received tax credit incentives since 2014.
In June 2014, Columbia City Council passed Resolution 2014-045 that amended an earlier resolution -- Resolution 2014-024 -- to allow tax incentives to privately owned student housing projects. (Resolution 2014-024 was adopted in March 2014 and set forth the criteria used to apply special source revenue credit to real property and excluded any development within the Bull Street Development Project).
During the June 1 meeting, Council members also approved:
- The annexation of two parcels of land along Old Leesburg Road -- together measuring approximately 50 acres -- and interim rezoning at the time of annexation to Single Family Residential District. The property is scheduled to have it's Site Plan Review during City of Columbia's Planning Commission regular meeting on June 7. Plans are for a 199-lot single-family residential subdivision, Canary Woods Phase 3.
- Zoning for approximately 70 acres along Bluff and Atlas roads and includes Congaree Pointe, Jerri Lane, Poinsett Loop and Beamer Loop. The property is currently owned by Hallmark Land Investments LLC, Bible Way Church of Atlas Road, Midlands Community Development Corporation. Plans for development of part of the property as 196 affordable senior housing units go before the city's Board of Zoning Appeals on June 3.
