COLUMBIA, S.C. — The City of Columbia is set to put 13 properties, currently housing city offices, on the market following the centralization of the police department staff.
Notable among these are Justice Square, situated at the corner of Washington and Lincoln Streets in the Vista, currently hosting the police headquarters and municipal court.
A two-story building on the corner of Bull and Taylor Streets, and another on the corner of Main and Laurel Streets, are part of this redevelopment plan.
"We've been traveling across the southeast meeting with developers who have proven that they build quality products and maintain them and help bring the right clients to those properties. And we will continue to do that," said Mayor Daniel Rickenman.
Residents express diverse opinions on the future use of these soon-to-be-vacant spaces.
"I feel like we need more hotels," said Brandon Lee.
"I'd like to see more shopping centers, at least downtown," said Keyshawn Davis. "More apartment complexes that are affordable."
Rickenmann emphasized that more development requires more density.
"We lost nine and a half percent of our population over the last decade," said Rickenmann. "So building that back-up, new construction, smaller, more amenity-driven properties is what people are looking for today."
Public records indicate that the total value of these three properties amounts to at least three million dollars.
Rickenmann anticipates a boost in tax revenue for the city once these properties are sold, describing the impact as akin to "breaking glass" with far-reaching positive effects.
"Using some of those fundings as well to be the seed and then we just keep rolling those dollars into other projects so we can continue to be the planter of the seed and spark growth in areas that need an injection," said Rickenmann.
Columbia aims to start construction in April or May of 2024, with the entire project potentially completed in 18 months or less.