COLUMBIA, S.C. — A wooded stretch of land off Garners Ferry Road could soon have new life.
Developers are hoping to bring more than 220 townhomes to the space between Patterson Road and Greenlawn Drive.
Elanda Cumbee directs a nearby childcare center and said growth could be a positive.
"I think that it’s great for the community," Cumbee said, "that it would bring more business for us and we could serve the families as they come.”
Still, there are questions among residents, including traffic concerns and affordability.
"Are they going to be economically affordable for everyone," Kristen Faust, an area cosmetologist, said, "'cause it looks like it's jacking the prices up on apartments over there already on Patterson Street."
Hoping to provide some clarity were developers at a Columbia Zoning meeting this week, as they made their pitch for the project to move forward.
"This will be homeownership. It will not be rental," one representative for the developer said. "8,600 cars per day would allow the roadway to operate... we're half that right now, so we feel very confident we're not going to cause issues with traffic."
While there are no exact numbers, developers said the cost of a townhome will be less than $400,000.
"That's a changing figure every day with the rising costs," another developer representative said. "We would really like to be somewhere in the low 200s for this product."
The project did get the green light from the zoning board, thought it still has more steps before development can begin.
"It is going to change," Faust said. "I mean, you've got to think, these are old homes. A lot of people retired here. So, it is will change it."
Also, moving forward in the area, are plans for a new gas station for Garners Road at Fountain Lake Drive near the Walmart and Aldi grocery stores.
That project also has additional steps with the city before development can begin.