BLYTHEWOOD, S.C. — A 300-unit zoning request is drumming up mixed reactions in Richland County.
That's because a rezoning request for a proposed housing development is scheduled for its second reading before Richland County Council this Tuesday.
At issue is a 55-acre plot of land located off Interstate 77 and Wilson Boulevard. The land is currently zoned for commercial and industrial use. Bill Theus with Taylor/Theus Holdings, the company looking to develop this area, spoke at the April 25 public zoning hearing.
"We have 55 acres, roughly, left and it’s our contention that we’re not going to absorb it with commercial uses, with e-commerce and such big shopping centers are just not coming," he said. "So, we would like to be able to put up to 300 units on the portion of this property that had previously not had that as a use."
"We did not use 230 of our residential units that were approved on the multifamily piece and the single-family piece so we [are] 230 fewer units than what were previously approved and we would like to add 70 to that to have 300 units," he added.
The proposed changes are in the District Councilwoman Gretchen Barron represents. At the April 25 council meeting, she addressed the project.
"We do have town meetings and do allow the applicants to have an audience with the constituents in the district," Barron said. "Mr. Theus and his team did attend a virtual town hall, and this item was deferred previously because there was concerns from staff. Those concerns have been fleshed out and aired out and because of that, I am moving to approve this item."
The proposal has drawn some skepticism from residents like Kalil Wilson in the surrounding neighborhoods. He's been living in a housing development next to the proposed area for three years and feels like a few hundred new units wouldn't be beneficial.
"I feel like apartment complexes keep expanding and adding on when there's already vacant apartments; so, it doesn't seem like the most crucial thing now."
He has concerns about what new construction could do to the area too.
"I know, for sure, it would affect some of the wildlife back and be a little bit nosier than I'd like for the area," he said.
However, some residents are excited by new development. One homeowner who lives by the southern part of the proposed site said that, with Scout Motors bringing an estimated 4,000 jobs to the area, he sees new housing options as a plus.
"This is a pretty decent area. If they can do the same thing they did here for the people moving in for that purpose of getting a job at Scout Motors, I think they're going to find pretty good housing here," he said.
His only concern is being so close to the interstate and having to deal with extra traffic.
"If they build it out right with the traffic patterns and stuff, I think it'll be fine," he added.
The proposal is scheduled for its second reading at this Tuesday's county council meeting.