COLUMBIA, S.C. — Columbia's Cottontown neighborhood inches closer to new apartment complex construction as developers await final approval.
Will Thrift, the former president of Cottontown's neighborhood association, recalls being approached by developers to put an apartment complex in that area. The site of the abandoned Jim Moore Cadillac dealership is now on the verge of becoming home to a 250-unit apartment complex.
"They closed on the property and they were planning on going forward with it, COVID hit, so that kinda got delayed," Thrift said.
Steven Middleton with Commonwealth Properties LLC said construction of the complex is one stamp of approval away from becoming a reality.
After obtaining site plan approval from the Design/Development Review Commission and the city council, Middleton mentioned that they are currently in the process of preparing construction plans, a process which is expected to take approximately three to four months to finalize. Following this, they will submit the plans for city review and permitting.
He said those plans will be sent to the city for approval and permitting and groundbreaking could be within the next six months.
Middleton added that the luxury apartments will span one to three bedrooms, with rent likely between $1,600 and $3,000. The complex will likely also have space for businesses.
Capital City Cornhole owner Kimberly Gagliardi is looking forward to new neighbors and the possibility of more business.
"New clientele, also it's been a vacant lot so it'll be nice to see new development there, improve the vibe of the neighborhood," Gagliardi said.
Neighbors are looking forward to the development too. One woman who lives across from the site who asked to remain anonymous said she has some hesitation when it comes to traffic but sees improvements to the neighborhood as a way to increase her own property value, too.
"Jim Moore, that property has been derelict for years; so, I'm looking forward to having it transformed into new neighbors, new businesses and support the area and really take it to the next area," she said.
Richland County District 6 Councilman Don Weaver said the new North Main Street developments could create a domino effect for the future of Columbia.
"Investors tend to follow other investors and when they see people putting their money in a block or two, they'll say the next block or two will become more valuable," he said. "You have these new residents that are in there paying higher rents, 'Oh, we want to be down there getting our share for retail business.'"
Thrift said that for a small neighborhood like Cottontown, this is giving them a fighting chance at becoming more prominent in Columbia.
"It would basically increase Cottontown's demographic footprint which would give us more visibility with city resources with all kinds of things - retail resources, amenities," he said.