COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Greene Street Corridor also referred to as the Williams Street Extension is something that Columbia has been in conversation about since the 90s. However, Mayor Daniel Rickenmann says the city's steps toward bringing the proposed vision to life, just hit another roadblock.
"We have applied for this RAISE grant three times, and this is the third time we've been told no. I think it's time to take a step back and look at it differently, and have more conversations about what it could be," Rickenmann said.
The RAISE grant from the federal government would have given the city $18 million to put toward the project.
Mock-ups of the proposed area were shown to the city council in 2007 and showed a small walking trail with an amphitheater along the Congaree River, and businesses lining the sides.
Rickenmann says Willaims Street needs to be fully opened to keep this project moving forward, but right now the street is owned by private investors and blocked by construction.
The mayor says now that the grant has been declined again, it may be time to re-think the project altogether.
"Maybe I need to sit back and say, 'Okay, is there a different way to do this, and how could we do it?' Is there a way that a developer could fund the money using the land? Then turn it over to the state, and maybe it becomes a state park. You know there's just so many conversations that haven't been had," Rickenmann said.
In 2010 the city collected a penny tax that was also supposed to put money toward the project. Right now, the city has $9 million from the state and $4 million dollars left over from the collected penny tax that they could put toward the project.
House Minority Leader, Todd Rutherford says he helped advocate for the $9 million from the state. He feels that Columbia should try to do all it can to continue with the project.
"We sit within three rivers but most people in Columbia can't even see the rivers, they have to go outside of the city to see them. We're trying to change that and believe that the Williams Street project would do that. So we're going to have to sit down and figure out what we can do to go after the money," Rutherford said.
Rutherford and Rickenmann both believe that the corridor could bring an economic boost to the area. The next step is for the city council to have a conversation about where they want the project to go from here.
Mayor Rickenmann says there are no plans to restart work on the Green Street Corridor right now but says he will keep the community updated on what the city plans to do.