COLUMBIA, S.C. — A new luxury apartment complex is in the works for Main Street in downtown Columbia.
“This is not a student housing project. We specifically designed our leasing criteria both for here and down at Vista Commons to exclude undergraduate students,” said developer Steven Middleton.
2222 Main Street will be geared toward young professionals.
“It’s really the whole gambit of folks who you might find, who are now known as renters by choice,” said Middleton.
The building will be three stories tall with 250 luxury apartments.
“We would expect this project I think to be one of the nicest, if not the nicest one, in the Columbia area, and get rents I hope, knock on wood, that would reflect that,” he said.
The amenities will certainly live up to the luxury standard. The complex will have a bike shop, co-working space, a fitness center and even a pet spa. It will be located where the former Jim Moore Cadillac dealership was between Main and Sumter Streets. It will also be between Franklin and Scott streets.
Historians in the community said they feel the history of the location should be honored. “What it really was, was the brainchild of one of Columbia’s pioneer automobile dealers and a moving force in the Capital City in the post World War II period,” said Historic Columbia director of cultural resources John Sherrer.
Historic Columbia said it initially had other plans for what could have been done with the space. “We were on the cusp of something that I felt was going to be a remarkable opportunity for redevelopment of this property through the harnessing of potential tax credits, Bailey Bill, and so forth,” said Sherrer.
The development plan is still pending approval by the City of Columbia's Design/Development Review Commission (DDRC).