2006 News Releases2006 News Releases
Apr. 20, 2006
New master plan to change the face and future of Columbia’s Waterfront District
A master plan unveiled would change the face and future of Columbia‘s waterfront area in conjunction with the development of Innovista, the University of South Carolina research campus initiative.
The project, which involves the potential development of more than 11 million square feet of residential, commercial and retail space, could also generate more than $1.6 billion in economic activity associated with construction, add in excess of 8,700 jobs to the local market, generate more than $270 million in additional retail sales, and increase property taxes by $17 million, according to analyses prepared by Dr. Donald Schunk of the Moore School of Business and Washington-based Economic Research Associates.
A community briefing, hosted by the Waterfront Steering Team, Guignard Associates, and the University of South Carolina, was held at the S.C. State Museum. The Waterfront Steering Team is the citizen-leader group charged with the mission of guiding the initiative. The Team will be headed by Bill Boyd of Haynesworth Sinkler Boyd. Members of the Waterfront Steering Team were introduced at the briefing.
The wet lab research space will be located in the USC Future Fuels™ Building at the new Horizon Center, a public-private partnership situated in the heart of Innovista. The unique location of the lab space within the center will situate research and wet lab research space facilities directly across the street from the fuel cell companies.
The focus of the briefing was a transformational master plan for more than 500 acres of Columbia's Waterfront and Innovation Districts. The plan, designed by renowned international urban planning firm Sasaki Associates, encompasses an area bounded on the north by Gervais Street and on the south by Catawba Street. From Assembly Street, the area stretches west to the Congaree River.
This master planning process began in September 2005, when Guignard Associates made almost 100 acres of its land holdings on the Congaree River available for inclusion in the planning and development process for Innovista. According to the plan, the land will feature a public waterfront park as its centerpiece, complete with green spaces, an amphitheatre, and pedestrian paths that will also connect with the Three Rivers Greenway.
Mixed-use residential and commercial development would overlook the Waterfront Park along a new north-south parkway and expanding east back to the railroad cut adjacent to the existing Innovation District. The parkway is designed to give the public easy access to the park and the surrounding Waterfront and Innovation Districts.
Charles Thompson, representing Guignard Associates, remarked that Guignard Associates is extremely proud to be involved with a project of this high quality and magnitude and welcomes the opportunity to collaborate with the University of South Carolina, the City of Columbia, and the citizens of the region.
“We have always recognized the enormous potential of this land and its importance in the history and future of this community,” said Thompson. “We are making significant portions of our land available for the waterfront park and are genuinely excited about the contribution it will make to the character of this area.”
University of South Carolina President Dr. Andrew Sorensen said the addition of the Guignard Associates waterfront property will significantly advance the potential of the University‘s vision for Innovista and will serve as a transformational catalyst for the entire area.
“Our initiative to create Innovista and, within it, a vibrant Innovation District where researchers and citizens from all walks of life can interact, have easy access to restaurants, residential living, shopping, the arts and recreation, will now be made whole with the riverfront as a magnet and an essential component of the mix,” Sorensen said. “The inclusion of this treasured resource, the land along the river, as an integral component of this development, will truly distinguish us from virtually all other university research initiatives in the United States.”
Sorensen also observed that more than 60 percent of the land included in the master plan is owned by groups or individuals outside Guignard Associates or the University. Sorensen and Guignard Associates requested that a Waterfront Steering Team of citizens act as stewards of the unfolding waterfront master plan.
Speaking on behalf of the Steering Team, Boyd shared enthusiasm for the initiative and acknowledged the magnitude and potential impact of the project.
“Coupled with the other exciting projects going on in the city and the region, this represents a once in a lifetime opportunity for the citizens of Columbia and the region and the state It is important to ensure that all of these projects take place and that everyone participates in this renaissance,” said Boyd.
Columbia Mayor Bob Coble expressed his excitement about the collaboration and about the opportunity that this development represents for the Columbia area.
“We have all recognized for quite some time the value and the promise that the river has for our city, as well as the promise that collaboration with the University and the Guignards holds,” Coble said. “What we‘re unfolding today will have a dramatic impact on generations of not only Columbians but also on citizens throughout this region and our state. As others before me have mentioned today, it would be difficult to find this kind of environment anywhere else in the world.”
A rendering of the future Waterfront District
