Offices near USC stadium owned for decades by The State eyed for apartments. What we know
The ball is rolling on potential new housing at the Shop Road site previously owned for decades by The State newspaper.
The longtime industrial site, where a massive printing press once whirred to life each day to print copies of the paper, has been empty since The State staff moved from that building in 2020.
Now, the nearly 23-acre property about a half mile from Williams-Brice Stadium could soon be repurposed.
The Richland County Planning Commission moved forward with a recommendation Monday to rezone the site, currently zoned for industrial uses, to allow for high density multi-family housing projects, like a large apartment building.
The exact details of the new housing project were not immediately available Monday. The State has contacted the project developer Landmark Properties for more information.
The Shop Road site would be able to have 402 housing units under the new zoning, according to an estimate from the county.
The development is being proposed at the same time the University of South Carolina is looking to build something new and exciting on more than 800 acres nearby along the Congaree Riverfront.
Jared Munneke with the development company Landmark Properties spoke on behalf of the zoning change Monday.
He specifically noted how the new housing would align with USC's vision for the future of the stadium district, which the university hopes to have a hand in shifting from its industrial roots into a vibrant activity center.
Several residents Monday told the Planning Commission that if it is going to allow more housing along Shop Road, the conditions of that and other area roads need to be improved, too.
'We've got a disaster in the making there,' said one resident, speaking of watching students walking, jogging or biking down the shoulder of Shop Road.
The area around Williams-Brice Stadium is notorious for lacking sidewalks. New sidewalks around the stadium are on the horizon, but residents Monday say the corridor as a whole needs to be much safer.
The former The State building would be the first parcel in that block of Shop Road allowed to have housing. The majority of the other parcels on that block remain zoned for 'heavy industrial' use. Despite this, multiple commissioners said the county's long-term development plans for envision the area becoming more mixed-use.
Other local projects led by the developer Landmark Properties include the off-campus student housing projects Saga and The Standard, a high rise completed in 2023 on Assembly Street in downtown Columbia.
Richland County Council must still approve the Planning Commission's decision before the zoning change is final. It is expected take up the first of three required votes on the matter March 25.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Some Zeeland neighbors want to block Mead Johnson expansion
ZEELAND, Mich. (WOOD) — While some property owners have gotten more than $1 million from Mead Johnson for land that the company needs to expand on East Main Street, Margie and Earl Klein aren't selling. Some neighbors say they hope the holdouts will help block the expansion, which they fear will destroy their neighborhood. The Kleins have lived since 1973 in their home about 150 yards west of the baby formula plant — at the heart of the company's controversial expansion plans. They raised two kids there. Her parents lived there in the 1920s. 'We still walk on the hardwood floors that my parents did,' Margie Klein said on Friday. In January, she answered a knock on her door. It was a stranger from Mead Johnson. 'He sat down on our couch and said, 'We want your property.' 'Really?' 'And all of this on both sides of you, and we want everything on Washington Avenue, also,'' she recalled. Mead Johnson, now owned by a United Kingdom-based company, says it needs to modernize. Its $836 million plan calls for an expansion that would mean leveling several homes on the north side of East Main Street, including the Kleins'. The company, which makes Enfamil, released renderings at a meeting this week. The plan requires the city to rezone some of the land from residential to industrial. A hearing is scheduled before the city's Planning Commission Thursday. The company is the third-biggest taxpayer in Zeeland and employs 500 people. 'Mead Johnson Nutrition takes pride in our deep roots in the Zeeland community where we have been producing some of the nation's most trusted baby formula products for more than 100 years,' the company said in a statement released on Friday. 'This investment in modernizing our operations in Zeeland reflects our commitment to sustained job creation and economic growth here in our local community, while also ensuring we maintain industry-leading quality standards and remain a trusted partner in pediatric nutrition.' 'Mead Johnson is important to the community, we want to keep them here,' City Manager Timothy Klunder said. 'We certainly don't want to see a desire where they would have to leave, but we also want then to do it in the right way.' Neighbors have planted signs and launched a website in opposition. Already, the company has bought out most of the Kleins' closest neighbors: One said he sold his home for $600,000 and must be out by July 31. Property records show the company paid $1.5 million for a house and barn a few doors away with an assessed value of less than $300,000. Two properties around the corner went for a combined $3.7 million — about 10 times their assessed value. The Kleins won't say exactly how much Mead Johnson has offered. It's somewhere between $500,000 and $1 million. 'We love our place, but we don't want to sell to Mead Johnson because they are pushy and demanding,' Klein said. Asked if she was holding out for more money, she responded: 'Oh heavens, no.' 'This has nothing to do with the money,' she continued. 'It's the whole principle of the thing. We have lived here for decades. We are so involved in the city of Zeeland, chamber of commerce back in the day. We love this town.' Jonathan Funckes lives on the south side of East Main Street. His home would face the expanded factory. 'I'll be looking at Industrial 2 (zoning),' he said. 'When we bought this, this was all residential.' When Funckes moved in 16 years ago, he said, the neighborhood was mostly rentals, some marred by graffiti. 'We've all in the last dozen years really improved it and brought the neighborhood up and are doing things to improve and make it look better, only to have the city just destroy our property values,' he said. Some neighbors said they fear city leaders have already decided. 'Why would you purchase these (properties) way above tax-assessed values if you didn't have some sort of promise?' Sue VandenBeldt, who lives a few doors away. 'My concern is that the city has sold our neighborhood out. I think my big concern is that we've lost trust in our officials we elected.' As for Jonathan Funckes, 'We're going to be fighting it, but at this point I'm preparing to sell, because I've had enough.' Perhaps, he said, the best hope is the Kleins not selling. 'That's the only saving grace at this point,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
3 days ago
- CBS News
Residents in Colorado's Elbert County fight Xcel Energy over transmission line running through their properties
As Colorado's energy infrastructure ages, Xcel Energy is aiming to build 550 miles of new transmission lines to accommodate the grid and Colorado's continuous growth. However, residents in Elbert County are resisting efforts from Xcel's proposition, as a portion of the project is intended to travel through the county, which they say will disrupt their way of life. Wednesday night, the Planning Commission voted to recommend denying Xcel's application to the Board of County Commissioners at the end of the month. Until then, Xcel has begun eminent domain initiatives as well as having already acquired nearly 50% of the land needed for the project voluntarily. Tuesday night at the county fairgrounds in Kiowa, Xcel presented their application to the Planning Commission. It went so long, it spilled over to Wednesday night. The Elbert County Staff of Community Development and Services deemed the application incomplete for not submitting more detail about wildfire protection, and recommended to the Planning Commission to deny the application, which they did. Route of Segment 5 The entire Power Pathway project consists of five segments, with Segments 2 and 3 completed and Segment 1 under construction. Xcel's $1.7 billion double-circuit 345-kilovolt electric transmission line will be used to increase reliability across Colorado. "If we lose one of our transmission segments, we have the ability to route electricity around the state," Andrew Holder, the Xcel Community Relations Director, told the commission during Tuesday's meeting. Xcel Energy's proposed line, Segment 5. CBS Colorado But for years, Xcel and those directly impacted or simply living in Elbert County have been at odds over the avenue of Segment 5. "The proposed route selected in Elbert County... is the least impactful compared to other route alternatives evaluated," said the Siting and Land Rights Manager, Jennifer Chester, in her presentation for Xcel to the Planning Commission. "A lot of folks are ranchers. It's our charge to take care of this land where we live," says Kerry Jiblits, who lives in Elbert County. Jiblits is a board member for the Elbert County Environmental Alliance (ECEA) with more than 400 people on its mailing list. While the transmission line isn't going through her property, Elbert County is her home. She "moved here for a reason," she says. The group formed to resist projects that harm the environment and wildlife in the area, Jiblits tells CBS Colorado. They are environmentalists who are all in for renewables. "We're not against the project, we're against this route." Xcel on the other hand, is looking to unlock solar and wind power potential with all that open space on the Eastern Plains. The utility company told CBS Colorado in a statement in part, "We have collaborated with the Elbert County community for four years, addressing questions, concerns and acquiring land rights voluntarily. We adjusted the project's location by 50 miles to accommodate community wishes while keeping project costs low for our customers." Those who participated in Tuesday's public comment say otherwise. "There was not one single person who spoke in favor of Xcel other than the Xcel representatives," Jiblits tells CBS Colorado. She and others in ECEA have met with Xcel many times and even with the president of Xcel Energy-Colorado, Robert Kenney. "Their idea of collaboration is to tell you that this is what [they're] going to do. They have not worked with us in the least." Risk of wildfire But the risk of wildfire is why the Community Development and Services staff in its presentation Tuesday recommended that denial. "The applicant has not submitted the request level of detail of information for proof of fire protection or risk associated with fire behavior." "Wildfire is a huge concern out here," says Jiblits. The Magic Dog fire last October near CO-86 used aerial firefighters, Jiblits tells CBS Colorado. The water came from a body that is adjacent to the proposed Segment 5 route. "They scooped water out of a pond nearby. The transmission lines will be going right next to that pond now. How are they going to be able to access that water?" CBS Colorado reached out to Elizabeth Fire Rescue about how they plan to work around the line in the future, but have not heard back. Elbert County fire districts cover at least 700 square miles and firefighters in the area are mostly volunteer. There's a way to avoid the risk. According to a 2021 study by Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the utility company is taking on the ambitious goal of burying 10,000 miles of above-ground electric distribution power lines in high-risk wildfire areas, which is called undergrounding. Even though PG&E has logistical and technical challenges awaiting it, as well as a near $20 billion price tag, it's possible and currently happening. The first speaker at Tuesday's meeting, Mike Walker of Elizabeth, said, "Xcel says it costs too much to bury the lines." What's in it for Elbert County? "There's no benefit. The power is for the Denver metro area," says Jiblits. Xcel told CBS Colorado, "While we do not provide electric service to Elbert County residents, the Pathway project will provide important tax revenue benefiting the county, cities, fire and school districts." Although Jiblits, and many in the county, aren't buying it. "The taxes that we will get from this project, will be offset by the money we lose in decreased property values and property valuations," says Jiblits. On its website, Xcel says they've used a third-party real estate appraiser analysis, and the transmission line will not impact property vales. Additionally, Holder said on Tuesday that Xcel will pay a 1.26% tax on its new facilities, on top of a $2.5 million project impact fee. "Their attitude is, 'We're going to do what we want. What you say doesn't matter.' They're just going through and checking boxes," Jiblits says. Eminent domain "There were several people who wanted to speak," Jiblits says about Tuesday night's meeting, "but who were unable to speak because of the ongoing litigation." That is eminent domain proceedings. Xcel told CBS Colorado partly, "We remain committed to making every effort to reach a fair and reasonable settlement, but when negotiations are unsuccessful, we have to exercise our eminent domain authority." Although alternate lines have been offered, Segment 5 is moving ahead as proposed. Jiblits says, with larger acreage farther east, families won't be as impacted from the project. "There are already rights of way out there that they could follow and use. They don't need to take our land for their project." Xcel and Elbert County residents will have to wait more than two weeks for a vote from the Board of Commissioners on June 24.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Johnson City Horizon 2045 project in final phase
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – For the last two years, Johnson City leaders have conducted citizen surveys and launched research projects into what the future of the city should look like. Thursday, the Johnson City Commission held a work session during which commissioners discussed updates to the city's Horizon 2045 project. Johnson City launches advisory committee for 'Horizon 2045' growth plan The joint session with the city planning commission went over the plan for the final phase of the project. During that time, planning consultant for Johnson City Whitney Hodges said officials have been listening to what the public said they want to see in Johnson City. 'We've had a citizen advisory commission just to kind of look through what we currently do, what we would like to see in the future, and kind of develop tools in order to create that vision,' said Hodges. 'We have done three kind of traditional public input sessions. We've done, I think, 15 different pop-up events where we've gone out to the public to ask their opinions. And then we've had 3-4, I would say, different online engagement.' A future land use map was shown in the presentation. Hodges said the map displays a vision for the mix and distribution of what land across Johnson City could be used for. Some of the uses include downtown, neighborhoods, and industrial. 'They are place-type designations,' said Hodges. 'Those place types will have kind of attributes and characteristics so that as we make decisions, it can give us some guidance as to what the community wanted to see at the time in order to create the vision that they're looking for, for Johnson City.' The land use map will be available to be viewed by the public starting Friday morning on the Horizon 2024 website. Hodges encourages the community to comment on what they want to see from the plan. 'There's a 30-day public comment period,' said Hodges. 'And we will give those comments to both the Planning Commission and the City Commission because both of those entities are willing to adopt this plan in order for it to be enforceable.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
