Developers to build student apartments on Blossom
Students can count on an influx of private housing options in the next several years, according to Fred Delk, executive director of Columbia Development Corp.
Columbia real estate companies are currently working with two different developers to bring new student apartments to the Innovista district.
Arnold Properties is expected to close a deal with Monarch Ventures, a North Carolina-based housing company that recently opened a 440-bedroom luxury apartment complex near Coastal Carolina. The building is planned for the vacant property on the corner of Huger and Blossom streets.
Monarch’s chief executive, Shannon King, said she spent the last year looking at multiple sites in Columbia before settling on the 3.98-acre lot across from the baseball stadium.
“Columbia is going to be a great market. We’re hoping we can watch games from the rooftop,” King said.
The property will stand at seven stories, according to design plans, and have approximately 600 bedrooms. King describes her vision for the complex as modern with high ceilings and a resort-style rooftop pool. Average apartment size will be 1,180 square feet, and bedrooms in each unit will have individual bathrooms and walk-in closets.
King expects to start construction within the next year and to open the new apartments by 2014. She and Delk also hope that the project will help develop more walkways and bike paths from the Innovista district to the university, which are about two blocks apart.
“We’re bringing an urban college lifestyle closer to the campus,” King said. “I was shocked at how far student housing was in Columbia. Most operators would like to be within a mile of campus, but because the university borders a business district, it’s challenging to find land that close.”
These closer student apartments could be an alternative to the residential neighborhoods surrounding Five Points, where Associate Vice President of Student Affairs Jerry Brewer says complaints have risen from neighborhood associations about student partying and other problems.
While rent has not yet been decided, rates for the apartments near Coastal Carolina, including utilities and furniture, range from $595 to $650 per resident. King anticipates Columbia rates to be just higher that.
“We’re in the process of working with the city so we can begin to build,” King said.
Meanwhile, another developer is looking at converting the 300,000-square-foot Palmetto Compress and Warehouse into student apartments. Belk says this isn’t the first time developers have shown interest in the century-old building, which is listed among Richland County’s National Register of Historic Places, but projected costs of working around the warehouse’s old architecture have driven away many prospects.
But with the building’s history as a cotton warehouse and prime location, Belk suspects that someone will make the leap soon. At least he hopes so. In addition to the 600 residences brought by the Monarch at USC, another 600-bed complex would double Columbia’s downtown residency. Belk expects to see more apartments pop up along Assembly Street as USC’s student population continues to grow and demand for living space increases.
“I feel confident we’ll be hearing a lot about these new developments over the next several years,” Belk said. “We’re living in a changing world where a lot of people wouldn’t mind not fighting traffic, where students want to live within walking distance. There’s a real advantage in getting away from all of that.“