Whopping $100M Columbia apartment project clears a hurdle with county vote.

Huger Flats Development

By Sydney Dunlap – thestate.com

The Richland County Council voted Tuesday to unanimously approve financial incentives for a $100 million housing development at the former SCANA bus storage site on Huger Street.

Huger Flats, previously identified by the county as Project Wichita, will take up nearly 6 acres at 1409 Huger St. across from The Nine student apartment complex, at the gateway to downtown Columbia’s Vista.The apartment development plans to include sidewalks, a pocket park and a 643-space parking garage, according to county documents.

During the council’s first vote on incentives for the project in March, it was proposed as an $90 million investment. The updated $100 million plan makes the development one of the most expensive housing developments in the city. The nearby CanalSide development remains the highest with over $100 million invested into apartments at the old South Carolina Penitentiary site.

The new Huger Flats location is one of the most prominent and valuable undeveloped properties in downtown. It has been empty since 2008 when SCANA tore down the old bus barn. The land was first developed in 1902 as an SCE&G manufactured gas plant, which left coal tar as a byproduct.

The apartment development plan currently estimates that required environmental remediation of the area will cost over $1 million. Other large costs include building the parking facility and modernizing and burying electric lines. Huger Flats also plans to relocate and modernize stormwater and sewer mains, add green spaces and improve the roadway. There is an estimated total of $22 million of public infrastructure improvements related to the development.

The project is to be developed by Atlanta-based Stratus Property Group, according to county documents. Jeff Koon, a representative from Stratus Property Group said the company is working with stakeholders in the area and is looking forward to proceeding with the project.

“It’s good to see some reinvention of the area on the way,” Koon said. “We’re looking forward to that being kind of a connecting piece between existing properties.”

As a part of the approval, the company agreed to rent apartments at a rate affordable to residents earning between 80% and 120% of the Columbia area median income. In exchange for the company’s $100 million investment, it will get a 50% property tax break for 15 years.

There have been other attempts to redevelop the site in the past, including a 2016 pitch to build a supermarket and apartments, but none have been unsuccessful. The site sits beside another notable vacant property, the former Kline Iron and Steel Co. property at the corner of Huger and Gervais streets, where multiple development proposals also have faltered over the years.

Read more at: https://www.thestate.com/news/local/article277456063.html#storylink=cpy