John A. Carlos II / Special to The Free Times
In the middle of it all sits the Vista, in a prime spot to become a further conduit and destination in itself.
“You’re close enough where you can be tied to Finlay Park, you’re close enough to the river, you’re close enough to all those restaurants,” Rickenmann said. “You’ve got a (Publix) grocery store already established there. You’ve got banks, you’ve got all the infrastructure that’s needed.”
A mixed bag?
The moment presents an opportunity for the Vista to fill some needed gaps, such as improved infrastructure to encourage walkability, more housing options and a greater variety of retailers, Craig said.
“We’re doing a lot of filling in of a lot of really good stuff that we already have, we just need to protect what we already have,” she said.
Barriers mark the current end of Greene Street at the intersection with Huger. The city plans to extend the street grid towards the Congaree River to meet a planned riverfront park in the coming years.
Some feel leaders are putting the proverbial cart before the horse when encouraging new investment and growth.
Full-time residents of the Vista are excited for new amenities in the neighborhood, but worry leaders aren’t considering the cumulative impacts of each project coming to fruition at the same time, said Carolyn Leedecker, president of the Vista Neighborhood Association and HOA.
“We’re not fighting development that they want to bring in,” Leedecker said. “We just don’t think that they’re planning for it the way they should, so that it doesn’t affect those of us who live here full-time.”
The momentum also could pose a threat to the district’s legacy as a local arts district and its historic character, especially as USC continues to expand, Craig said.
Construction is underway at The Verve, a student housing complex expected to open in Fall 2026. It joins two other student housing complexes at the intersection of Blossom and Huger streets, near Columbia’s planned riverfront park.
“Don’t let the unique character of each of these districts get homogenized,” she said. “Columbia is not everyday, anywhere, USA. We’re a historic city and the more we embrace our history, the better we’ll be.”
In a sense, the Vista has always served a purpose in Columbia during the city’s past lives — it was an industrial zone when the city looked to its riverfront only to encourage manufacturing, and became an entertainment district when local artists needed a place with cheap rents.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.postandcourier.com ’
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