Main Street High-Rise Could Be Healthy for Retail, Urban Renewal | wltx.com

Main Street High-Rise Could Be Healthy for Retail, Urban Renewal
Columbia, SC (WLTX) - With the new year comes a new high-rise for Columbia, and hopes that the state-of-the-art structure will help revitalize downtown business.

Columbia's Main Street has seen a boost in new business over the past couple of years, and the newest building at the corner of Main and Gervais is meant to push progress even further into the future. One company is making its home in the building, while focusing on the modern, and respecting the city's history.
"Got the view of the State Capitol, Williams-Brice Stadium," Edens & Avant CEO Terry Brown points out, "Every interior wall is glass, so every single person has access to the exterior." Once they get used to the view from the ninth, 10th and 11th floors, the employees still have a lot to enjoy in their new home - like creative thinking rooms, recycled carpet, and a bistro area.
The firm that owns and operates shopping centers all over the country is the first occupant to move into the high-rise, after they spent 20 years at the other end of Main Street. "I think a lot of our employees were really shocked this morning to see the openness of the space, to see the open atrium, to see how light it was," says Brown.
They're hoping that the move will bring more business to restaurants and retail shops there. "Urban renewal, urban centers, retail in urban areas is a big part of our business and what we do," Brown says, "We definitely think that adding 500 new office workers at this very corner will spur business on Main Street, it'll spur business in the Vista as well."
Which could mean a boost to Columbia as a whole. The building's environmentally friendly practices could be an example to what comes next to the Capitol City. "In our shopping centers, we have sustainability programs, so it's important. I think it's culturally important to people of this generation," Brown says.
The building was designed by Duda Paine Architects out of Durham, NC and was developed by Holder Properties. The other two occupants will be moving in at a later time.

Sydney Cummins James Gilbert 12/28/2009 7:25:34 PM
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