So Exactly Who Is Moving Downtown?

South Carolina's capital city, Columbia, is experiencing an unprecedented downtown condo boom. A wide array of people are readily snatching them up, from baby boomers to young professionals.

1 minute read

September 12, 2006, 8:00 AM PDT

By Christian Madera @http://www.twitter.com/cpmadera


"The building boom in downtown Columbia is nothing less than a wholesale remaking of the city center â€" creating a new urban core of homes with river views, Viking kitchens and short walks to work, the restaurant or the art museum.

About 4,000 units have been built or announced recently, and that doesn’t include 3,000 more expected to spring up around USC's Innovista research district.

So who’s going to buy them?

Probably your neighbors."

Thanks to A. Lamar Calloway

Sunday, May 21, 2006 in The State

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Use Code 25for25 at checkout for 25% off an annual plan!

Redlining map of Oakland and Berkeley.

Rethinking Redlining

For decades we have blamed 100-year-old maps for the patterns of spatial racial inequity that persist in American cities today. An esteemed researcher says: we’ve got it all wrong.

May 15, 2025 - Alan Mallach

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

May 21, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of California High-Speed Rail station with bullet train.

California High-Speed Rail's Plan to Right Itself

The railroad's new CEO thinks he can get the project back on track. The stars will need to align this summer.

May 19, 2025 - Benjamin Schneider

Pale yellow Sears kit house with red tile roof in Sylva, North Carolina.

When Sears Pioneered Modular Housing

Kit homes sold in catalogs like Sears and Montgomery Ward made homeownership affordable for midcentury Americans.

30 minutes ago - The Daily Yonder

Waffle House restaurant in rural open area with large yellow and black sign and several cars parked in front.

Starting in 2026, You Can Charge Your EV at Waffle House

The 24-hour chain infamous for brawls and, to a lesser extent, waffles plans to install fast-chargers at many of its locations.

1 hour ago - Jalopnik

Two Rivian trucks charging at Rivian branded charging ports.

US Senate Reverses California EV Mandate

The state planned to phase out the sale of gas-powered cars by 2035, a goal some carmakers deemed impossible to meet.

May 22 - CALmatters