Electrician Contractor in West Columbia, SC

West Columbia, SC 09/06/2023 - The City of West Columbia announced plans Wednesday for a major transformation along Meeting Street and the US-1 Corridor. This project aims to support the area’s already established entertainment, retail, and restaurant hub by not only making it visually appealing but creating easier access to shopping, dining, entertainment, and industry. The project will take place within the existing South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) right of way and is being funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) and SCDOT.

After working with project engineers and SCDOT on the Meeting Street portion of the project, the City’s Assistant Administrator of Development Tara Greenwood presented a rendering of the proposed improvements, from State Street to 9th Street along Meeting Street, at the September 5, 2023 Regular Council Meeting. This rendering showcased enhancements, including on-street parking, dedicated left turn lanes, planted medians, pedestrian crosswalks, and shared-use paths designed to accommodate both walkers and bikers.

The US Highway 1 Corridor portion of the project encompasses Highway 1 from Dreher Road to Wren Road and includes the following improvements:

Mayor Tem Miles expressed his enthusiasm, stating, "I am so excited for these projects. This work will help to push continued revitalization through the heart of West Columbia. This will directly improve the entire Highway 1 Corridor and greatly improve the areas adjacent to it."

Councilman Joseph Dickey said, “These improvements will enhance our on-street parking and contribute to creating a more pedestrian-friendly atmosphere in the River District.”

Councilman Mike Green emphasized, "My top priority is addressing the alarming number of accidents on the US-1 corridor, which currently holds the unfortunate distinction of having the highest accident rate and the most traffic in our city. Our commitment to safety enhancements isn't just a promise; it's a vital step in safeguarding the lives of our residents and commuters. By investing in these improvements, we're sending a clear message: safety comes first on US-1, and we're determined to make our streets safer."

Councilman David Moye stated, "The US-1/Meeting Street corridor has diverse sections with different challenges regarding traffic flow, beautification, safety, and parking. My hope is that these tailored plans will unify this key gateway and bring revitalization into our city from the river. Many thanks to City Staff, the Beautification Foundation, SCDOT, City Council, and community members who all play a part in bringing forward this transformative step for West Columbia."

Mayor Tem Miles says this is, "To make the neighborhood safer, to prevent traffic accidents and to slow traffic down, and to allow for better enforcement."

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — In West Columbia's neighborhoods, Saluda Gardens and Westover Acres, residents have asked for the city's help with speed limits. As of now, they're inconsistent. But that could be changing.

Driving the speed limit is something we are all called by state law, to do. But in a portion of West Columbia, how fast we’re allowed to go changes, depending on the neighborhood you're in.

The city explains most of the streets are 30 miles per hour. Westover Acres residents tell News 19 the speed limit varies from 20, to 25 to 30 miles per hour. While in Saluda Gardens, drivers in the area said they can go up to 35 miles per hour.

"We had a few citizens who reached out regarding speed limits and made a request to South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) to have all the speed limits in their neighborhood reduced to 25 miles per hour," Tem Miles said.

Miles is the mayor of West Columbia. He tells News 19 that he and the city want, "To make the neighborhood safer, to prevent traffic accidents and to slow traffic down, and to allow for better enforcement and consistent application of speed limits."

Miles explains he doesn’t know of any spots this would put a raise in the speed limit, only a reduction. However, some residents, like Rachel Dominick tell News 19 the layout of her neighborhood makes some areas more difficult to see.

"I’d be okay with it if we had a sidewalk, but since it’s already kind of dangerous walking through the neighborhood, I just think that with all the hills and curves, it probably makes more sense to have it slower in certain places, or at least maybe more caution signs about children playing," The Westover Acres resident said.

Dominick walks with her seven-month-old throughout the week and wants to ensure her family’s safety.

"When you’re at the top of this hill, you can’t see the bottom, so it is kind of scary and I do worry about it because we’re right at the bottom of it," Dominick said.

Others News 19 spoke with add that the consistency in speed will help to make sure everyone’s on the same page.

West Columbia city council passed the proposed ordinance on a 25 mile per hour speed limit unanimously. The council will notify SCDOT of their decision.

WEST COLUMBIA — The west side of the Congaree River continues to be in high demand with developers. Major projects finding success has prompted others to take on smaller ventures to make use of the bits of property that remain in the riverfront area.

The city of West Columbia has worked for years to turn the area near State and Meeting streets, dubbed the River District, into a hub of shopping and restaurants, recreation and living space.

Now, the fourth phase of the massive Brookland apartment complex is nearing completion. The first three phases are fully leased and elected officials expect the final 52 apartments to follow suit.

A few blocks southwest sits St. Ann’s Alley, a community of about 40 smaller two- and three-bedroom homes, ranging in size from about 1,100 square feet to just over 1,600 square feet. As the development enters its final phase, homes there are in demand, going for some $300,000, West Columbia City Councilman Mike Green said.

The success of these projects is drawing even more interest in the area.

“It’s starting to look great there,” said Gerald Meetze, a developer with his own West Columbia office and retail project underway in the district. “I think West Columbia is ripe for development.”

Green said the council is constantly approached by developers with ideas for building out smaller plots throughout the city.

The most recent of those projects to gain approval is Alexander Place, eight apartments and some 8,500-square-feet of restaurant and retail space on about three-quarters of an acre. Developer Wes Taylor of LTC Associates told city government the venture should take about 18 months to build.

“This prime location has experienced exciting growth in recent years and will easily support new thriving businesses in the development,” Taylor wrote in an application to the city.

Taylor should know about the river’s potential. He was behind the Congaree Park neighborhood of custom homes, located across the street from the Alexander Place site, which backs directly up to West Columbia’s riverwalk.

With the riverfront now filling in, the City Council is in talks about how it could work to shape future construction.

“As the city gets more developed, the opportunities get smaller so the game changes a bit,” said City Councilman David Moye.

Council members said they want to encourage dense development to meet the need for more housing in Lexington County.

“West Columbia can provide that; we have roads that have the capacity,” Green said.

But Moye said the current development code doesn’t always work well with the projects coming before the council. Those who want to build must then seek variances. He said drafting an infill ordinance could be one way to create a better balance, voicing the type of development the city would like to see while also making the permitting process simpler.

When the United States, particularly South Carolina cities and across the Southeast, gets to the end of this great period of residential growth, West Columbia wants to make sure it has improved its long-term prospects, ensuring the city is a place people will want to live well into the future, Moye said.

“I think we have a healthy appetite for development but we want to make sure the needs of the community are being met,” Moye said.

For example, Moye said the River District is in need of a grocery store.

Meetze, who has done historic development projects along Chapin’s main street, thinks establishing an architectural review board could be another option for West Columbia.

Along Meeting Street, at the corner of 9th Street, Meetze is building a combination of second-floor office space with retail on the ground floor. He’s seen the trend away from massive office towers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and is hoping to cater to new needs.

Tenants will include a real estate developer, marketing firm and civil engineering firm, with the showroom for Capital Kitchen and Bath on the first floor.

Across from Meetze’s building, another developer is seeking approval for a new zoning designation, once which would allow for residential use.

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WEST COLUMBIA — Three national headliners were announced for the city of West Columbia’s inaugural Meeting Street Music Fest, slated for Sept. 16 on the 500–700 blocks of Meeting St.

The one-day, four-hour festival will feature three acts: The Reggie Sullivan Band, Billy Joel tribute band Turnstiles and Meli’sa Morgan.

Morgan is an R&B recording artist who has released music since the ’80s. One of her most notable songs is a cover of Prince’s “Do Me Baby,” which she released in 1985 and charted a year later.

The Reggie Sullivan Band is a local act that has toured nationally. The three-man group formed in 2012 and is anchored by front man Reggie Sullivan, who plays the stand-up bass.

Turnstiles is dedicated to all things Piano Man. The Billy Joel tribute brand formed in 2011 and is comprised of six members.

The festival will run from 4-8 p.m. on Sept. 16 and feature local and regional bands, as well.

Jazz music fans in Columbia and perhaps all around the country are about to get an embarrassment of riches when summer ends.

The ColaJazz Foundation, a nonprofit with the goal of making the capital city and South Carolina a premiere jazz destination in the Southeast, has announced the dates for the ColaJazz Festival.

The festival will take place on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, 2023. Day one will be at the SC State Museum at 301 Gervais St. and day two will be at the 1700 block of Main Street.

The lineup hasn’t been announced yet, but the festival has compiled an impressive array of performers over its six-year existence.

Past editions of ColaJazz Fest have included performances by the Wynton Marsalis Septet, Chris Potter, Wess “Warmdaddy” Anderson, Scotty Barnhart, Liz Rosa, Carl Allen, Aimee Nolte, the Flat Out Strangers, Dante Lewis, Reggie Sullivan, the Soda City Brass Band, Brittany Turnipseed, the Partly Cloudy Brass Band, Amos Hoffman and Jim Mings — all highly respected and critically acclaimed players with impressive careers. The styles of music on display varies, as well, from blues, Latin, gypsy, swing, fusion, groove to straight-ahead jazz.

And, the festival has proven popular with both audiences and critics, winning the 2021 Governor’s Award and taking the Free Times’ “Best Music Event” prize two years in a row.

Day one of the ColaJazz Fest runs from 6 p.m to 10 p.m. and serves as an opening gala event, where the SC State Museum will play host to a full bar, hors d’oeuvres and an evening of first-rate jazz music. Day two is called “Sunday Funday” and will run outdoors from 3 p.m. until 9 p.m. There will be food trucks and beer trucks on-site, as well.

The festival is the brainchild of the ColaJazz Foundation, founded in 2015 by local jazz trumpeter Mark Rapp. Rapp created the foundation to recognize and uplift jazz talent in South Carolina. ColaJazz started as a relatively small, concentrated effort, producing a compilation album in 2015 that featured local jazz musicians.

Since that starting point, the foundation has become a vital part of Columbia’s music scene, creating an annual season including the ColaJazz Summer Camp, ColaJazz Fest, SC Public Radio programs, after-school curriculum, Jazz for Young People concerts & workshops, Great Day in Columbia, Live in the Lobby at Koger Center for the Arts, monthly Dinner & Jazz concerts, Jazz Appreciation Month, the ColaJazz Crawl and International Jazz Day concert.

WEST COLUMBIA — Plans for a makeover of the Lexington County city’s main thoroughfare have caught the attention of business owners who have long craved a more cohesive retail district with more places to park.

West Columbia is crafting plans to invest more than a third of its pandemic recovery funding in road improvements on Meeting Street, one of the main corridors connecting the heart of West Columbia to the Vista in Columbia, where it becomes Gervais Street and travels past the S.C. Statehouse.

West Columbia, a city of 18,000 just west of downtown Columbia, hopes to turn the section of Meeting Street between 9th Street and State Street into a walkable retail district, through traffic slowing, pedestrian safety and beatification projects, Mayor Tem Miles told The Post and Courier.

“My hope has always been that Meeting Street would be a destination for people for shopping and restaurants and other businesses like mine,” said Chaye Alexander, owner of Meeting Street Jazz Venue Chayz Lounge. “It’s coming … and Chayz Lounge is going to be dead smack in the center of all of it.”

West Columbia’s decision to fund the project with pandemic recovery dollars comes just two months after voters nixed Lexington County’s proposed penny tax, putting an end to the city’s initial plans to pay for the improvements from its share of those funds.

Although Meeting Street, which is also U.S. Highway 1, is one of three major corridors connecting the county to downtown Columbia, West Columbia officials and business owners have both said they are unconcerned with the traffic that might come with a more established retail district, like those seen by drivers through West Columbia’s neighbor, the town of Lexington.

When Meeting Street’s facelift was planned as part of the penny tax, improvements to the road were high on the list of 120 projects attached to the referendum, which sought a 1 percent bump in the county’s sales tax to fund road repair and infrastructure improvement projects.

Although voters rejected the penny tax in November by a margin of 9 percentage points, West Columbia chose to move forward with its project, funding it instead with dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act, federal money that was approved in 2021 to help relieve state and local governments affected by the pandemic.

West Columbia will spend $3.5 million of its total $9 million in ARPA dollars on the Meeting Street project.

Concrete plans for the project are still being finalized, but the city has a vision of a leveled-up retail district. Efforts to slow traffic, like narrowing the road and reducing speed limits, will make the the area safer for cars and pedestrians and landscaping projects will make it a pleasant place to eat and shop.

Alexander said she would welcome more businesses on the street because it would become a destination for people in West Columbia and across the bridge in Columbia.

“I need company,” Alexander said. “I need to see more restaurants. I feel like an only child.”

While local business owners are excited for a bolstered downtown district, one issue is at the front of their minds: parking.

“There is no further growth without adding public parking,” said WECO Bottle and Biergarten owner Phill Blair. “Everything is maxed out. We only exist by the grace of our neighbors allowing us to park in their parking lots.”

Blair said West Columbia’s bar and food scene has room for huge growth, but the parking crisis needs to be resolved before that can happen.

“There’s so many concepts that we don’t have over here that I think people would really like,” Blair said. “But there is no way to do it because you don’t have the infrastructure.”

The town of Lexington took similar steps to build up its Main Street two decades ago, by adding in crosswalks and parallel parking spaces to slow traffic and make the area a more retail-friendly street, town spokeswoman Laurin Barnes said.

Just as Meeting Street in West Columbia is one of the major connectors from Lexington County to downtown Columbia, Lexington’s Main Street is a continuation of Augusta Road, the same street that Meeting Street flows into, and connects the thruway to West Main Street, a major road with much of Lexington’s commerce.

When Lexington built the Icehouse Amphitheater, a concert and event venue next to Main Street, in 2016, pedestrian traffic and retail businesses on Main Street exploded, Barnes said.

Lexington’s Main Street district is thriving, but traffic through downtown Lexington, especially at rush hour, has been a major concern for Lexington residents and those who drive through.

Although heavy traffic flow through Main Street has caused headaches on Lexington’s Main Street, West Columbia’s officials and business owners are not worried about the same issues.

Meeting Street was constructed to be the primary connector between West Columbia and the Vista in Columbia, but when Jarvis Klapman Boulevard was built in the 1970s, most of Meeting Street’s traffic was diverted, Miles said.

“I just I don’t think it will be a problem, really,” Alexander said. “It’ll still be a main corridor. It’s just that it will slow traffic down some, which really isn’t a bad thing.”

As Lexington has learned, though, there are ways to manage and mitigate traffic, if the issue does emerge.

“Own your own traffic issues and find a way to fix them,” Lexington Town Administrator Britt Poole said.