Creative and entrepreneurial hub planned in West Columbia

By Jessica Holdman jholdman@postandcourier.com – Post & Courier

WEST COLUMBIA — Investors plan to redevelop three West Columbia blocks into a creative and entrepreneurial complex.

JAMS + STARK development company announced Colite City, a “makers” community to be located between Jarvis Klapman and Meeting Street, near Wentworth Printing, the West Columbia library and the retail area known as Triangle City, as part of Columbia’s annual Growth Summit entrepreneurial conference.

“I study cities and I’ve traveled to cities and I’ve watched cities grow,” said Alex English, the retired NBA and University of South Carolina basketball star turned director of business development for JAMS +Stark. “Charlotte, Nashville, Austin — those cities were like Columbia. And what they did was, they brought business, they made it so that young people would stay and they would keep those young minds. But you got to have a reason, you got to have a place for young people to grow. And Colite City is going to be one of those places that keeps young people here.”

“It’s Columbia’s time right now,” English added.

The first 150,000-square-foot phase will have event space, as well as designer and studio spaces, a technology hub and a tap room and food hall, said Director of Development Wade Caughman. The project is inspired by similar developments in other cities, like Camp North End in Charlotte and Industry City in the New York City borough of Brooklyn.

“You’ve got the blacksmith, the taco truck and the technology company all in one location,” Caughman said.

It might not make sense to the average person, Caughman said, but he said this style of development has proven beneficial to companies in the past.

“People will be collaborating together,” Caughman said. “That’s what makes us different — all these smart people, all these creators, all these innovators, all these entrepreneurs in one location.”

And like those developments in Charlotte and New York, Colite City will be redeveloped on a former industrial site. Developers will renovate the former Colonial-Hites Company manufacturing plant. The company previously manufactured signs for businesses all over the globe. The historic building still has many of its original features, including windows, doors, and signage.

Initial tenants could range from a candle maker or a graphic designer to a tech startup or a tattoo artist. Both indoor and outdoor gathering spaces will be available for impromptu meetings, along with a rooftop area. Savannah College of Art and Design is collaborating on the design. Plans include adding a housing component to the complex in the future to further widen the property’s mix.

“This gives a kind of a ‘New Urbanism’ lifestyle, where you can truly spend a day living, working and playing. It’s a place to come and collaborate with other like-minded people,” Caughman said.

Companies and entrepreneurs will be able to choose from smaller spaces, ranging from 350 to 1,000 square feet, or have a larger space built out to their specifications.

 

Caughman said Colite City is less of an incubator but also will serve expanding companies.

“We want to help the companies and creators and innovators grow to the point we hope they end up on eight floors of a new high rise on Main Street,” he said.

JAMS + STARK plans to start construction at the beginning of 2023 with hopes of housing the first tenants in October.

Some previous developments by JAMS + STARK in the Columbia area include the NOMA Flats apartment complex on Columbia’s north Main Street, FLOW townhomes on Sunset Boulevard in West Columbia, City Club townhomes in the Vista, and redevelopment of the building that houses Motor Supply Co. Bistro in the Vista.

The location is just three miles from Columbia’s Main Street while also benefiting from the trendiness of West Columbia, which Columbia Chamber of Commerce President Carl Blackstone said plays into the area’s strengths.

“There is a huge number of small companies located throughout the Midlands that are looking for a home and I think West Columbia offers an attractive product,” he said.

Blackstone also said he thinks the metro area has enough financial wherewithal to support a multitude of city districts, from Main Street to BullStreet, Five Points to the Vista, North Main to West Columbia’s River District, and now Colite City.

“The more we can build up this culture the better we’ll be long term,” Blackstone said. “Not a lot of headquarters are moving here, so we need to embrace and invest in local companies as much as we can.”