For the sticker price of $153.9 million in taxpayer funds, Innovista — the University of South Carolina’s ambitious live-work-play district — can become a reality in Columbia: at least the public portion, anyway.

Columbia City Council on Sept. 30 gave preliminary approval to the university-sponsored Innovista Redevelopment Plan, a crucial step toward establishing a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) District that would allow the city to issue bonds up to $150 million for such needs as updating road, sewer and stormwater infrastructure as well as implementing the many individual components of USC’s original Innovista Master Plan, prepared by Sasaki Associates in 2006.

Discover Plaza at USC

The idea behind the TIF is that such improvements would stimulate private investment in the district, which, according to the plan, encompasses 728 acres in the city and “is generally bounded on the north by the Vista, on the northeast by the State Capital [sic] complex, on the east by the University of South Carolina and on the south by the Granby and Olympia Mills neighborhoods.”

To be eligible to receive TIF accreditation, the city has to show the district meets certain criteria, such as being a “blighted area.” According to the university and the city, the district meets the definition.

“Although there are examples of quality development within the Innovista District … the quality of private development and, in particular, infrastructure to support development progressively degrades in the western and southern portions of the Innovista District,” the report states.

Additionally, the report cites other areas under which the district qualifies for TIF funding, including presence of structures below minimum code standards; excessive vacancies; lack of transportation infrastructure; presence of or potential environmental hazards; lack of water or wastewater services; lack of sanitary or storm drainage facilities; deleterious land use or layout; depreciation of physical maintenance; and static or declining land values that are detrimental to public safety.

“The entire area, and not just the university, will benefit [from the Innovista TIF],” says USC spokesperson Margaret Lamb. “Innovista will enhance and strengthen the Midlands, the region and the state economically by bringing jobs to the region.

“The university is working feverishly to develop our research efforts and the facilities to support the research,” Lamb continues. “That is infrastructure that attracts private investment and produces jobs for the Midlands of South Carolina. The City and County, too, are working to build the physical infrastructure that will replace urban blight with an enterprise zone prepared to attract 21st century enterprise creating more high-paying jobs in Columbia. We support the TIF effort because it is a proven financing tool for an area in need, and it is ultimately paid by the taxes generated by the development enabled by the investment.”

The next hurdle toward establishing an Innovista TIF district is getting Richland County and Richland School District 1 on board. Those two entities are among the five — the others being Riverbanks Zoo, the Richland/Lexington Airport District and the City of Columbia — with taxing jurisdiction in the district.

Richland County and District 1 have 45 days from Sept. 30 to approve the plan.
“Once [Richland County and District 1] approve it, the city then drives it and has the capacity to begin issuing bonds,” says Columbia City Councilman Kirkman Finlay, a candidate for mayor. “From a theoretical standpoint, we could issue bonds as soon as the paperwork is done.

“However, while I’d love to see everything developed beautifully and quickly, we do have issues to address, such as do we have the capacity to lose that tax increment? Are we going to be able to maintain the public structures we build? And can our water and sewer stand the indebtedness?”

The $153.9 million sought by USC and the city breaks down into seven weighted priorities. Priority I is extending Greene Street all the way to the riverfront and establishing both a Greene Street promenade a new public Foundation Square at the juncture of Greene and Lincoln streets at a projected cost of $26 million. Priority II involves relocation of SCE&G power lines, gas line relocation and the extension of/improvements to Greene and Senate Streets for a projected cost of $13 million.

Other priorities include improving streets in the “waterfront district,” which includes Pendleton, Devine, College, Wheat, Gist, Pulaski and Catawba Streets; improving the Granby and Olympia Mills neighborhoods; building  a riverfront park near the new Carolina Baseball Stadium; and establishing a Congaree Regional Waterfront Park.

In short, it’s a massive amount of public money for a project that to date already has spent $100 million with no private buildings standing and only two existing private-sector tenants — VC3 and T.M. Floyd — tentatively slated to move in.

For skeptics, an Innovista TIF that directs property tax dollars away from other local recipients is a case of throwing good money after bad, especially when USC’s private development efforts over the last three years have been embarrassingly negligible.

“I think the skeptics, the people who are against Innovista, are the kind of people who are against everything else in Columbia,” says Columbia mayor Bob Coble. “They were against the [Columbia Metropolitan] Convention Center, and if they are old enough, they probably were against the original Carolina Coliseum.

“I think even the harshest critic would agree that USC has the areas of research that could lead to private-sector investment and commercialization,” Coble adds. “In my 20 years, we’ve made mistakes and would do things differently if we could, but nothing would happen if all you did was listen to critics.” 


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