On Aug. 1, West Columbia began tearing down several historic mill homes over the objections of some community members. The city plans to use the cleared area for a parking lot. Visit free-times.com for ongoing coverage of the controversy. Photo by Thomas Hammond.
The lone survivor of a West Columbia project to demolish five historic houses in the New Brookland area appears to be saved from the wrecking ball.
A community group has a plan in the works that will keep the house intact at 206 Hudson St. in the Mill Hill neighborhood.
“We got a deal to move it to a lot in the neighborhood,” says David Moye, a property owner in the Mill Hill.
Moye grew up in the Mill Hill and helped found Brookland Dwellers, an organization that raises community awareness on issues specific to the New Brookland area. The group started advocating for their neighborhood when the Brookland development, a 235-apartment complex adjacent to the Mill Hill, took shape and threatened the historic character of their area. When West Columbia announced plans to demolish five century old homes to accommodate parking lost to the nearby development, Moye and others took action.
Free Times reported on the demolition process and the protests against it, culminating in an article that exposed how the City of West Columbia skirted state regulations in razing one of the homes.
West Columbia razed four of the homes, but a defiant tenant involved with Brookland Dwellers refused to move out of the house at 206 Hudson. Earlier in the month she reached a settlement with West Columbia that allowed the house to remain in place until the end of November. During that time Brookland Dwellers sought out a lot in the Mill Hill for purchase and found an investor willing to buy and move the home. Now, Moye and others are looking to get $10,000 to solidify the plan. They started a GoFundMe to help raise the money.
“They treat it like a new house when it’s moved so you’ve got to get it up to 2015 code,” Moye says. “It’ll be restored nicely and moved within the neighborhood.”
Part of the funding shortfall may be paid by the City of West Columbia — but only if the deal to move the house looks sure enough.
“If they could find somebody that’s interested in taking the house in the Mill Hill after [the current tenant] has rights to it, I’m more than happy to look into the city putting some money in,” says Councilman Tem Miles, whose district includes the Mill Hill. “But I’m only one person on Council.”
Part of the rationale behind the possibility of West Columbia doling out money is that helping to move the house would most likely cost less than the city would pay for the demolition.
The exact amount that West Columbia might have in its heart for the Brookland Dwellers’ deal, Miles can only say, “who knows.”
The possibility of West Columbia opening its wallet to help move instead of demolish the house comes after a protracted battle with Brookland Dwellers about the integrity of the Mill Hill and what the homes mean to the area. The fight brought fiery council meetings and insults hurled over social media. One heated episode led a man to tell Tem Miles to perform fellatio on an undisclosed human, with the councilman striking back with “Alright, big boy.” More grueling social media exchanges ensued.
Despite a possible resolution to a months-long battle appearing to be in the works, Miles expects other fights to head his way.
“That’s why I signed up and ran for City Council,” Miles says. “The house portion of this is just one particular issue. The overall area down there, we’ll be dealing with continued problems with it and concerns from citizens right on. This is just the first part of a much bigger project. We’re far from done.”
