Columbia has a $21M vision for riverfront construction. What is included in the plan?

On Savannah, Ga.’s River Street, buskers play music while tourists peruse boutiques and gift shops. Boats pass by on their way down the Savannah River. On St. Patrick’s Day in Chicago, the city dyes its river green and thousands of people gather downtown to watch.

Columbia, too, has the luxury of a river running through it. But it’s well guarded by private land and overgrowth, so it gets missed by tourists and under-utilized by residents.

Richland County Councilman Paul Livingston joked at an event on Tuesday about how when he was growing up in Columbia, “we had access to the river,” through “whatever pathway we could blaze, whatever train track we could cross.”

But now, the city is embarking on a nearly $21 million project to finally carve out a piece of the Congaree riverfront for the public.

Livingston’s comments were among those made by local bigwigs during a kickoff event that focused on how the riverfront effort will transform the way Columbia presents itself to the world and how residents regard their city.

“This project would revitalize a very promising area of the downtown that has been waiting on the sidelines as other sections have seen upgrades and have seen growth,” said University of South Carolina President Michael Amiridis.

The city of Columbia is spearheading the construction, but the work has also been part of the university’s master plan, as the university has looked to expand its campus west.

Plans for new network of roadways

To create this new river access, the city plans to build several new streets between Huger Street and the Congaree River, starting by connecting the existing Williams Street that currently ends at Blossom Street from the south and at Senate Street from the north.

The 4,700 feet of new road will include bike lanes, bike share stations, electric car charging stations and sidewalks. Future stages of the plan involve connecting Devine and Senate streets and adding other connector streets to Williams Street. New right-turn lanes on Huger Street and the re-timing of traffic signals have also been factored into the plan.

A new network of roadways means more space for development. Councilman Will Brennan previously told The State he’d like to see a hotel or apartments on the new Williams Street. The land is in a flood plain, so there are limits to what can be built and where, but some of the to-be-cleared land will be planned for commerce.

The road project is estimated to cost $20,600 million. Columbia has received $16 million from South Carolina budget earmarks over the last two budget cycles. The other $4.6 million will come from the Richland County transportation penny tax.

The Guignard family, which owns a large portion of the land along the river, has also agreed to donate the land needed for the project.

Connecting a vast trail system

When the new road network is finished, there are also hopes to construct a riverfront park. There’s no estimate for how much that park would cost.

George Bailey, president of the Darnall W. and Susan F. Boyd Foundation, told The State that the foundation is “ready to commit a significant chunk of money for that project.”

While the new roadways will allow for new buildings, the connection between Blossom and Gervais streets will also help connect the vast trail system leaders hope to expand across the Midlands.

“This is going to be a key piece to 27 miles of trail,” said Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann. “When this is all done ... there is nowhere in the southeast that’s going to have that.”

Extensions to the Saluda Riverwalk are already underway, and construction could begin before the end of 2024 on a bridge across the Broad River to connect the Columbia Riverfront Park at the canal to the Saluda Riverwalk across the water.

Ultimately, the goal is to have a river trail system that connects from Granby Park all the way to the Lake Murray Dam, an effort involving local governments and nonprofits across the Midlands.