Development, Drip coffee + driving golf carts

This content was created in partnership with The Five Points Association.

We had a lot of interest in our story on what exactly the team at the Five Points Association does aside from St. Pat’s… and we were curious about just what a day-in-the-life is like for them, too.

Throughout the first part of 2018, Five Points Association staffers could frequently be seen in City Council meetings, as Council debated whether or not to start closing late-night bars at 2 a.m. after complaints were voiced. After four months of debate (between the City, UofSC, neighbors, bar owners + the Five Points Association), City Council voted to keep bars open past 2 a.m. with updated, more strict guidelines.

We wondered: How much of this stuff happens? What *is* a typical day BTS of a major city district?

So last week, I spent the day shadowing the women who run the Five Points Association, going to meetings with them, talking development, new initiatives, festival planning + more. Let me tell you about it.

Let’s start by saying that – in my opinion – Columbia residents are divided on Five Points. While some say it’s unsafe and overrun by college kids, others say it’s a gem of a local neighborhood for *all* ages where you can shop, eat + be entertained.

Five Points Association (FPA) Executive Director Amy Beth Franks and Executive Assistant Lauren Smith are used to hearing both sides of this conversation constantly – and, as part of the job, work toward changing negative public opinion about Columbia’s oldest village neighborhood through a couple of different avenues:

• finding new businesses to move into the district’s vacant spaces (hello, Home Team BBQ)
• attending City Council meetings to represent/support the community’s business owners
• applying for more City and County funding to repair, maintain + add more infrastructure, from fixing cracked sidewalks to renovating a train trestle to getting more public art (funds needed on top of the money generated by St. Pat’s, which provides 100% of FPA’s yearly budget for beautification projects + infrastructure maintenance)
• working alongside law enforcement to improve + maintain safety in the neighborhood
• planning an annual calendar of events like – yes – St. Pat’s in Five Points, plus Jerry Fest, Chili Cook Off, A Starry Night, etc.
• ...and more. Read about their annual to-do list here.

(After spending a day with her and hearing all about her weekly schedule, I’m convinced Amy Beth is a vampire in heels and doesn’t sleep.)

Our day with the Five Points Association 📆

8:30-9:30 a.m. | Meeting with Richard Burts (developer + property owner) – Saluda Ave. spaces

Amy Beth, Lauren + I met with longtime Columbia developer Richard Burts at 713 + 715 Saluda Ave. (most recently the site of Bend + Barre’s pop-up studio) and the courtyard space behind it, plus the old cab company building behind Speakeasy for a walk-through + chat about potential tenants and development plans.

ICYMI, plans in-the-works for 713 + 715 Saluda Ave. (formerly Wish boutique, between Speakeasy + Gentleman’s Closet) include a new retail/hospitality corridor (indoor-yet-open-air, arcade mall-style passageway) with a plaza + pedestrian alleyway.

Design plans include a clerestory (a.k.a. a section of windows built above eye level to bring in natural light) added to the roof above the smaller retail spaces in the corridor. The retail spaces will most likely range between ~298 sqft. to ~1,400 sqft., so think small, boutique businesses + local artisan spaces. Tenants will be selected based on what kinds of new businesses that surrounding neighborhoods + existing businesses on Saluda Ave. support.

Richard told us the back courtyard will have a plaza with seating and a green space with a fountain.

Timeline? The architecture has been completed, and the project will hopefully be completed in three phases starting as soon as building permits are secured.

Next, we snuck inside the old cab company building to the left of the courtyard. Fun fact: BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina also used to be located here right after they moved their headquarters to Columbia from Greenville.

As we’re perusing the large space – which currently resembles a large warehouse used for storage – Amy Beth is trying to convince Richard to find a tenant who would turn the building into a brewery + event space. Hear, hear.

Richard + Amy Beth both stressed that Five Points’ scarce parking can be a limiting factor in development. In case you haven’t noticed (but I’m sure it’s crossed your mind when circling Saluda Ave. for a parking spot to grab your morning Drip), there’s no public parking garage in Five Points – so building one is one of the many projects that the Five Points Association constantly asks the City to help fund. In their opinion, every surface lot is a missed opportunity for development.

9:30-11 a.m. | Meeting with Assistant City Manager + Public Works staff to discuss beautification efforts

We next walked across the street to The Gourmet Shop – where Amy Beth + Lauren are clearly VIPs – to be greeted with a charcuterie spread and reserved table.

I briefly greeted a few members of the Five Points board before I dashed off to Drip to catch up on COLAtoday’s social media (it ain’t gonna post itself) – but mostly so I could order my usual iced chai latte with almond milk + Scoopy Doo mini nutella donut.

While I wasn’t allowed to sit in on this meeting, Amy Beth + Lauren filled me in on some of the beautification projects that FPA is working with the City to complete, including new planting, mulch + irrigation. They hope to start with the fountain plaza at end of August, adding daylilies to the flower beds for a pop of color – then work throughout the neighborhood, block by block.

I learned that selecting landscaping for the neighborhood is a delicate balance between what will be durable, easily maintained and is visually appealing.

Also discussed at the meeting was a new piece of public art coming to Saluda Ave. – a soon-to-be-announced piece that most recently resided in the backyard of a local artist until he passed away.

11 a.m. | JerryFest meeting with Don and Jenn McAllister, owners of Loose Lucy’s

Amy Beth + Lauren joined me at Drip at 11 a.m. to meet with Don + Jenn McAllister, the husband + wife team who own Loose Lucy’s and who, five years ago, converted their private Jerry Fest celebrations into a public festival to be held annually in Five Points.

This year’s block party (a celebration of the life + art of Jerry Garcia, ft. live music, art, local makers + vendors, food and drink) is on Sunday, Oct. 7 from 2-10 p.m. The footprint of the event space is expanding further into Greene St., past the area immediately surrounding the fountain, thanks to permission from Publico + Papa Jazz.

While the McAllisters secure the music lineup, Amy Beth + Lauren handle the rest of the dirty work: designing the event layout, coordinating + securing vendors (think: artisan makers who handcraft necklaces + dream catchers from all-natural materials), securing logistical needs (like barricades and port-a-potties), ordering supplies and merchandise, and more. They also coordinate the small details – like dying the fountain purple. FPA has started using environmentally-friendly powder dye since the fountain drains into our rivers.

It is important to FPA + the McAllisters to keep the event free to the public – but it still needs to generate enough money so that the Five Points Association can break even from the event – which costs ~$11,000 to put on.

We brainstormed how to accomplish this goal via selling more sponsorships and merchandise like tie-dye koozies + Jerry Fest posters.

While a majority of the music lineup is still TBD, the headliner is one that the McAllisters (and local Deadheads) are thrilled about – David Gans, the host of Grateful Dead Hour talk show on Sirius XM. This is the first year they’ve booked a band from outside the local music scene – and he’s a pretty major name in the Grateful Dead community.

12-12:20 p.m. | Back to the office to make phone calls + check emails

After our morning meetings in the neighborhood, we had 20 minutes back at the Five Points Association office until we ventured to the BullStreet District for an afternoon meeting with the Columbia Fireflies.

The FPA’s office off Congaree Ave. (on the border of the neighborhood) is a short walking distance to all of Five Points’ businesses, so we made it back with just enough time for a quick tour of the office. And just like Amy Beth + Lauren, it was put-together, professional + glam at the same dang time.

Outside of FPA office on Congaree Ave.

Conference room

Lauren’s office

Throwback Five Points photos

Amy Beth in her office

In our short office visit, Amy Beth managed to call the City about pending H-Tax funds and squeezed in some prep time for FPA’s board meeting happening later that week.

12:30-2 p.m. | Meeting with Columbia Fireflies on partnership opportunities

That afternoon, we piled in Amy Beth’s car to head over to Spirit Communications Park for a chat with the Columbia Fireflies marketing team about future collaborations between Five Points + the Fireflies, like a potential Thirsty Thursday after party – where Fireflies ticket holders could receive discounted food + drink at a Five Points business post-game.

2 p.m. | Clean & Safe ride around with Team Leader Tommy Brown

We returned to Five Points and hopped on a golf cart to take a tour of the neighborhood with the Clean & Safe team to review any beautification + maintenance needs. Lauren + I held up the back, while Amy Beth + Tommy cruised around with a notepad and pen, pointing out any graffiti that needed to be cleaned up, Five Points banners that needed to be replaced and flower beds that needed pruning. We hit every square inch of Five Points in the heat of the day – and there wasn’t an overgrown bush or unsightly bump-out that was overlooked by Amy Beth.

Amy Beth + Tommy on the Clean & Safe ride-along

3:30-5 p.m. | Back in the office

At 3:30 p.m., for the first time that day, we sat down – j.k., but it sure felt like it at the pace we were keeping. We hopped off the golf cart, and Amy Beth + Lauren went to work, answering emails + making phone calls. After running into a disgruntled bar owner on our golf cart ride, Amy Beth called Captain Williams of CPD to facilitate a meeting for the late-night bar owners in Five Points that would review the new rules + regulations enacted with the revised post-2 a.m. law.

Amy Beth also gave me a sneak peek at a new campaign FPA is currently in the fundraising stage for, called My Five Points – a three-year public art + marketing campaign (that I can’t reveal too much about right now, but trust me – it’s awesome).

We wrapped up the day in the office right at 5 p.m. because – no surprises here – Amy Beth had another meeting to run off to.

Lauren, Beth + Amy Beth outside the FPA office

Make your own judgment calls on Five Points – but, if you haven’t been recently, maybe take our team’s advice (or Instagram story references) and hit up some of our favorite local businesses in the neighborhood. Like, just off the top of my head, grabbing a Honey Habanero latte at Drip follow by a stroll down Saluda Ave., popping in and out of shops like Revente + Sid and Nancy, followed by a seasonal green salad with a scoop of chicken salad at The Gourmet Shop.

After spending the day hearing about the upcoming development projects happening in the neighborhood, I couldn’t be more excited to spend even more mornings, afternoons + evenings strolling down Saluda Ave., Blossom St. + Harden St.

– Beth