Kline City Center – the $100 million project planned for the corner of Huger + Gervais – has been downsized due to lack of funding. Here’s what we know:
⏪ What was going in then: The original proposal included a 360-unit apartment building anchored by a public plaza connecting the Vista + Riverwalk. The 6.5-acre plot was also slated for an office building, retail space, a 140-room hotel and two parking garages.
⏩ What’s going in now: 218 apartments on 2.5 acres intended for permanent, year-round residents (read: not students). Why year-round? To add to the tax base + downtown vibrancy near the river.
❓ Why: The amount of public spaces the project proposed would require creating a special tax district – and Richland County Council was not on board. ➡️ Without public funding, developers can only build what they can fund without government investment. But the revised plan leaves 4 acres under contract, so revisiting the original, larger plan is still possible.
