In a 6-5 vote Tuesday night, Richland County Council approved the “Richland Renaissance” plan – an estimated $200 million project that includes:
- knocking down the county’s current admin office building and building a brand-new courthouse + “judicial complex” in its place (costing ~144 million alone)
- purchasing space at Columbia Place Mall to put the new admin offices there
- opening a business incubator in Dutch Square Mall
- and building the Lower Richland Center, complete with a competitive aquatics center, small hospital, library, magistrate court + sheriff’s station.
$100 million has already been approved to help finance Richland Renaissance, with another $11.4 million in unused bonds set aside for the project. More details of project plans + how it will be funded are reportedly going to be released Tuesday, Dec. 19, but a council spokesperson has said the funding plan will not include raising taxes. Project details were supposed to be released to the public two times prior, but were discussed in closed-door sessions, instead.
