Progress continued in West Columbia in 2023. From the construction start of a luxury apartment complex on Sunset Boulevard to new water and sewer lines in Saluda Terrace, things are moving forward.

According to West Columbia leaders, expect more development in 2024. Some, including, infrastructure upgrades, are being initiated by city government and others will involve private developers. 

“The City of West Columbia is involved in a lot of multi-year projects,” said Mayor Tem Miles.

Miles also mentioned that as we move into the new year, West Columbia voters just gave City Council an “overwhelming mandate” at the ballot box. “All City Council members (and Miles) were reelected by large margins in the (Nov.) 2023 municipal elections,” Miles said.   

One of the high-profile changes that will get underway in the new year is the reduction of Meeting Street to two lanes from four lanes, from State Street to 9th Street. There will be a landscaped median and dedicated turn lanes added, too. “Taking a lane out of that part of Meeting Street will allow for more parking spaces on Meeting Street and an increase in pedestrian and retail traffic,” said Miles.

Also, in late 2023, the Jin-Jin Chinese restaurant, the last tenant still operating there, closed in the highly visible Capitol Square property that sits near the intersection of Sunset Boulevard and Meeting Street. Chances are that drastic changes to that property will begin in 2024.

“Capitol Square is privately-owned,” said BJ Unthank, West Columbia’s director of economic development. “But it is a premier piece of property that is ripe for development.”

The Brookland Development, at the corner of Meeting and State streets, has residential, retail and a restaurant space. A mixed-use facility is likely what will happen at Capitol Square, beginning in 2024. 

In 2023, several new businesses opened in West Columbia, expect that trend to continue. Eric Woodard is the owner of Scratch N’ Spin record store on 12th Street in Triangle City.  “This is a great place for opening a business,” Woodard said. “There is so much going on around us. It’s growing and I expect that growth to continue.” 

While new high-profile projects attract attention, Miles and Unthank said providing upgraded infrastructure helps the city’s effort to recruit development.

Miles alluded to the plan to install new water and sewer lines in the New Brookland Mill Village, along with road resurfacing and the improvement of parking space, there.  

Unthank said expanded sewer lines and the addition of the sewer lift station on Sunset Boulevard (US 378) near Henbet Drive make it easier to recruit more commercial and residential development to the area.

“The upgraded infrastructure definitely makes it a more attractive area to draw the interest of developers and investors,” Unthank said. Construction of  the “Langley Pointe” residential project on 38 acres bordered by Sunset Boulevard, Henbet Drive and Ephrata Drive is expected to be complete in 2024.

Langley Pointe is a $60 million high-end apartment complex that will eventually have retail and commercial spaces. New monitored and controlled traffic signals are also planned for the intersection of Henbet and Sunset. In addition to Langley Pointe, a hotel with a  Tru by Hilton on one side and a Home2 Suites is planned for construction on Sunset Boulevard. 

So get ready for some exciting new developments in West Columbia in 2024.