West Columbia is in the midst of a “BOOM” that has fulfilled the vision city leaders had in mind when the plan was orchestrated.

Ground was broken on the Brookland Development at the corner of State and Meeting  streets in West Columbia in late January of 2017. 

Since the partnership between the City of West Columbia and the private business that perpetuated Brookland, many more projects have filled undeveloped or dormant properties.

Brookland retail tenants include: Black Rooster; Gentlemen’s Quarters Barbershop; The Wrkt fitness center, and Select Physical Therapy. Another Broken Egg is slated to open sometime in 2023 when the 4West luxury apartments, Brookland’s last phase, are completed. 4West will feature 52 new residences and approximately 15,000 square feet of commercial space.

Other new businesses close-by are: State Street Trading Co.; Tall Oaks Boutique; Three Oaks Florists; The Hideout in WECO; Hotworx; REMAX Southern Collection; and Breakfast at Ruiz. 

The businesses that have opened near Brookland have had a profound impact.

Savage Craft Ale Works celebrated its second anniversary on Jan. 30. It’s in the former 1925 Brookland City Hall and Fire Station, at 430 Center St., in West Columbia’s River District.

Since the craft beer brewery, taproom and restaurant opened in 2021, it has drawn a clientele from the region as well as other states. “Savage Craft has become an experience as much as it is a great place to sit and have your choice of many craft beers, many of them brewed on site,” said Steve Cohen, a craft beer aficionado and regular Savage Craft visitor.

Savage Craft is a perfect example of reusing a historic and iconic building and making it a focal point for hospitality. Cohen also said the brewery, and the other new businesses in the area, have another benefit.

“These new businesses generate a substantial amount of tax revenue,” said Cohen. “And their business license fees go toward funding city government so homeowners are not burdened with higher tax bills.”

Investment in the improvement of the City of West Columbia has not only been by private interests. Public spaces have been added, including the Interactive Art Park and the Meeting Street Artisan Market. Savage Craft Ale Works is adjacent to the art park and D’s Wings opened just a few feet from it in a space that was once empty. 

Current West Columbia Mayor Tem Miles represented District Four, where the brewery is, when plans for it were in the works. He described the venture as an exciting component of the revitalization of West Columbia, and an example of the city’s effort to accommodate business.

“The city had the vision to put in zoning ahead of this extraordinary and attractive project,” said Miles. “by adopting an artisan manufacturing ordinance, that removed restrictive regulatory hurdles for innovative businesses.”

Thursday Miles said: “The plans made then have resulted in exactly what we wanted. New and unique businesses have come in and been great for the River District and it has spawned more business down the Meeting Street Corridor.”

On Meeting Street, WECO Bottle and Biergarten has been a major success and D’Alberto & Graham and Grimsley Law Firm operates at the new office building at 508 Meeting St. Always Original Bakery, Pedego Electric Bikes and About Face Wellness and Medical Spa have opened in The Shoppes of Meeting Place in the 500 block of Meeting Street. 

Miles said more improvements are coming that will add to the commercial growth of West Columbia. 

“Plans are in the works to make a section of Meeting Street, from State Street to Ninth Street, more aesthetically pleasing,” he said. “And we’re also working to beautify the US 1 Corridor.”

Miles said infrastructure is also being added. “On Sunset Boulevard, or US 378, we’re adding a sewer line and that will spur more growth all the way to I-20.”  

West Columbia Councilman Jimmy Brooks represents Sunset Boulevard where the new sewer line is being installed.  “We’re looking forward to the construction of several upscale apartments on Henbet Drive,” Brooks said. “With the development of high-end housing, we expect to have more opportunities for the kind of retail projects, like grocery stores, that people want to see.”

St. Anns Alley on Center Street is almost complete. It consists of around 40 new urban-living houses and 126 new homes have been built in the Stillwater community on Dreher Road near US 1.