GSA Business Report - October 5, 2020

October 5 - October 18, 2020

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Developer: ‘Progress will continue’ after Babcock Building blaze

By Melinda Waldrop mwaldrop@scbiznews.com

H

ughes Development Corp., master developer of the BullStreet District in Columbia, said “progress will continue” at the 181-acre, mixed-use development after a fire heavily damaged the site’s historic Babcock Building the morning of Sept. 12.

The fire destroyed the iconic cupola and central portions of the building, which once housed S.C. State Hospital patients and was being redeveloped into luxury apartments by Richmond, Va.based developer Clachan Properties.

Clachan, which owns the building after a title transfer from Hughes Corp. in January, “was in the final stages of preparation to renovate it for future generations,” according to Hughes’ statement.

“Site cleanup had begun.”

Clachan President Hugh Shytle said in a statement that the developer is assessing the damage and formulating a plan.

“Our assumption at this time is that we will be able to go forward because of the rapid response of the Columbia Fire Department. ... Clachan Properties undertook the renovation of the Babcock Building knowing its significance to the community. Our commitment is

Photo by Jeff Blake

not diminished. Our enthusiasm is solid,” Shytle said.

Robert Hughes, president of Greenville-based Hughes Development Corp., said, “We are working closely with various law enforcement agencies to help determine the cause of the fire and will support Clachan as they move forward. ... Progress will continue at The BullStreet District.”

Plans presented to the Columbia City Council Bull Street Commission in October 2019 included 208 luxury apartments and amenities, and the project was

expected to cost more than $40 million.

John Sherrer, director of cultural resources at nonprofit preservation organization Historic Columbia, was devastated by initial images of smoke billowing from the building, but tours of the site in days following the fire left him cautiously optimistic about what remains.

Sherrer said he doesn’t foresee any necessary repairs disqualifying the project from historic tax credits the developers worked to obtain.

“It’s been the product of a lot of people from a variety of different municipal,

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state and local entities working together to ensure these tax credits could propel this project forward.”

The project has faced challenges from its inception, according to Hughes.

“The difficulty of renovating the Babcock Building cannot be overstated because of its cost, size, historic legacy and extremely poor condition,” Hughes said in the release. “Clachan is one of the few companies in the United States that has the craftsmanship, experience, and historic sensitivity to breathe new life into it.”

Built between 1857 and 1885, the Babcock Building was formerly called the S.C. Lunatic Asylum and later the S.C. State Hospital, which operated until the late 1990s. The building, added to National Register of Historic Places in 1981, had not been in use since 1996.

“It’s both an imposing landmark and certainly an architectural treasure, but it’s also the physical manifestation of the state’s efforts to take care of mental health patients from before the Civil War all the way up through the third quarter of the 20th century,” Sherrer said.

The fire was the second in as many years to strike the Babcock Building. In December 2018, a blaze broke out on the top floor but was contained to the attic and roof.

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