Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

People kept saying that the Mr. Suds carwash at Clemson & Hardscrabble Roads was closing due to the road widening, and I kept driving up there and saying to myself "What are these guys talking about? The carwash is well behind the Circle-K and shouldn't be affected by the road issues at all. In fact it's open, and there's a car in there now.."

Of course, I was looking at the Mr. Suds associated with Magnolia Pointe, and I finally realized there was another one nearby when commenter Sidney gave clear directions ("kinda across from the Waffle House"). By the time I got there, everything but the fence, some support beams and a few incidentals was gone. Almost as if the lot had been washed clean..

(Hat tips to commenters cheryl, Sidney and probably some others)
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I noticed on Shakespeare Road the other week that two SCE&G properties are up for sale. First there is the Gas Measurement Operations Center at 5921, and second the Operations Center at 6011.

If you look closely at the real-estate signs, you can see something I was unaware of: Apparently SCE&G is its own real estate company. I'm not sure which way the incentives from that cut..

Noticed this nice old-school brick warehouse on Shop Road the other week. They list in the Feb 2007-Fe2008 book, but not the Feb 2010 one, so I'm tagging it around 2009. This building has the stair-step facade that was very common on older businesses for some reason.

The real-estate listing says it was built in 1940, which I can believe and is 52,313 square-feet on 2 acres.

I noticed that this Wells Fargo branch at Spring Valley Commons was for sale when I drove by the other week. I went back to get some pictures, and I see the ATM is still online, and looking through the drive-through window the place appears to be not yet stripped, so I guessing this is a very recent closing. The sign directs people to Sparkleberry, but there is also another Two Notch Branch at the old Dentsville Kmart.

I know Wells Fargo has had some trouble lately, which they brought on themselves, but it's also the fact that the Internet has branch banking in a general decline.

UPDATE 29 October 2018 -- This building has been bought and is being gutted, though it is not yet clear for what:

UPDATE 1 May 2019: Update tags.

UPDATE 5 November 2019 -- Now a Starbucks:

I was way out on Broad River Road in Irmo, or maybe Ballentine, when I noticed this overgrown little building next to Friarsgate Animal Hospital. I may be wrong on the address. I should have got a closer picture, but I'm almost positive the sign on the front says 10214, but that doesn't make complete logical sense as the vet's is 10216, so by rights this lot should be 10218. I can't really find anything in google with either address, and consulting a few old phonebooks for 1st Choice Homes turns up nothing (locally).

It looks like the last tenant in this Sunset Boulevard suite in Lexington was Gateway Supply, a "plumbing and HVAC supply wholesaler". According to this story from August 2016, they have moved to a newly built location at Whiteford Way and North Lake Drive with this building being purchased by Cason Development Group for redevelopment -- the signs of which you can see in these pictures.

Some googling suggessts that before Gateway, the building was divided into two suites with Southern Living Rooms & More being in Suite A, and audiologists Hearing Associates of SC in Suite B.

As reported by commener MB, Sunset Tax Services in West Columbia has closed. They were the follow-on operation in this building to My Best Cleaners. According to commenter James, Sunset opened here in late 2013.

(Hat tip to commenter MB)

According to The State, this North Main towing operation caught fire on 24 February 2017:

Columbia fire crews arrived at Sandy Run Towing at 3610 North Main just before midnight. They worked for more than two hours to put out the flames.

There were no injuries, but the building and the cars inside were a complete loss

Man! You've already had a bad day when you car gets towed. Now imagine it getting caramelized on top of that..

From the sign, it appears that they have now relocated.

UPDATE 19 January 2018 -- This building has been razed:

When I was in Triangle City a couple of weekends ago, and trying to turn around and go back for some pictures of a place I had just driven past, I noticed this empty building on C Avenue. Some googling suggests it was an interior design operation. The website is still active here. Since their picture shows the Metanoia signage, I guess that was the DBA name.

This former daycare is well back from the road around where Old Bush River splits off from Saint Andrews road.

It appears to have been part of a chain of such centers, with other locations remaining open.

There is always something especially sad about an abandoned playground.

(Hat tip to commenter IrmoJeff)