Columbia Closings   What's not in Columbia anymore

I noticed this vacant storefront in McCauley Square on Sunset Boulevard last weekend.

It appears that the realty office has moved to Old Rapids Road, and given that the creation date for the PDF flyer is 28 December 2021, I am guessing that the move took place sometime before that.

The LoopNet listing has quite a nice aerial view of the place, with the signage still up.

The last closing I did for this location was in 2012 when it ceast to be Discount Furniture. I'm not sure when Green Dot moved in, but they apprently moved out in late 2021 as reported by commenter Gypsie. It looks like they are a small Carolinas chain, and still have offices in the Charleston area and Wilmington.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

This building, next to the old Limelight (etc) on Berryhill Road was not really on my radar, and I could not have told you what it looked like or indeed, probably if it were there at all. However when commenter Gypsie mentioned that it had been razed, I was able to find out that it was called the William M. Mackie, Jr. Interstate Center and find a picture of it in this old LoopNet page. There are also pictures in Google Streetview, and that establishes that the LoopNet picture is taken from the back, where all the parking and the main entrance was. The front view was pretty non-descript.

The only business I find that was definitely in the building was Vision Property Management which was in Suite 200. Their web page is just parked now, so it's not clear to me that they are still around (and acording to the BBB, they may have had some problems).

With the building gone, it's a pretty good sized lot, but there is no indication of what is next (though I assume nobody would spend the money to knock it down without some plan going forward).

Appropos to nothing, Google Maps seems to think this is "Berryhill Drive", but I'm pretty sure "Berryhill Road" is correct.

(Hat tip to commenter Gypsie)

UPDATE 18 February 2022 -- Commenter Andrew points to this interesting DOT video about using the building for Fire Fighter training before the demolition:

Devine Street changes character drastically after it crosses Beltline, and this little group of buildings is typical of this block of the street, or at least it was as the changes here will move it (probably) in a bit more upscale direction.

I am unable to find out anything about the second storefront in this block of four, which is presumably 4420 Devine Street, but the first business was Sports Talk Barber Shop at 4418 (which has moved to Green Lawn), the third business was Dark Horse Tattoo at 4422 and the last one, which has now been razed, was Capital Animal Hospital at 4424.

As you can see in the first picture, and the (too numerous) night-time ones the Animal Hospital was freestanding (if built quite close) and the other three addresses were joined. You can see a better picture of the Animal Hospital at LoopNet.

As mentioned by commenter 59 Ford Wheelman and confirmed by commenter Larry with this link, the block of three is to become the second location of Griffin Chophouse, which plans to open there in April of 2022.

(Hat tip to Justin S)

UPDATE 15 February 2021 -- Progress doesn't look especially fast:

Whatever Communication Management did in the Carlisle Building off of Millwood, they don't do it there anymore, but out in West Columbia at 3229 Sunset Boulevard Suite A:

(Hat tip to commenter Matt)

I've made some pretty bad mistakes about Spanish language businesses here before, but I *think* Latino Express offers a variety of services including insurance, tax preparation and vehicle registration assistance.

It appears that they have relocated from this strip mall on Meeting Street, to 1735 Augusta Rd.

It appears that Always Original Bakery is setting up to occupy this spot.

I believe I first photographed this strip back in 2008 when Hollywood Video closed, and this unit was a Nationwide insurance office. Google suggests that at some point between then and now, it was
Alter Ego Hair Salon. Streetview for 2018 shows the slot already vacant, so doing a blue-sky guess (not confirmed by any phonebook) that that closed in the 2016 timeframe.

Well, here's another picture heavy closing I don't have a lot to say about other than that google suggests the actual official business name was Horton Produce. I assume that buying "The Honor System Way" means the place was generally unattended, but it seems like a pretty high traffic area for that kind of trust.

I've noticed this lot on Old Bush River Road several times over the past few months, and finally stopped to walk over and get some pictures. The site is actually quite large, LoopNet puts it at 3.5 acres, and I can believe it. If you walk back past the big oak and the remnants of the shed, there is an open meadow area that I did not expect at all.

There's also an impressive pokeberry bush, but its well over knee high, so I don't guess there's any danger of anyone cooking it up. (Well, I gues that would be a danger..)

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No Smoking

I was down at the far end of Rosewood last month, and noticed this fireworks store/warehouse. Looking at the google reviews, they were active up at least into May 2020. The company itself is still around, and it's not clear to me if this office has closed or just moved somewhere.

At any rate this building is for sale.

I have written about The State a number of times. For instance in this post, I note how anemic the second millennium State looks compared to the 1973 State. I am pretty sure I did a post when they started renting out parts of their headquarters when they could no longer fully occupy it though I can't find it now.

I was going to do a post when they announced they would no longer print a Saturday paper, but never got around to it. Now, however, they have completely vacated their Shop Road headquarters, and have moved printing out of the city, to Charlotte. Their headline:

tries to put a positive spin on it by putting some good news first, but the second part of that is pretty major. If the paper is printed in Charlotte, and the inserts are done in Raleigh, then as far as I can tell, that means the print edition has to be printed in Charlotte, trucked to Raleigh, trucked from Raleigh to Columbia and then put out for home delivery. Since their commitment is that delivery times will not change, that means the paper will have to be put to bed extremely early. I don't see how that can possibly compete with other news sources. I don't take the paper, so I could be wrong. I wonder if those of you who do take it have noticed a difference.

The same story said The State would move from Shop Road "this fall", but the branding is already off the building, as you can see, and it seems to me they have already moved (though I am not sure to where).

LoopNet has some more details, as well as a really nice picture of the building with the branding still up:

±3,500 to 60,000 square feet of premier office space available for lease. Close proximity to the CBD, University of South Carolina, and the booming Southeast Columbia Industrial Market. Fully secured building with on-site security and key card access throughout. Recently renovated with upgraded, modern finishes. Available space features dedicated reception at entry, which includes ample space for file storage and would allow for easy access to customers or clients. Access to two (2) conference rooms, one of which has an excellent view of Williams Brice Stadium. Cafeteria service via an industrial-grade kitchen. Large dining area and access to a state-of-the-art fitness center! Three Passenger Elevators and One Freight Elevator.

Stop the presses.

(Hat tip to commenter Thomas)