Using the Right Tools: Preservation Easements in Downtown Columbia, South Carolina
Location: Columbia, SC
Client: GBX Group
Date: 2018
Downtown Columbia is a far different, and far better, place than it was just a few years ago. The decision by the CCP to emphasize a preservation-based revitalization strategy laid the groundwork for the significant, positive changes to take place. From there, the individual decisions of property owners and developers to invest millions of dollars into often vacant historic buildings became the implementation of the strategy. That investment simply would not have happened without the
availability of the effective tools of the historic tax credits and the
preservation easement.
The result has been both measurable and amazing. The growth in jobs and new businesses, the increase in property values and rents, and the
influx of new residents have all added to this high-quality, exciting
downtown. All of the citizens of Columbia have benefited, and thanks
to the preservation easement, they will continue to benefit for generations.