Mortgage Broker in Cayce, SC

The 1950s red brick house on the corner of Prentiss and Orchard streets in Cayce has been empty for half a decade.

The windows are boarded, the door is sealed tight. A bright yellow placard declares “CONDEMNED. DANGER,” to passersby.

Cayce officials deemed the home unlivable in 2018, but the city has no plans to demolish the structure. Despite complaints from at least one neighbor who says the house is creating pest problems, officials say there’s little they can do.

There are vacant properties across the small town of Cayce in similar states. Why are they still standing?

The house on the corner has been a topic of conversation for at least as long as Anna Percival has lived in the neighborhood, since 2017.

She expected something to happen to the house when the city became involved in 2018, but in her view, very little has been done to maintain the property. She’s had to deal with rat problems, and she watches feral cats laze on the home’s roof and porch. Percival said she’s spent roughly $7,000 on repairs to her own home caused by the pest problems she believes stem from the empty house.

“Every time I have a rat issue or any big bug problem, all the pest control companies, especially the one that I trust, tells me as long as that house is next door breeding rats and feral cats and mosquitoes and things of that nature, (I’m) going to continue to have issues,” Percival said.

She’d like to see the house demolished or repaired.

But Cayce officials say the house is already in compliance with city code and there’s nothing more they can do about it.

The Prentiss Street house could use a coat of paint. There’s some debris on the porch, and at least one window appears broken. But the structure is stable, explained Cayce building official Stuart Jones.

When code enforcement initially learned of the Prentiss Street house in 2018, they kicked off the same process used anytime a vacant home is discovered out of code in the city.

The property owner, in this case Ronald Capps, according to property records, was notified and given 60 days to bring the home back into compliance. In Cayce, there are three ways to do that: 1. Repair the house. 2. Secure the house. 3. Demolish the house.

Capps chose option two, according to Cayce officials. In addition to securing the property by boarding the doors and windows, the property owner maintains the yard to keep that in compliance as well.

“They can keep it that way in perpetuity, really,” Jones said, as long as it stays structurally sound.

Capps did not respond to a request for comment from The State.

Now that the home has been secured and doesn’t violate city code, the matter is out of the city’s hands, said Cayce city manager Tracy Hegler.

As for the pests, officials said the problem is one of jurisdiction.

“We live in a state that has very strong property rights,” said assistant city manager Michael Conley. “I can go to this guy and go, ‘Hey, you have a pest problem.’ He’s going to go, ‘So, it’s not your problem,’ and it’s not. There’s nothing I can do about it.”

The city can act on a pest problem when the house is occupied because there are clauses in state law that require certain health and safety standards for human habitation. But because the home is vacant and has already been deemed unlivable, the city doesn’t have the jurisdiction to investigate, officials agreed, adding that concerned neighbors should contact the homeowner directly.

Hegler added that there isn’t clear evidence that the vacant home is the source of the pests.

Percival has gotten this response as well, but she says she doesn’t know the homeowner and has never seen him.

“I feel like that’s something that the city should be taking care of. I don’t think I should even have to touch that issue,” Percival said.

The Prentiss Street house is not unique. It’s typical that when a vacant Cayce property falls out of code, property owners usually opt to secure the home, rather than repair or demolish it.

Officials couldn’t provide exact numbers Friday but said they typically only demolish one house a year, if that. Most of the time, the homeowner addresses the problem. The city did not readily have a list of those vacant homes Friday, but officials said they do keep track of them.

Jones, the building official, said he doesn’t believe vacant houses are a widespread problem in Cayce and doesn’t believe there are particularly blighted areas.

Houses that are left vacant are also still monitored by the city, and the homeowner will get notified if the property does fall out of code, Jones said.

There’s also a reason that demolition of vacant homes is so uncommon.

It will take a minimum of four months to get to the point where a problem property can be razed, Jones said, but often it takes much longer. The process can be slowed by homeowner appeals and ownership changes, among other red tape.

Sometimes the property owner will demolish the house themselves. If the city has to do it, it will issue a lien against the property, but there’s no guarantee the city will get that money back, Hegler said.

Hegler added there may be things the city can do to make the process more easily understood by residents. For example, the language on the sign affixed to the Prentiss Street property uses the word “condemned,” but the house isn’t actually condemned. By the city’s view, it’s vacant but in compliance, and it hasn’t been abandoned.

Jones added that if residents see a home in their neighborhood they believe is not in line with city code, they should contact Cayce code enforcement at 803-739-5361.

This story was originally published August 19, 2023, 5:30 AM.

Dominion Energy continues to make moves to potentially sell its Cayce headquarters.

The utility company has signed a potential sale agreement with Columbia-based developer Bill Stern for the sprawling complex, which sits on a 12-acre lot at 601 Taylor Rd.

The Cayce headquarters consists of five interconnected buildings with enough space for more than a thousand employees.

The facility was built in 2009, according to Lexington County’s Department of Economic Development, with Dominion moving in at the end of a leasing agreement for its previous office space in downtown Columbia.

Dominion hasn’t announced plans for relocation. Rhonda O’Banion, the company’s director of media relations, said the company plans to continue its presence in Cayce.

“Dominion Energy is committed to maintaining a strong company presence in Cayce,” O’Banion said. “We continue to assess ways to operate even more efficiently, and this includes the potential for consolidating occupancy of our facilities on the 12th Street corridor if it is in the best interest of our customers and employees. Our focus remains on providing safe, reliable, affordable and increasingly clean energy while enhancing the communities we serve.”

The utility company continues to deal with repercussions from its predecessor’s financial crisis in 2017 stemming from a failed nuclear energy project at the V.C. Summer nuclear site in Fairfield County. The $9 billion expansion failed after delays and cost overruns.

Dominion purchased SCANA and South Carolina Electricity & Gas almost three years later, an acquisition valued at $14 billion.

The merger between Dominion and SCE&G also involved a reduction in the company's workforce. It’s unclear how many employees currently work in the Cayce headquarters.

The utility company, based out of Richmond, V.A., has been trying to rent out part of its property for more than a year with no success.

Dominion declined to comment on the reason for this sale.

A representative for the City of Cayce, which has a population of about 14,000 and sits across the Congaree River from Columbia, said the impact of the sale on the municipality is uncertain, as no plans have been filed.

According to the county’s economic development department, the city provides water and wastewater services for the property.

The office complex sits off the 12th Street Extension, across the street from Cayce Elementary School, Busbee Middle School and the Lexington 2 Innovation Center. Along with the nearby CMC Steel in Cayce and the county’s Saxe Gotha Industrial Park, which sits just down the road outside the city limits and includes such looming local industries as an Amazon fulfillment center and Nephron Pharmaceuticals, Dominion’s headquarters helps form a substantial industrial corridor in and around Cayce.

Stern, the developer who signed onto the sale agreement with Dominion, didn’t respond to the Chronicle’s requests for comment.

With filing about to open this month for November’s election, voters in Cayce already know they’re going to have a choice to make for the city’s next mayor.

Elise Partin, who has been Cayce’s mayor since 2008, is running for another term in the city’s top office on Nov. 7. Also running for the mayor’s office is Lexington 2 school board member and lifelong Cayce resident Abbott “Tre” Bray.

In a statement announcing her candidacy, Partin touts a record of keeping taxes down and quality of life high, with an emphasis on government responsiveness and customer service. The city recently won a $10 million state grant for stormwater improvement, and Partin was named public servant of the year in 2019 by the Greater Columbia Chamber of Commerce.

“Under Partin’s steady leadership, City services have continued to be modernized and are more cost effective,” the media release from the Partin campaign says. “By reversing the City’s credit to an excellent rating (it was poor before her tenure), Partin and City staff were able to get a low-interest loan via the State of S.C. to replace and upgrade 75% of the city’s water lines in 2017 — a massive public works project.”

She will face Bray, a graduate of Brookland-Cayce High School who deployed to Iraq with the S.C. National Guard. He now manages a contract for the Department of Defense providing risk reduction services and prevention training to the Army and Air National Guard. He has served on the Lexington 2 school board since 2020.

“I know first-hand what it’s like to grow up in the Cayce community, one with charm and character like no other,” Bray said in a statement announcing his candidacy. “With the right leadership, we can ensure that Cayce grows responsibly and sustainably. I want Cayce to remain an incredible place to live, work, and raise a family for generations to come.”

Races for public office in Cayce are nonpartisan.

Cayce voters will not only chose a mayor for a new four-year term in November but also two of four city council members. Many other municipalities will also hold local elections this fall.

Filing for local offices in Lexington County opens Aug. 16 and closes Aug. 30.

According to South Carolina's Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office, Cayce's population is growing at a fast rate, requiring changes to the city's district lines.

CAYCE, S.C. — Cayce city leaders heard a proposal to change the city's district lines and approved the second reading of the city's budget on Wednesday.

Despite a downpour outside, a small crowd filled the City of Cayce municipal building Wednesday. On the docket, a change to the city's district lines. The city manager-presentation was given by Adam DeMars, with the South Carolina Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office. He says that based on 2020 census data, the city saw a 10% increase in population - according to his presentation, there were hundreds more voters in district one than the other districts.

In an attempt to level the playing field, his office proposed a map, pictured below, that changes the area for all four districts. While district one had the most population, it's proposed to gain some space in district two. District two is planned to gain some area from three and four, while also giving some area to district three. A copy of the map and more details can be found on page 104 of this agenda.

Credit: WLTX

Cayce city manger Tracy Hegler says its a good sign, especially an expanding population.

"So you want to make sure you have equal representation in every district, they call it the 'one vote, one person'. Often what happens in ten years is people move around, one district may grow, another may lose population."

Residents we spoke to are skeptical but hopeful for the changes, including Byron Gray, who lives in district two currently, but is proposed to switch to district three.

"If we get a little bit better representation, and not feel like we're forgotten over here in this area, if that'll effect it, I'm all for it."

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Also on the agenda for Wednesday's meeting was the second reading of the city's budget for next year. City manager Hegler says it passed second reading without any increases to taxes, or millage rates. She adds in the original budget, there was a proposed 2 dollar per month increase to a sanitation tax, but after a request from council, that has been avoided.

"We go after grants to supplement that so we have a good track record of finding non tax and non fee-related to provide the services that we we provide"

Cayce's next meeting is July 10th.

The Bee is almost ready to buzz.

Little Bee Bun Mee, a new restaurant that will specialize Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches and more, announced Monday that it will officially open at 11 a.m. Tuesday, July 11. It is located at 904 Knox Abbott Drive in Cayce.

The banh mi restaurant is the latest effort from owners Chris and Noi Souvanna, who have operated Duke’s Pad Thai restaurant in Cayce for the last several years. Little Bee Bun Mee is located right next door to Duke’s, and the owners said there will be an “open dining concept” between the two restaurants, where customers can choose from cuisine from either establishment in the same building.

“We wanted to continue to add more cultural dining to Cayce through one of our favorite dishes, banh mi sandwiches,” Noi Souvanna said in a statement. “The last few years have been a whirlwind, surviving a pandemic, raising two boys and running a successful business; we all just felt like busy bees which led us to naming Little Bee. Our passion for fast-casual food fuels the other busy bees out there to have a family-made meal and get on their way to their busy lives.”

Little Bee Bun Mee will focus on banh mi sandwiches, a type of Vietnamese sandwich typically built on a baguette. The sandwiches have continued to gain popularity in the U.S. in recent years. Little Bee also will have sushi, tacos, tea fusion drinks, poke bowls and more.

While it officially opens July 11, Little Bee has quietly had some soft opening activities recently, which the restaurant referred to on social media as “testing recipes” and “finalizing the menu.” A reporter from The State stopped in during one of the soft opening moments and tried the bulgogi cheesesteak sandwich, which came with Korean-style marinated beef, cilantro, cheese, Kimchi sauce and spicy mayo.

Little Bee has been long-awaited in Cayce. A sign touting the restaurant has been up on the building since last year, along with a neon, play-on-words sign in the window that implores customers to “Show Us Your Bunz.”

Banh mi seems to be having a moment in the Columbia area. Aside from Little Bee Bun Mee, two other banh mi restaurants — Banh Mi Boys in the Olympia neighborhood and Paris Banh Mi in northeast Columbia — have plans to open.