Mortgage Broker in Forest Acres, SC

A project to redevelop a nearly vacant mall is in line to receive a $2 million boost from the state.

State Sen. Mia McLeod, a Richland County independent, sponsored the earmark in the budget to help redevelop the nearly empty Richland Mall in Forest Acres.

The project is part of the Senate’s $13 billion budget approved earlier this month. Budget negotiations still need to take place with the House before the ultimate spending plan can be be signed by Gov. Henry McMaster.

“I’m elated that after many years of inactivity, my colleagues on both sides of the aisle recognize that this redevelopment project will be a tremendous economic driver for Richland County, the City of Forest Acres and surrounding school districts,” McLeod said in a statement.

The state money for the project would go to the city of Forest Acres to help develop a 6-acre public park, which would be the city’s largest, said Lynnsey Baker, the city’s public information officer. The park is one element of a massive overhaul planned for the moribund Richland Mall on Forest Drive, expected to be a $100 million undertaking paid for with both public and private dollars.

The cost of the park development was not immediately available.

The park is still being designed, but city officials intend to make it a public event space possibly including an amphitheater. Construction of the park will be in conjunction with redevelopment of the Richland Mall into a mixed-use project, expected to be anchored by a 100,000-square-foot grocery store, a brewery and some 500 apartments.

The city hopes to bring back a concert series, similar to its past Rooftop Rhythms events, Baker said. Community events, local theater and an annual Christmas tree lighting also would take place in the park.

“We want to make it a tourist destination,” Baker said.

Construction of the park, however, won’t happen right away if the expenditure is ultimately signed into law, Baker said.

Part of the mall, which developers will demolish, sits on land that will be used for the eventual park.

“We can’t move forward until they move forward with the demolition, which will be next year,” Baker said.

The park wouldn’t be completed for three or four years, Baker said.

The $2 million proposed state investment goes along with local incentives already approved for the project.

Richland County last year approved $23 million in incentives over 20 years for development firm Southeastern to overhaul the 32-acre mall property.

The first phase of the project is expected to take four to five years to complete.

Developers plan to demolish a bulk of the mall as part of the project.

The long-struggling Richland Mall officially has been sold, a move that will pave the way for the demolition of most the mall and a complete redevelopment of the site that will include new retail and apartments.

The city of Forest Acres confirmed in a release that the sale of the property closed late Wednesday afternoon. The terms of the sale were not disclosed. The deal had been under contract since early 2021.

The mall property had been owned Century Capital LLC and Forest Holdings LLC. Now, Augusta development company Southeastern will look to overhaul the 32-acre property with a more than $100 million plan that is set to include a 100,000-square-foot grocery store, more than 500 apartments, a public park, a brewery or taproom and more.

“We are pleased to see the deal is done,” Forest Acres Mayor Frank Brunson said in a statement. “City leadership was confident from the start Southeastern Development was the right developer to make this happen once and for all. Now we can start looking forward.

“In a few short years, the downtown gateway into our city will be transformed further cementing Forest Acres as one of the most sought-after destinations in the Midlands.”

City officials say the coming redevelopment of the mall site will be the largest single economic development investment in Forest Acres in nearly four decades.

The bulk of the mall will be demolished, though city leaders stressed that won’t happen immediately. Southeastern will have an architect spend about six months drawing up plans for the project. Then the former Parisian building on the property will be revitalized, so that the Belk that is currently in the mall can move in there long-term.

The city’s release noted Belk and a Barnes & Noble bookstore will remain open during the first phase of construction.

The full first phase of the project could take four to five years to complete, the city said in a previous release. An anchor grocery store tenant has not yet been named for the project. A specific brewery partner also has not yet been named.

Southeastern is no stranger to major developments. The company has numerous retail, residential, hospitality and other business developments in its portfolio, with projects across the South. Among their developments is the mixed-use Shelter Cove Towne Centre in Hilton Head.

This story was originally published January 5, 2023, 3:15 PM.

FOREST ACRES, S.C. (WIS) - A new agreement between the city of Forest Acres and Richland County approved on Tuesday will soon require pet owners in the city to register their furry friends.

Forest Acres has been utilizing Richland County’s animal control services for years, but the city was previously exempt from this requirement under an original agreement that expired last year.

The county has required citizens to register their pets for nearly 30 years.

In negotiations with Richland County, Forest Acres City Administrator Shaun Greenwood said county officials indicated it was only fair that Forest Acres fall in line with all the other towns in unincorporated areas of the county that must register their pets.

“I think we were the only ones not paying it, and the county got back to us and said, ‘No, your residents would have to start registering their animals just like everyone else,’” he said. “It’s not something that we can avoid. We just want to make sure our citizens know about it, and have every opportunity to comply.”

Under its agreement with the county, dog, and cat owners will soon need to pay a small licensing fee yearly: $4.21 per year for spayed or neutered pets and $21.07 for fertile pets.

The owner of an unregistered pet risks facing a $500 county fine.

“You run a risk because any time there could be any kind of interaction that involves your animal, it could bring up the situation where ‘Oh, that animal’s not registered,’ and therefore the county could levy the fine,” Greenwood said.

Several Forest Acres pet owners said they are on board with the rule.

“I’d rather have a small fee than a $500 fee when they go to the pound,” Meaghan Tatum said. “$4 versus $500?”

Lucy Way is an animal lover who has lived in the city for 58 years.

“They’ve really never had it so I haven’t really paid somebody to have to own my dog, but in the end, it’s probably a good idea because they do go missing,” she said. “Better to have them to where they’re going to be safe if they get out.”

Richland County Animal Care says registering pets benefits both owners and animal care services.

A pet license ensures that animals are vaccinated against rabies, and could help animal control return pets to owners sooner if they were to go missing.

“It’s less of a hassle if they can look and say this dog belongs to this address and take the dog back there and be able to secure them or knock on a door and let you know, ‘Did you know your dog was running around out on the street?’” Greenwood said. “It makes that process ultimately easier.”

Pets with county tags also get longer care periods.

They can stay in a shelter for a week longer than strays, according to Richland County Animal Care.

Greenwood said if Forest Acres were to provide its own animal services separate from the county, it would not be an efficient use of city funds.

That would require equipment, a facility, and the hiring of at least two full-time animal care officers.

“When we look at the level of service that we typically require here in Forest Acres, it’s just not enough for us to put that burden onto our taxpayers to ask them to fund those things full-time when there is a viable service that we can work through with the county.”

Forest Acres now has 60 days to adopt the county’s animal control ordinance, which means in August residents will be expected to start registering their pets.

Richland County could begin issuing fines at any point 30 days after that.

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FOREST ACRES — An Asian fusion restaurant that started in Charleston will bring its latest location to Trenholm Plaza.

CO, which calls itself “a modern take on Southeast Asian Cuisine,” has agreed to take space in the busy Forest Acres retail center with hopes of opening by the end of 2023, according to Mary Pappas, director of marketing for Collected, the restaurant’s parent company.

The restaurant will fill a long-open spot in the popular shopping center, which is undergoing a series of changes yet continuing a high occupancy rate as a high-end destination in the Columbia market.

Forest Acres will be the sixth location for the restaurant chain, which started with a location on King Street in Charleston in April 2012.

The restaurant’s menu will feature creative takes on standards from several different areas of Southeast Asian cuisine, with a variety of sushi, dumplings and noodles.

Such dishes as a caramel pork banh mi or spicy crab rangoon dumplings, as featured on its Charlotte menu, show how the restaurant offers new takes on Asian favorites.

The restaurant chain, which has two Charlotte locations along with Charleston, Myrtle Beach and Raleigh, N.C., long has considered Columbia’s market as a natural next step, Pappas said.

“It’s a market we’re excited about,” Pappas said. “It’s kind of a no-brainer.”

Eventually it worked with Edens, its landlord at a Charlotte location, to find the Trenholm Plaza site for CO, as shopping center sites have worked well for the company, she said.

The space at the interior corner of the shopping center has been vacant since Rosso Trattoria closed in February 2019.

The company will take some time to design and decorate the interior, so it’s unlikely to open before the end of the year, she said.

Trenholm Plaza has seen a series of changes and new occupants in the past year. New retailers such as Sephora, Bath & Body Works and HomeGoods have opened, and Publix has announced plans to expand its grocery store in the location.

FOREST ACRES, S.C. (WIS) - A fixture of Forest Acres is being demolished and redeveloped.

The City of Forest Acres said the Richland Mall is scheduled to be sold and demolished, calling it the single largest investment in the area in 35 years.

Southeastern Development of Augusta, GA is under contract to purchase the property. It is estimated the redevelopment will provide a value of approximately $100 million. The plan on the 32-acre site includes mixed-use property for retail, a brewery or tap room, a large space for events and concerts, a grocery store, and apartments.

“This is a historic day for Forest Acres and Richland County,” says Forest Acres Mayor Frank Brunson.

Councilman Thomas Andrews said the city has spent two and a half years working on the project.

Richland Mall opened in 1961 and was the first mall in the area. The open-air center was later converted into an indoor mall in the 1980s. Currently, only three tenants are occupying the roughly one million square feet of retail space.

As part of the partnership, the city will purchase the green space for $3 million and oversee park development. The city said the company is expected to close on the property in the near future. The next step will include hiring an architect to draw plans for the site, which is expected to take at least six months.

Next Southeastern will rehab the old Parisian building along Forest Drive, Belk will relocate to the building once complete. This will take approximately 12 to 18 months, during that time Belk will remain open at their current store.

Afterward Southeastern will begin tearing down the structure, which should take roughly another 12 to 18 months. The mall is estimated at around 931,000 feet of concrete.

In total, the project is expected to take 10 years for all the retail, housing, and park to be completed.

That 10 years of work will change the front porch view of the mall’s neighbors on Collin Kelly Drive.

Dave Berlier described the empty mall as a “monstrosity,” but said he’s become accustomed to it.

He said despite its aesthetic failings, the mall has been quiet. He said he and his family have mixed feelings about the project.

“A lot of noise. A lot of construction. A lot of people. That’s a little concerning, you know to figure out what exactly is going to happen, how it’s all going to play out and we’re of the mind we don’t want to be here when it happens so the goal is to try to maybe move prior to all that. But really I think it’s great for the city. This big monstrosity of a thing is getting no use and making no money for the city, now we have an opportunity to turn that around,” he said.

Down the road, neighbor Greta Dobe also said she valued the quiet neighborhood.

“It’s really important, I mean that’s why I’m here and that’s why I’ve stayed here. You know? Back here we’re in the city but it feels like we’re not in the city, it feels like we’re out in the woods, especially in the back of the house. I’m going to miss that if that gets taken,” she said.

WIS asked Councilman John Barnes about the potential inconveniences of the work. He pointed to the substantial business investment in the area and the new park that will come with it.

“I think that’s going to be a much better alternative than frankly a gigantic million square foot eyesore,” he said.

Barnes described the project as a “game-changer” which will help anchor the city with new housing and retail opportunities.

WIS has embedded the full release below.

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