Is Wal-Mart Coming to Assembly Street?

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WOLO) — “We are elected to make the hard decisions and what we do is we try and get all the available information and make the decisions that we believe is in the best interest,” says Tameika Isaac Devine, Columbia City Councilwoman Last night that meant voting 6 to 1 to sell the Capitol City Stadium. “I think a lot of people have said, ‘You don’t have this and you don’t have that,’ well those are things that cost a developer money and a developer isn’t going to do those things until they have a property under contract and until last night is was not under contract,” says Isaac Devine. But the vote did not come without questions from nearby residents. “There were concerns from the community about the environmental impact of this project on Rocky Branch and the flooding on Assembly Street,” says Isaac Devine. So the city brought in an independent source to conduct a study. “It clearly showed us that development at that site would not adversely impact flooding on Rocky Branch or Assembly Street,” says Isaac Devine. Now that council members have their answers, the public wants to know who’s moving in? While council members say Wal-Mart is a proposed tenant, it could be months before anyone knows who is moving in. Because, the developer has to decide if the project is feasible. If not, council members will have to consider other options such as, student housing. Businesses in the area have mixed feelings, some say more retail will not bother them while others aren’t happy. Yet, council members are in favor of developing this property. “Right now, that property is not on the tax rolls, so it’s not producing any taxes. So whatever development goes there, would allow that to be a tax producing property which is very important to us,” says Isaac Devine. The property is set to sell for $1 million. However, council members say it could be up to a year before anyone breaks ground.