AFFORDABLE HOUSING: Mayor helps break ground on new Lyon Street development

COLUMBIA, SC (WOLO) — During his campaign for mayor, Daniel Rickenmann promised to address the issue of affordable housing in Columbia.

Thursday afternoon, a new development broke ground on the site of what was Gonzales Gardens, the oldest public housing in the community when it was torn down in 2017.

“Our ultimate goal over the next 10 years is to have 18,000 units of attainable housing. We want to be there,” Mayor Rickenmann said. “We’re going to keep forward if it’s housing trust funds or using tax abatement developments. We’re going to do whatever we can to make sure this is not a crisis that’s isolated in Columbia.”

Rickenmann showed up to the former Gonzales Gardens site to break ground on the Oak at St. Anna’s Park, a 285-unit development on Forest Drive.

The mayor plans to continue with affordable housing projects next year through the Choice Neighborhood Grant but also hopes it leads to more home ownership.

“We only have 46 percent home ownership in Columbia. We really need to build that up,” he said. “It’s not just about affordability, but it’s also a pathway to home ownership.”

The Oaks at St. Anna’s Park is named after a park in the Lyon Street neighborhood. The name comes from a historical church that was in the area.

One local resident believes the addition of the project will improve his neighborhood.

“We’re pleased with the commitment that the city and the housing authority have had to make this a sustainable project that will increase property values around the neighborhood,” said Chase Toler, Lyon Street Neighborhood Association president. 

The Gonzales Gardens housing complex was no stranger to drug related and violent crime.

The neighborhood association president does not believe the same story will continue at the new project.

“The Housing Authority has mentioned that they will have a property manager on site,” Toler said. “We imagine that the folks in this area are going to be good neighbors. We don’t anticipate any problems.”

“We got to get away from that stigma around affordable housing. Affordable is attainable. Attainability is the key for people to be part of our community. We got to continue to grow,” Rickenmann said. “We lost a House seat, a Senate seat and 9 percent of the population in our community. A lot of that had to do with affordability. We have to change that if we want to be the biggest city in South Carolina.

The Oaks at St. Anna’s Park expects an early 2024 completion date.