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| A restaurant, retail space and possibly loft residences are planned by Arnold Companies for the renovation of three buildings at the corner of Lady and Assembly streets. (Rendering/Provided) |
Staff Report
colanews@scbiznews.com
Published July 21, 2015
Updated 10:41 a.m., July 27, 2015
Columbia developer Arnold Companies has offered a first look at its redevelopment plans for the corner of Lady and Assembly streets.
The project will involve buildings at 1300 and 1306 Assembly, and 1113 Lady, currently known as the iconic Moe Levy’s building and the former Howards Sports building in downtown Columbia, the company said.
The two buildings account for about 33,000 square feet and the majority of the space contains the original characteristics of the structures, including hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, tin ceiling tiles and 14-foot ceilings.
“The Arnold Companies plan to redevelop these beautiful buildings with retail and restaurant on the ground floor,” the firm said.
Residential lofts are being considered for the second floor, with the possibility of leaving about 10,000 square feet on the second floor for banquet space, the company said.
Construction is expected to be completed in the fall of 2016. Studio 2LR is the project’s architect.
The project also marks the continued blending of Main Street and Vista submarkets as Lady and Gervais streets become pedestrian connectors between the two neighborhoods.
Other developments in the area include the Hyatt Place opening its 130-bed hotel with an AT&T retail store on the ground level on Gervais, and construction of a 108-room Aloft hotel at the corner of Lincoln and Lady streets.
“The planned redevelopment of the former Moe Levy’s and Howards Sports building at the corner of Lady and Assembly streets by Arnold Companies will be at the center of the two districts,” commercial real estate firm NAI Avant said in its first quarter retail space report.
The Arnold project “will certainly do that” for the two areas of downtown, said Matt Kennell, president and CEO of City-Center Partnership, which provides public space management, economic development, marketing services for downtown Columbia.
“I think that Lady has always been an important street but now probably more than ever,” Kennell said. “It links the office towers on Main Street to the restaurants and shopping areas of the Vista. With the new hotels there’ll be traffic going both ways.”
Arnold also is in the process of renovating 700 Gervais in the Vista to include the addition of Tin Lizzy’s Cantina and City Bar to its 59,000-square-foot entertainment complex.