Columbia real estate developer wins preservation awards

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Two projects by Columbia real estate developer Cason Development Group were recently honored with 2023 Preservation Awards from Historic Columbia.

The adaptive reuse of The Klondike Building at 1813 Main St. was the winner in the Preservation, Rehabilitation, or Restoration category, and 2901 Rosewood Drive, the residential transformation of the former Rosewood Church, was the winner in the Revitalization category.

 “We are thrilled to have our work recognized by Historic Columbia for the preservation of these unique buildings,” said Frank Cason, president of Cason Development Group. “Our teams spent a tremendous amount of time and energy on these projects making sure they were restored appropriately while making them attractive to new residents and commercial users.”

These were the fourth and fifth Historic Columbia Preservation Awards for Cason Development Group since the firm’s founding in 2015.

The Klondike Building restoration converted the former office building into 28 market rate apartments. The building is owned by Cason Real Estate Holdings and Cohn Corporation and was a joint project of Cason Development Group and Cohn Construction Services. Davis Architecture was the project architect and Rogers Lewis the preservation consultant.

Originally built in the 1970s, 2901 Rosewood Drive was home to Rosewood Church until 2019, when Cason Development Group purchased the property for redevelopment. Garvin Design Group was the architect and preservation consultant, and Boyer Commercial Construction was the contractor. Now known as 5th & Sloan, the church building and attached education building were turned into 49 new apartment units. An existing building, across Sloan Street from the church, was converted into retail space, soon to be home to Masa Mexican Street Food and Rosewood Family Dental, and an adjacent retail building houses a Starbucks. Three short-term rental apartments are above the new retail building and are available for booking.

 Each year Historic Columbia celebrates Preservation Month through an awards program recognizing notable examples of preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration projects that have maintained or added to Columbia and Richland County’s historical, architectural, and cultural heritage. The 1813 Main St. and Rosewood projects also received 2022 Golden Nail awards from the Columbia Chamber of Commerce earlier this year.