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Developer outlines 300-unit workforce housing plan as council approves rezoning and annexation
Summary
Developers told Columbia City Council they plan about 300 workforce housing units and 35,000 sq ft of commercial space at Dutchman Boulevard and Lake Murray Boulevard as the council approved rezoning to MU2 and an annexation; details on rent levels and tax incentives remain subject to later approvals.
A developer told Columbia City Council that a proposed mixed-use project would add roughly 300 workforce housing units and about 35,000 square feet of ground-floor commercial space adjacent to Lake Murray Boulevard.
Talford Wharton, representing Stowa Group, said the project would feature three-story garden-style apartment buildings intended to serve employees at nearby Parkridge Prisma Hospital. "This will provide 300 workforce housing units to the immediate area as well as up to 35,000 square ft of commercial," Wharton said during the March meeting.
Attorney Tar Chicker, representing the applicant, said the developer envisions the project as market-rate housing within the city's definition of "workforce" housing and that the county tax-abatement the project will seek is expected to be a 10-year, 40% request, which still requires a separate approval process. "That's the request. We haven't started that process yet," he said.
Council members asked for specifics on unit mix and affordability. The applicant said the planned distribution is about 40% one-bedroom units, 50% two-bedroom units and 10% three-bedroom units, and that most units would be designed to meet the county's updated workforce definition tied to area median income (AMI) thresholds.
Planning staff described the two items before the council — a rezoning of Dutchman Boulevard parcels from light industrial/planned development to a mixed-use district (MU2) and an annexation/resoning for adjacent Lake Murray Boulevard parcels — noting that the area is infill rather than a boundary expansion and that city services already extend to the site. Staff confirmed that these rezoning and annexation items were posted for public notice because they change land-use classifications.
Council approved the rezoning (item 13) and the annexation/resoning (item 14) by roll-call votes during the meeting. The developer said additional approvals and an incentives review would follow; council members requested follow-up on AMI targets and incentive terms.
The council's approval establishes MU2 zoning for the parcels; the tax-abatement and any incentive agreement would require separate processes with county and city review.
Next steps: the developer will pursue site completion, incentives and any required permitting; the council did not act on tax abatement at the meeting.
