Friday Local News Roundup

Use your imagination to remove the B-25, renovate the place, and add a brewery.

Last night, I took the night off from the news, from blogging, and pretty much relaxed. It was a really nice evening. There was steak involved, there was some wine involved, and I may or may not have played a video game.

In any event, there are lots of things going on in the Capital City that merit at least a note:

1. Hunter-Gatherer is going to be opening up a brewery in the old Curtiss Wright Hangar at Owens Field. This is going to be a great event space if they do it (w)right. I'd love to sit on an observation deck on top of the hangar, drink a beer, and watch airplanes take off and land.

2. The baseball park where the USC Gamecocks play has a new name. No longer simply "Carolina Stadium" it is now "Founders Park". I like that the company ending up with the naming rights is a company with local ties to South Carolina, and doesn't have stupid name like "Smoothie King Park". Good job, Ray.

3. The Exxon in Five Points is going to become...a parking lot? Yeah, I don't really get this, either. This is probably the most "prime" real estate in Five Points. It's on the corner, across from the fountain, and fronts on Harden Street. I get that the existing shops, bars, and restaurants in Five Points want more parking for their patrons, but I really have to question two things.

First, I'm not sure why the City of Columbia paid so much. $100,000 per year (and going up each year) for a fifty year lease doesn't sound like my idea of a good investment by the City. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think the City stands to lose money on this deal unless they park a whole lot of cars. 

Also, yeah, Five Points is tight with parking, but it's not impossible. I go to Five Points all during the week for lunches and occasionally on the weekends, and it's never impossible. There is parking available, but you sometimes have to walk. Accordingly, I just hate to see that the premier corner in Five Points turned into a parking lot. So many much better things could have been done with this lot, it's just staggering.

But hey, at least I'll be able to find really easy parking when I want to go to lunch at the Gourmet Shop.