Wedding & Event Venue Near Hampton, SC.

There could be a new hotel coming to downtown Columbia.

According to city of Columbia documents, the new hotel would be at the southwest corner of Hampton and Wayne streets, not far from the Vista district. The hotel would be across Wayne Street from the city’s Memorial Park.

Columbia City Council on Oct. 18 gave initial approval to an ordinance that would authorize a $28,000 sale of 0.16 acres of city-owned property on nearby Washington Street that would help make way for the hotel project. That is an unopened portion of Washington Street, per the ordinance.

A memo from city staff to Council notes the land at Hampton and Wayne is “a complex site to make work for a development” and that the sale of the nearby unopened piece of Washington Street “will provide the area necessary for parking and site improvements” for the project.

Details are scarce on the would-be hotel project, which is being planned by company called AGS Columbia LLC. In city documents the effort is referred to simply as “Project Name: Proposed Hotel at Wayne Street and Hampton Street.”

The brand of the hotel has not been announced. The city’s ordinance said it would be a six-story hotel.

This project would be just the latest rumbling when it comes to hotels in downtown Columbia.

A new Cambria Hotel just opened at 1000 Lady St. in the Vista. Meanwhile, the award-winning Hotel Trundle on Taylor St. announced it would be expanding to the 1500 block of Main Street with an addition called The Flutter Wing.

Over at 1200 Main St., hotelier Rick Patel is planning a Marriott Moxy brand hotel in the 11-story high rise that was built in 1913 and was one of Columbia’s first skyscrapers, right across from the S.C. State House. That hotel is set to have bars on the roof and in the basement.

Developer Bo Aughtry has pitched a 200-room Marriott hotel very near the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, though those plans have not been finalized.

And earlier this year, a combination Homewood Suites and Tru by Hilton hotel planned for the corner of Gervais and Williams street in the Vista received approval from the city’s design board, though some nearby residents have expressed opposition to the seven-story, 249-room project.

Hampton County, S.C. -- The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and the Open Space Institute (OSI) recently announced a joint, two-phase effort to permanently protect more than 7,300 acres in Coastal South Carolina’s Hampton and Jasper counties. The protection of the property, known locally as “Buckfield,” will link ecologically significant landscapes, creating a 12,000-acre stretch of protected land in this fast-growing region, and make way for publicly accessible recreation land in the near future.

On June 30, The Nature Conservancy acquired 3,654 acres marking a bold first step in the permanent protection of Buckfield. “Buckfield’s enormous size, extensive river frontage and healthy longleaf pine forests have long made it a property of interest for conservation in county comprehensive plans and by the conservation community,” says Dale Threatt-Taylor, executive director, TNC in South Carolina. “We’re thrilled to be joining OSI in this significant conservation achievement and to be opening these lands to the people of South Carolina in the near future.”

OSI intends to acquire the remaining 3,672 acres later this year. The entire Buckfield property (parts I and II), along with the adjacent 5,000-acre Slater property secured by OSI last year, is expected to be transferred to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) to become an approximately 12,000-acre WMA. The land will be open for public access.

“The conservation of Buckfield in this vulnerable region is a momentous achievement on its own. When combined with Slater, these 12,000 acres offer largescale connectivity and limitless public recreation opportunities,” said Nate Berry, OSI’s Senior Vice President. “This is an unparalleled triumph for the people and wildlife of this region.”

Buckfield is an ecological treasure with upland longleaf pine forests providing habitat for rare gopher tortoise populations, 36 miles of river frontage on the Coosawhatchie River, Tulifinny River and many braided streams. This immense watershed drains into the Port Royal Sound, providing clean, abundant water for citizens downstream and replenishing the estuaries on which recreational and commercial fisheries depend.

Additionally, the property, along with adjoining protected properties, creates a “nature bridge” of undeveloped land that spans from the 300,000-acre Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto (ACE) Rivers Basin to the 450,000-acre South Lowcountry-Savannah River (SOLO).

Until recently, the area between the ACE Basin and the SOLO – where Beaufort, Hampton and Jasper counties intersect – had few protected properties and almost no publicly accessible land. It also faces development pressure from the rapidly growing communities of Beaufort, Bluffton and Hilton Head, located less than 20 miles away.

“Buckfield is a huge success and helps fulfill Jasper County’s community vision for the protection of land for public recreation, water quality and economic development,: commented Andy Fulghum, Jasper County Administrator. “We applaud TNC and OSI for partnering to get this deal done and look forward to working together on future conservation victories.”

In 2021, OSI purchased three properties, known as the Slater assemblage, totaling slightly more than 5,000 acres, in the heart of this unprotected region. The Slater project kickstarted the acquisition of adjacent Buckfield.

About Open Space Institute

A national conservation leader, the Open Space Institute protects land for clean water, improved public recreational access, a healthier planet, stronger communities, and wildlife habitat. Over the past decade, the Open Space Institute has protected more than 100,000 acres in the Southeastern US, including 35,000 acres in South Carolina. Since 1974, the Open Space Institute has partnered in the protection of 2.3 million acres across the eastern US and southern Canada. Learn more about the Open Space Institute online at openspaceinstitute.org.

About The Nature Conservancy

The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working around the world to conserve the lands and waters on which all life depends. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at nature.org/sc.

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina—Maya Hotels announced its acquisition of two Hampton Inn-branded hotels in the Carolinas. The two Hampton Inn hotels—Hampton Inn & Suites Charlotte-Arrowood Road, North Carolina, and Hampton Inn Columbia Northeast-Fort Jackson, South Carolina—have a total of 210 guestrooms. This transaction marks Maya Hotels’ second and third acquisitions over the last six months. The company also acquired the Avid Hotel Fort Mill, South Carolina, in the second half of 2022. The hotels will be renovated and managed by Maya Hotels.

“We are excited to acquire these two top-branded assets at a discount to replacement cost,” said Krishna Deva, vice president of Maya Hotels. “Charlotte and Columbia have historically been top markets for us, and we are thrilled to grow our presence in these two cities with such a strong brand affiliation.”

The acquired hotels complement Maya Hotels’ existing footprint and will increase the current operating synergies the company has across North and South Carolina.

“These two hotels are long-term staples within their communities, with great proximity to major attractions, corporate offices, and government business,” said Parimal Thakor, vice president of Maya Hotels. “We are thrilled to significantly upgrade both of these assets with multi-million-dollar capital improvement plans, which will position these hotels to become leading performers in their respective markets.”

The 100-room Hampton Inn & Suites Charlotte-Arrowood is located off Interstate 77 in the Arrowood submarket, with local employers nearby. The property is five miles from Carowinds Amusement Park and six miles from Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

The 110-room Hampton Inn Columbia Northeast-Fort Jackson is off two interstates: Interstate 77 and Interstate 20. This property is located four miles away from Fort Jackson. The hotel is also near the University of South Carolina and downtown Columbia.

“We are so happy to continue growing our relationships with the Charlotte and Columbia communities, as well as with Hilton. We are also thankful to each of our investors and banking partners,” remarked JD Deva, CEO of Maya Hotels. “The success of this transaction is a testament to our track record in the hospitality industry and our ability to adapt quickly in a rapidly changing lending environment. We look forward to bringing out the full potential of each of these properties with our hands-on management approach and the completion of major renovations at each property.”

The addition of the two Hampton Inns brings the total number of hotels in Maya Hotels’ portfolio to 10, including four Hilton properties.

Each hotel offers an outdoor pool, a 24/7 marketplace with snacks and beverages, WiFi, breakfast, a fitness center, meeting spaces, and a 24/7 business center. The guestrooms and suites have microwaves and refrigerators.

Meko Gates, who lives near the intersection of May Avenue and Pinckney Street, watched as the city repaved May Avenue in recent months. Now, he said he wants the city to repave his stretch of the neighborhood to fix the bumps and cracks in the pavement.

Luckily for Gates, Pinckney Street is scheduled for resurfacing in the coming years. The city is using a $36 million neighborhood bond to pay for many street improvements.

They're also using a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 108 loan to build new sidewalks, curbs and gutters in Greenville's special-emphasis neighborhoods, including:

For someone like Shelia Brooks, that investment has been a long time coming.

Brooks spent most of her life in the Hampton Pinckney neighborhood. She bought her home on Hampton Avenue with assistance from the city in 1986. Until the city repaved her street a few months ago, "the road that was here, was here when I moved in 1986," Brooks said.

The repaving was exciting, she said. Brooks took her 19-month-old grandson, Solomon, outside to watch, even posing him on one of the pavers for a photo she took with her cellphone.

"Me and the baby, we watched them every day," Brooks said.

Howard Butler, a Black resident who has lived off Webster Road in Nicholtown for over 40 years, said he asked the city to build sidewalks in the neighborhood some 10 or 12 years ago.

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The request was brushed aside. They told him that money needed to be spent downtown, he said.

Nicholtown has changed dramatically since Butler first asked for new sidewalks. Homes sell for $348,000 on average, trending up 17% year over year, according to realtor.com. Nicholtown's white residents have more than doubled as of 2020, while the Black population has declined nearly 42% since 1990, according to census data compiled by a team of researchers at Furman University.

With that racial and economic change, the city is taking action. Now, Butler's road is on the NIB improvement list.

But rectifying decades of civic neglect isn't simple. One thing's for certain: It's not just about the roads.

Cities need to look at the big picture, said Rob Puentes, president and CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation, a nonprofit think tank focused on improving transportation policy and leadership.

"It's not just the infrastructure, right? It's everything that is connected to it: housing policies and zoning and land use, all these things that everybody knows are fundamentally connected, but we oftentimes treat them as separate and distinct," Puentes said.

While authorities don't yet have good mechanisms to totally prevent displacement, improving neighborhoods in an equitable manner "takes a lot of outreach and a lot of public participation," he said.

Macon Atkinson is the city watchdog reporter for The Greenville News. She's powered by long runs and strong coffee. Follow her on Twitter@maconatkinson.

CONWAY, S.C. – The Coastal Carolina (22-3) softball team picked up a pair of wins on day two of the Beach Chicken Brawl event on Saturday. The Chants made light work of the Houston Christian Huskies, defeating them 12-4 in five innings, and then went on to down the Golden Griffins 5-2 under the lights in the nightcap.

Game 1: Coastal Carolina 12, Houston Christian 4 (5 innings)

Houston Christian got off to a swift start in the top of the first inning after a Coastal fielding miscue allowed two runners to reach home to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead.

The Chanticleers hustled back in the bottom of the first inning when the top of the order recorded three consecutive hits. Diamond Williams and Riley Zana each struck singles to right field to put runners on first and second base before Delaney Keith smashed an RBI double down the right-field line to narrow HCU’s lead to 2-1.

Sophomore Keirstin Roose earned redemption for her fielding error when she drilled a two-run single up the middle to put Coastal out in front at 3-2 at the end of the first inning.

The Chants kept the ball rolling in the bottom of the second inning when three-straight singles from Indya Smith, Ava Hampton, and Williams loaded the bases. A foul out by Keith to left field then pushed Smith across home plate to push the Chants out in front 4-2. The runs kept coming when Iyanla De Jesus smashed a double to center field, driving in two RBIs to extend Coastal’s lead to 6-2.

The Huskies came back in fighting spirit in the top of the third inning when Jasie Roberts struck a two-run double down the left-field line to narrow the gap to 6-4.

In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Chants steamed ahead when De Jesus hammered her fourth home run of the season over the center field wall to make the score 7-4.

The Chants bats came alive in the bottom of the fifth inning when Zana slotted a single up the middle to drive in two RBIs. Keith then delivered the knockout punch when she blasted a three-run walk-off home run over the right-field wall to give CCU the 12-4 victory in five innings.

Nicolette Picone (4-1) pitched 2.2 shutout innings while recording one strikeout to tally her fourth win in the circle.

Game 2: Coastal Carolina 5, Canisius 2

The Golden Griffins got off to a quick start in the top of the first inning when Megan Giese struck a double down the left line to drive in Saige Alfaro from second base and give Canisius a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third inning, the Chanticleers mounted a comeback after two errors from the Golden Griffins allowed Jay Wrightsman and Williams to cross home plate to push CCU out in front 2-1.

The Chants broke open the game in the bottom of the fifth inning when Williams crushed a two-run cannon over the right-center field wall to make the score 4-1. Then another fielding error from the Griffins allowed Sam Miller to cross home plate to put CCU up 5-2.

The Golden Griffins tallied one run in the top of the seventh inning when Geise hit a lead-off home run down the left line, but Raelee Brabham remained calm in the circle and struck out the final two hitters to give Coastal the 5-2 win.

Brabham (9-1) mowed down 12 Griffins and equaled her career-high of 12 strikeouts while pitching her third complete game of the season to secure the win.

The Chanticleers will be back at St. John Stadium tomorrow where they will face Houston Christian and Ohio State at noon ET and 2:30 p.m. ET, respectively.