County makes way for $100 million redevelopment of Richland Mall site

After years of behind-the-scenes and public discussion, the path has now been cleared for a massive overhaul of the Richland Mall property in Forest Acres.

Richland County Council on Tuesday night approved a tax incentive agreement with Augusta-based developer Southeastern for an aggressive mixed-use redevelopment of the moribund mall property. Council agenda paperwork described the project as a “a mixed-use commercial development” and estimated the project would generate a minimum of $101 million in new taxable investment.

Richland Mall, which was built in its current form in 1988 and is located at 3400 Forest Drive, has been the subject of redevelopment talks for years. The mall sits at the bustling intersection of Forest Drive and Beltline Boulevard. While retailers there have come and gone through the years, the nearly 1 million-square-foot facility sits almost entirely empty today, though there are a small handful of national tenants, including Belk and Barnes & Noble.

Earlier this year, the seven-screen Regal movie theater that sat atop the mall closed.

Full details of the redevelopment of the mall property had not been announced as of Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, Forest Acres City Council also passed an incentive agreement with Southeastern for the mall redevelopment. As part of the agreement, Forest Acres agreed to buy a piece of the mall property and develop it into a park for special events.

“We are partnering with a developer with a well-known track record for integrating public space with these types of redevelopment projects,” Forest Acres Mayor Frank Brunson said in a release. “Anyone who remembers our Rhythm on the Rooftop concert series will recall the type of outdoor concert experience we hope to bring back to Forest Acres.”

The park at the mall site would be the sixth park in Forest Acres.

While more details are still to come, Forest Acres Mayor Pro Tem Thomas Andrews hinted at the possibilities for the mall site.

“I see the key word as ‘opportunity,’” Andrews said in a statement. “It has been nearly abandoned for so long that this is the opportunity to replace it with new retail, restaurants, residents and an opportunity to build on our city park system. Yes, as you would expect there are a lot of details to finish up, but we are excited about the opportunities to come.”

The Richland Mall site is in the middle of a high-traffic area, with state statistics showing that more than 27,000 cars per day travel down Forest Drive near the property, with 25,000 cars per day heading down Beltline Boulevard.

Southeastern is no stranger to major developments. The company has numerous retail, residential, hospitality and other business developments in its portfolio, with projects across the South. Among their developments is the mixed-use Shelter Cove Towne Centre in Hilton Head

Mixed-use developments have been increasingly popular in recent years. Probably the most aggressive example in Columbia is the still-developing BullStreet District, which mingles a baseball stadium with residences, restaurants, professional offices and a public park, with more growth on the way.

Another example closer to the Richland Mall site is the Cardinal Crossing development in Forest Acres, which features restaurants, shops and more than 250 new apartments.

Richland Mall has not been alone in its struggles as an enclosed mall in the Columbia area, as the Dutch Square Center on Bush River Road and the Columbia Place Mall on Two Notch Road also are malls that have had a hard time holding onto big-name retail tenants in recent years. The Columbiana Centre mall near Irmo, however, has remained comparatively thriving and still has a host of well known stores and brands out on Harbison Boulevard.