A movie theater? A new grocery store? Here’s our ‘wish list’ for Columbia’s BullStreet

It feels like the time has arrived to start dreaming.

For about a decade, the city of Columbia and Greenville’s Hughes Development have been in the midst of transforming the sprawling, 181-acre former State Mental Hospital site near downtown into the BullStreet District. It’s a massive undertaking that’s given way so far to among other things, residences, commercial businesses, a public park, Segra Park minor league baseball stadium and, eventually, the University of South Carolina’s medical school campus.

It’s always been a complicated project, a public-private endeavor with a dash of historic preservation, and the city has invested more than $100 million for infrastructure there through the years.

Developers have always insisted that BullStreet was a 20-year build-out. It was never going to happen overnight. But as we’ve especially seen in the last couple years, it is happening, as a number of pieces of the site’s puzzle have fallen or are falling into place.

For instance, lots of people now live in the BullStreet District. The massive, historic Babcock Building has been renovated into more than 200 luxury apartments, all of which were almost immediately rented when they became available last year. There are folks living in townhomes on the southeast part of the development, and in the Merrill Gardens senior living facility just north of the baseball stadium. And there are more residences on the way: For example, the Bennet at BullStreet development has been under construction for some time right beside Segra Park, and will include 269 upscale apartments.

Multiple professional firms have offices there, from attorneys to engineering firms and even a corporate office for Scout Motors’ operations that are coming to Richland County. And there are retail enterprises on the site, from a Starbucks to an REI Outdoor store to a Publico restaurant right next to the baseball stadium to the Iron Hill Brewery that opened last summer right along Bull Street.

So, we’ve seen progress at BullStreet. And it feels like we’ve reached a point where you can earnestly begin to ponder what could, or should, be next. As such, I’ve got a short “wish list,” if you will, of a few things I’d love to see at the development.

To be certain, this is not a report offered with any special insight into the development. Rather, it’s simply a peek at some offerings I think would be a good fit on the burgeoning site, if I had a magic wand and could make it so.

1. A grocery store

This one seems like a slam dunk, assuming you could make the economics work.

For starters there is, more and more, a built-in audience for a supermarket right there on the site. With a senior living center, townhomes and multiple apartment developments with hundreds of units already at BullStreet, and more on the way, a place for folks to walk or take a very, very short drive and pick up groceries seems like it would be a winner.

But — and this part is key — having a grocery store in the BullStreet District would serve more than just the residents and workers on the property. It would be a significant benefit to the city, in general. I’ve felt for quite a while now that we need another grocery store in the city center. In terms of the direct, downtown core, we’ve really only got the Publix on Gervais Street, and the boutique Uncle Willie’s on Main.

A new, full-size supermarket at BullStreet would serve not only the residents at the district, but also the residents and workers throughout downtown, especially those in the densely populated neighborhoods just north of Elmwood Avenue and north of the site at-large. Huge swaths of north Columbia, in fact, are notable food deserts, and a grocery store at BullStreet would at least help fill that gap.

As for exactly what brand of grocery store I’d like to see at BullStreet? Well, I’m not going to be choosy. I’ll admit I’m a Lowes Foods loyalist (that hot, fresh bread), but if Wegman’s, the trendy grocer that’s in seven states, including North Carolina, wanted to bust into the Columbia market, this would be a good place for it.

2. A fancy multiplex movie theater

OK, this one gets a little more personal for me — I’m a certified movie hound — but I still feel like it would be a great draw for both the BullStreet District and Columbia, in general.

BullStreet would be the perfect spot for a new multiplex theater with all the modern bells and whistles. It wouldn’t have to be one of the massive ones that were so en vogue years ago. Eight screens would probably do the trick. It could have those big, cushy reclining chairs, and offer an extended dinner menu, as well as beer and wine. Something like the Alamo Drafthouse would be the pipe dream, but if you couldn’t land that brand, something similar would be nice.

The downtown Columbia area currently has, of course, the two-screen, independent Nickelodeon Theater on Main Street, which has long done a great job showcasing thoughtful films through the years. But the general Columbia area has seen its movie screen inventory dwindle in recent years. The 10-screen AMC cinema on Forest Drive closed in 2022, the seven-screen Regal theater at the now-under-redevelopment Richland Mall also closed in 2022 and the five-screen Spotlight St. Andrews Cinemas discount theater closed in late 2023.

The movie theater industry has had a bumpy ride in the last few years, chiefly because of the one-two punch of the COVID pandemic and last year’s prolonged writer and actor strikes.

But with the strikes now settled and Hollywood productions ramping up and starting to fill the pipeline with new movies again, there are brighter days ahead for quality theaters that do it right. The BullStreet District would be a great spot for just such a multiplex.

3. Restaurants, restaurants, restaurants

Obviously, we’ve seen a handful of restaurants at BullStreet. Publico is a cool place to grab a bite, especially before a Columbia Fireflies baseball game, and Iron Hill seems to have been well-received with the spot it opened last year. And Tupelo Honey, the popular regional chain known for Southern cuisine, has announced plans to put a restaurant on the site.

But as more residents begin calling the site home, and as the Fireflies continue to welcome thousands of fans to 66 home games a year, plus thousands more for special events and their annual Christmas lights display at the stadium, more restaurants and bars are a must.

Students at the USC medical campus will need sandwich shops or a pizzeria where they could grab a sub or a slice between classes. We need another locally owned bar or two to fortify the late night scene at the development. Phill Blair will skin me for suggesting it, but BullStreet could use a bit of that independent streak The Whig used to stand on, so if he was ever looking for a site for a revival...

And look, whenever new restaurants get brought up in this town, a certain number of people will, for whatever reason, start pining for a Cheesecake Factory. I’m sort of indifferent to the idea of Columbia getting one, but I can’t deny the populace and their apparent lust for cheesecake. So, why not BullStreet?

You can dream, right?