Corner Shandon Bungalow For Sale

2737 Blossom St. Hit Market Monday

This cute Shandon bungalow sits at the corner of Blossom and Maple Street. The home features 1,655 sq. ft. and has larger rooms that the average bungalow.

This is a well known home in Shandon as most everyone is familiar with the black iron fence that encloses the front yard. I think it would be awesome to put a few Adirondack chairs in this front yard to watch the walkers stroll by.

Only one block off of the best that Devine St. has to offer, many stores and restaurants are super accessible by foot.

The interior of this house is an empty canvas for a designers eye. This could very easily become one of Shandon's cutest creme puffs!

Chick-fil-A + 5 Points = Perfect Fit

Finally...Chick-fil-A Destined for 5 Points
After years of wishful thinking, plans finally seem to be in the works to bring the incredibly popular franchise to Columbia's 5 points.

If I've said it once, I've said it 1000 times that the spot currently occupied by Hardee's would be PERFECT for a Chick-fil-A store. Our morning Starbucks crew has pined over it many times as we suck down our Americanos and Lattes. Tonight, WISTV.com reported that this fleeting thought may actually come to fruition as Hardee's lease ends in 2010.

Hardee's is a fine enough place to eat. Having said this, the Hardee's on Harden St. has never really been a place that in town workers and/or USC students really adopted as a destination place to dine. Whatever the reason, this particular store just hasn't created the right stigma that the location commands. In my years in Columbia, I've never once said or heard the words, "Hey...Let's hit Hardee's on Harden." Chick-fil-A will change this.

Any readers of this post may ask, "If you believe in the success so much, why haven't you opened the store yourself?" The answer is simply, $$$$. It takes a grand amount of money and an extreme commitment to acquire a Chick-fil-A franchise.

Kudos to the folks who are going to make this work. I know a lot of folks who will be frequent patrons. It's been a winner waiting to happen for a long time...

Political Nastiness > National Good??

We Can't Be Nice To Each Other For Our Own Good
The very existence of the Olympic Games is a symbolic gesture in which all nations gather at one stage to compete in a peaceful manner. Within this worldwide effort exists a feeling of national pride that's unique to each participating country. The comments I've witnessed since we learned that Chicago wouldn't be the host city tells me that we may need a lesson in this.

Trolling through Facebook and Twitter during the selection process surprised me to say the least. The "Update" banter on the networking sites had me shaking my head with every comment. It just seemed a little odd to see so many people happy that Chicago lost out, simply because the President of the United States made an effort to recruit the games. It was as though we were pulling against ourselves.

I don't know if I was more surprised or sad to watch political "HaHa's!" as the dominant theme of the moment. Status update after update made fun of the contingent that traveled to Copenhagen on America's behalf.

I suppose our politics are really that terrible. Anytime a Democrat or Republican says something or attends anything, they are immediately pummeled by the other side. Even given extreme severity it seems that we could get behind an effort to recruit the Olympic Games for Pete's sake. Guess not.

As a side note, I'd hate to be the one or two cities that have to follow in Beijing's footsteps as it was one of the most impressive things I've ever seen on TV.

Anyway, congratulations to Rio on being the host city in 2016. I'm sure it'll be fun to watch!

I-385 Travelers=8 Months of Detours

This is Going To Be a Major Pain in the Asphalt

Since my wife's parents live in Clinton and I'm from Anderson, I was surprised that I didn't know about the massive I-385 Rehab Project until I read of it on Fits. I don't go to Anderson as much as I should, but this news is obviously gonna be a big deal in terms of familial interaction.

Weekend trips to Anderson aside, the real impact will be to interstate and intrastate commerce. Every company that runs a truck from Greenville to Columbia will have to adjust in large fashion. As South Carolina could use all of the commerce that it can attract, the timing of the project probably isn't primo.

From FitsNews.com...Interstate 385 is a 42-mile stretch of road that runs from Clinton S.C. (where it intersects I-26) and downtown Greenville, S.C. It apparently needs to be resurfaced and have six bridges replaced, which we learned from a spiffy “I-385 Rehab Project” website created by the S.C. Department of Transportation.

The project will cost $45 million.

From The Greenville News..I-385 northbound will remain closed for the entire eight-month project, and traffic will be detoured up I-26 to Spartanburg, Perry said. Southbound lanes will remain open until work is finished on the northbound side. Then crossover lanes will be installed in the medians and southbound traffic will shift onto the newly finished northbound side, he said.

Locally we've had to endure some repaving in the last few months on some of Columbia's major arteries. While the paving of Devine St. and Rosewood Dr. have certainly been an inconvenience, the finished project was worth the impermanent bumpy ride. The I-385 Project will produce the same result although it's going to be a terrible inconvenience to endure. The project will improve about 15 miles of the 42 mile Hwy.

As we all aspire for a more perfect South Carolina, we'll simply have to deal with the detours that the I-385 Project provides. As untimely as the project seems I'm sure the months of pain will produce a happy result for years to come.

Columbia's Newest Real Estate Listings

Columbia's Newest Hotsheet; Aug 21-Sept. 27, 2009
It's been over a month since the Hotsheet's been updated on blog. It looks like the last update was done when Jenn and I were hanging out in a hospital room with a brand new Finley. That's too long!

There are over 100 properties on this version. Happy clicking!

Heathwood Vacant Lot For Sale

813 Kipling Dr. Downtown Columbia Hits Market

When people ask about vacant lots for sale in downtown Columbia, Realtors usually have to resort to some of the newer neighborhoods like King's Grant, The Preserve or Woodhill Crest. It's very rare to be able to mention the words "vacant lot" in an older, traditional neighborhood like Heathwood, Shandon or Wales Garden.

I know there are some on Kilbourne and Devereaux available where the old "farm house" was torn down. Other than that, we can count the available vacant lots for sale on one hand.

For point of reference, it wasn't long ago a lot on Capitol Place in Shandon sold for over $290,000 and a few month ago my vacant lot listing sold closed for $275,000.

Kipling Dr. is one of those streets that is always in high demand. Homes on streets that surround the popular Heathwood Park are always at a premium. The homes that surround the park are a tad smaller and therefore more affordable than the mansions of Heathwood. It will be some time before anyone else will have a brand new house in Heathwood.

This particular lot is about 65' wide and 255' deep at its deepest point. It's VERY long which would provide any homeowner with a large front and backyard.

Call or email if you have any questions about this vacant lot in Heathwood. The lot is offered for $175,000.

Team Sheheen Retains Trav Robertson

Sheheen Campaign Calls On Obama's State Director

A few days ago it was announced that Vincent Sheheen hired Trav Robertson to be part of his campaign to be the next governor of South Carolina. This should be a good move for Team Sheheen as Trav has a heathly history with most of the states top Democrats.

“We are fortunate to have Trav join our team. Trav has run campaigns for Congressman John Spratt, State Treasurer Grady Patterson and President Obama, and he understands all aspects of campaigning. Trav knows South Carolina’s potential and understands that my campaign will focus on moving our state forward,” Sheheen said.

In my bias, Trav is one who recognizes that any campaign shouldn't be too focused on one medium of vote collection. While he's certainly a grassroots guru, Trav is also well versed in the new media and social media platforms that are so important to today's election efforts. I appreciate this balance very much, as I try very hard to implement it in my real estate practice every day.

Further, Trav isn't afraid to throw a punch. Trav's most recent punch came only weeks ago when The State Newspaper asked Trav what he thought about Dwight Drake's bid for governor. I don't remember verbatim what Trav said, but I certainly recall that he didn't hold anything back.

Good luck to Vincent and Trav. They'll have fun in strategy sessions and traveling around South Carolina. Even though I'm a long way from choosing a candidate on either side of the aisle, I would love to be a fly on the wall in this campaign headquarters.

I've often said that Trav is worth 2% points in a 'D' primary. I guess we'll see!