PRINTReported Commentary: Downtown development projects
Student population and downtown buildings are growing upward
Timmy Huynh
Where a parking garage once sat next to Chipotle and across from the Missouri School of Journalism, Certified Reality is now building an apartment complex with 64 units and space for businesses on the ground floor.
April 19, 2012 | 12:00 a.m. CST
The price of a barbacoa burrito will also buy a glimpse of the new face of Columbia. Although it doesn’t look like much yet, the dirt field located just outside the window of Chipotle on Ninth Street is the site of one of many new apartment complexes being built downtown.
The newest development projects include an expansion on Brookside Downtown at Tenth and Locust streets, another Brookside at College Avenue and Walnut Street, The Lofts at 308 Ninth St. and another building at Ninth Street and Park Avenue. All are expected to increase the number of people living downtown by August 2013, if not sooner. In addition to these, on Monday the City Council approved the rezoning of a lot at the corner of Locust and Hitt streets, which will make room for another apartment building.
Brookside Downtown
260 S. Tenth St.
Owner and Developer: Trittenbach Developers
Two buildings already occupy part of the 100 and 200 blocks of Tenth Street. A third building will offer Brookside residents the chance to relax by a new outdoor pool.
Brookside on College
1221 E. Walnut St.
Owner and Developer: Trittenbach Developers
Units: 100
Located near Stephens College, Brookside on College will also offer groundfloor space for businesses.
Ninth Street and Park Avenue
1221 E. Walnut St.
Owners: Marti and Alex Waigandt
Units: 12
Eleven of the 12 units have two bedrooms and two bathrooms; the twelth unit has one bedroom and is wheelchair accessible.
Hitt and Locust
1100 Locust St.
Developer: Regina Properties LLC
Units: 160-bed apartment complex
The rezoning of commercial property — one a night club — at Hitt and Locust will accommodate the construction of a new apartment building and parking garage.
The Lofts at 308 Ninth
308 S. Ninth St.
Owner: Certified Realty
Units: 56 two-bedroom units, eight one-bedroom units
The ground floor will house businesses including Fazoli’s, Moe’s, Tigers Credit Union and Magic Tan.
--Trevor Eischen
Part of the increase in downtown living is representative of the simple fact that Columbia is growing. The newest census shows the population of Columbia grew by 28 percent between 2000 and 2010. In terms of growth, this dwarfs other major Missouri cities Kansas City (4 percent), Springfield (5 percent) and St. Louis (-8 percent).
MU has seen record numbers of incoming freshmen year after year. Columbia keeps gaining more people, and many of them are looking for a place to live. According to numbers from The District, 8,000 students currently live downtown.
The increase in downtown development mirrors a national trend. Canadian indie-rock band Arcade Fire’s third album The Suburbs embodies the trend of young people moving into urban areas; they want to leave the suburbs, and research supports the lyrics.
According to the State of Metropolitan America, a report released by the Brookings Institution in 2010, people are leaving the suburbs to live in urban areas in large numbers. The United Nations Population Fund has been tracking trends of urbanization across the world. In general, people are moving into cities. In the U.S. affluent young people are choosing to live in densely populated urban areas rather than the suburbs that were favored by every other generation after World War II.
This shift is generally considered to be a boon to Columbia. The city is growing, and more people want to live downtown. This means more money spent at local businesses, fewer cars traveling into downtown and, maybe, slowing the continued pop-up of huge apartment complexes on the southside of town.
The new building on Ninth Street will make room for 120 new residents. The building at Ninth Street and Park Avenue will house 23 residents. Managers at Brookside declined to give any numbers for the expected number of residents in the new buildings. The building approved at Monday’s City Council meeting will house 160.
It doesn’t seem that there will be any problem filling these spaces either. The Brookside buildings are already leasing rooms. Marti Waigandt, the co-owner of the building at Ninth and Park, says she’s seen a lot of interest just from word-of-mouth. The question is who will live there.
The new Brookside building has ammenities such as furnished apartments, a shuttle service and a rooftop swimming pool, all just one block west of Campus Bar and Grill. So maybe the question of who will live at Brookside isn’t a question at all.
Downtown Columbia is an obvious choice for development. It’s a hub for small businesses and is attractive to many people looking to move. But in order to keep the natural demographic division of town versus gown from becoming a geographic one, Columbia needs developments that do more than keep students close to their classes and their nightlife.
