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We Are Planning for Downtown Columbia

We’ve recently kicked off the community planning process for a new strategic plan + design guidelines – and we want you to get involved!

Innovista Design Overlay District

The Innovista Master Plan was a visionary plan designed to create a vibrant, mixed-use urban neighborhood in Columbia, the capital city of South Carolina. The Innovista area, roughly bounded by Gervais to the north, Catawba to the south, Assembly to the east, and the Congaree River to the west, encompasses about a quarter of Columbia’s City Center. The plan was developed to support the continued renaissance of downtown Columbia as well as the emergence of the University of South Carolina as a nationally recognized, comprehensive research university.

At the time of plan development, the existing context of the area was largely undeveloped land, parking lots, and low-density industrial and commercial uses. Design guidelines, developed has part of the public planning process, support the proposed uses, densities, building envelopes, and special districts outlined in the Innovista Master Plan. The guidelines are intended to help new developments meet the principles of pedestrian- friendly, quality urban development.

Map of the Innovista Design Overlay District (click to enlarge)

A new planning process is underway.

It has been 25 years since the adoption of the City Center Master Plan and more than 15 years since the adoption of the Innovista Master Plan, and it’s time to work with the community to discern a refreshed vision for the quality of the Downtown built environment! Find out about the planning process, and get engaged, by visiting the Downtown Columbia project page!

Find out more!

Not sure if your property is within a Design Overlay District? Check out the City Information Viewer Interactive Online Map.

Questions? Contact our Urban Design staff.

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