The Seaboard Vista project in the Vista is officially underway after a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday morning. The mixed-use redevelopment, led in part by Mashburn Construction, will bring restaurants, retail, office space, and apartments into a group of historic buildings along Gervais and Lady streets.

50 years + a move upstairs

For Mashburn, the project also marks a milestone year. The company is celebrating 50 years in Columbia and will move its headquarters into the second floor of the development, placing it directly inside a project it’s helping bring to life.

Mashburn has been part of Columbia’s downtown growth for decades, with offices previously on Taylor, Laurel, and Sumter streets before this move into the Vista.

Looking back at Seaboard

The buildings tied to Seaboard date back to the early 1900s, when this stretch of the Vista centered around rail travel, with passengers stopping to eat and shop along the way. Over time, they housed everything from a wholesale drug company to a National Biscuit Company warehouse, and later Whit-Ash, where generations of Columbians bought furniture and jewelry. Since Whit-Ash closed in 2024, the buildings have sat quiet, waiting for what comes next.

Looking forward

Now, the plan is to bring them back as a mix of residential, retail, and office space, keeping the structures intact while giving them a modern touch.

Project leaders framed the project as part of a bigger moment for Columbia. As Daniel Rickenmann said at the event, “It is Columbia’s time,” pointing to continued investment and growth across the downtown core.

As historian John Sherrer said at the event, the expectation is that Seaboard Vista “will surpass any expectations that we here and others in the community may have in forging an exciting next chapter for economic and cultural success for the Capital City.”