Last week, we told you that May is National Historic Preservation Month, a celebration that was started in the 1970s as a way to promote historic places. And since Cola has plenty of those, the City of Columbia has been hosting events all month long – like scavenger hunts, film screenings + bike rides – to remember history + celebrate revitalization.

To participate in the celebration, we teamed up with local commercial real estate firm Trinity Partners to get an expert’s take on our city’s historic buildings + adaptive reuse.

Historic preservation has been the catalyst to the redevelopment of downtown Columbia – dating back to the Vista’s redevelopment in the 90s and the early 2000s, which was then carried over to Main Street starting in 2010.

The adaptive reuse of these buildings preserves Columbia’s character, and at the same time, brings in new retail, office + hospitality concepts that would have otherwise not have been financially feasible. 💸 (Building owners/developers are able to utilize state + federal historic tax credits to offset the higher renovation costs associated with historic rehabilitation projects vs. new construction.)

Here are some of the coolest examples of this, according to team Trinity:

The Barringer Building | history lesson here | A true pioneer on Main Street before anyone else considered living downtown.
Hotel Trundle | history lesson here | Combination of 3 former retail buildings on two separate streets into an amazing downtown boutique hotel.
701 Whaley | history lesson here | Very popular event venue, art gallery + office space.
Mast General Store | history lesson here | Retail use that spurred other creative retail users now in that same two block radius such as the Grand, Michael’s on Main, + Lula Drake.

You may be surprised that there are some empty preserved buildings around town (lookin’ at you, Cola biz owners). Check out these restored buildings that are currently available for lease:

1209 Gadsden St. | 17,437 sqft. | While not currently on the National Historic Register, this circa-1939 building is located in the heart of The Vista (behind Jimmy John’s) and will qualify for the Bailey Bill (and possibly other state + federal tax credits).
1556 Main St. | 3,000 sqft. | This three-story building was built in 1876, originally occupied by Wright’s Hotel and a clothing store. The mixed-use building is now home to Main Street Public House and office tenants Cohn Construction and Trinity Partners in the upper two floors and basement.

Now that you’re schooled, want to test your architecture eye + preservation knowledge? The next Preservation Month event is the Vista Architecture Scavenger Hunt, ongoing through next Thursday, May 31. Clues are available online and at the Columbia Visitor’s Center, and if you complete the hunt + return the correct answers, you’ll be entered to win prizes. Ⓟ