Community, business, and University leaders gathered Nov. 12 to break ground for the 117-room Inn at USC at the northeast corner of Pickens and Pendleton streets across from the Hollings National Advocacy Center.
The three-story structure, which is being built on land owned by the USC Development Foundation, will open in January 2005 and will be totally financed, developed, and managed by IMIC Hotels of Columbia, which owns and operates 25 hotels in five Southeastern states.
President Sorensen said he was pleased that the inn is on its way to becoming a reality.
"I am delighted that, after many months of intense negotiations, construction is under way," Sorensen said. "It represents the best of public-private partnerships and is an excellent example of what can be achieved through compromise and consideration."
Designed to complement the architecture of the neighborhood, the inn will feature a first-floor lobby and library, 31 two-room suites, an exercise room, a catering kitchen, meeting and seminar rooms, and a dining area that will serve breakfast for guests and lunch for NAC visitors. The inn will not have a full-service restaurant.
"This investment comes from my heart as well as my resources," said Bert Pooser, president and CEO of IMIC Hotels and a USC alumnus. "I want to give back to Columbia and the University of South Carolina for all the opportunities they have afforded me. A project of this quality is a dream and a legacy."
The historic Black House will be incorporated into construction of the 75,000-square-foot inn, but the Kirkland Apartments will remain separate and be restored as apartments for U.S. Justice Department officials who are on long-term assignment.
These structures, which also complement the neighborhood's residential architecture, are part of a larger agreement reached among USC, the USC Development Foundation, the National Advocacy Center, and the University Neighborhood Association in July. The agreement calls for the elimination of parking lots on Pendleton Street, redirection of traffic from the existing parking garage at Senate Street onto Pickens Street, and strengthening of the residential nature of the neighborhood by the return of three parcels of property on Pendleton Street to the private sector.
Plans were approved unanimously by Columbia City Council, the City of Columbia Planning Commission, and the city's Design/Development Review Commission earlier this fall.
Robert Opsahl of Irmo is the architect, with The Boudreax Group consulting on exterior design.
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