New Earlewood apartments moving forward with county tax break

The empty Sunset Shopping Center in Columbia’s Earlewood neighborhood will officially be replaced with a 300-unit mixed-rate apartment complex, after Richland County approved tax credits for the project Tuesday.

Leaders hinted at the $94 million project in October, noting that Central Baptist Church had bought the property in 2016 with the hopes of redeveloping it into something beneficial for the community.

Greenville-based Streams Development will begin construction on the apartment complex, to be named The Streams at Earlewood, in the first quarter of 2025, according to a release from Columbia’s Economic Development office.

The apartments will offer one-, two- and three-bedroom units, and the developers will also build a 520-space parking garage.

Alex Dmyterko, Chief Executive Officer at Streams Development, said proximity to the North Main corridor and the ability to build a large-scale project close to the city center contributed to the decision to build an apartment complex at 301 Sunset Drive, according to the city’s release.

“There hasn’t been a modern development of this type in years,” Dmyterko said in a statement. “We are excited about the transformative impact that this development can bring to the community, as we work towards final investment decisions.”

A swimming pool, dog park and electric vehicle charging stations are also part of the complex plans.

Richland County Council Tuesday approved a 10-year, 50% tax break for the project, in exchange for the developers building the parking garage and spending $381,400 on environmental remediation.

The tax deal stipulates that the value of the project must be at least $68 million, but developers anticipate spending $94.5 million on the entire project.

Benjamin Johnson, an economic development consultant working with Streams Development on the project, previously said one reason the project became untenable for Central Baptist Church was because of the amount of remediation needed on the site. Johnson said $1.2 million worth of clean-up must be done, including the removal of 1,500 tires that have been dumped at the site.

Developers believe the project will be finished by the first quarter of 2027.