Today, Eau Claire/North Columbia stands as one of Columbia’s premier locations with communities whose inevitable comeback touts commercial activity, residential growth and community stewardship that appeals to a diverse audience of individuals, families, leaders and businesses.
There are many defining characteristics that personify Eau Claire/North Columbia’s overall attractiveness. Among the top traits is the area’s close proximity to Columbia’s downtown city center, which is less than 10 minutes away.
The community also boasts excellent medical facilities like Palmetto Richland Memorial Hospital, higher educational institutions like Columbia College, and various cultural and recreational outlets like public parks and places of worship.
ECDC is positioned at the helm of all major commercial, residential and community development efforts for Eau Claire/North Columbia. This administrative entity is staffed by skilled and committed professionals who maintain responsibility for leading and facilitating the area’s vision for development.
The following is a comprehensive listing of ongoing goals rooted to the 1993 Eau Claire Redevelopment Plan. These goals always remain current, and are the guiding objectives that establish ECDC’s direction.
1. Establish the historic center as the primary focus for revitalizing the northern region of Columbia.
2. Create a consensus among residents, property owners, commercial tenants, institutions and the City of Columbia on a future development pattern for Eau Claire/North Columbia.
3. Devise an investment strategy that capitalizes on both public and private funding sources and uses innovative financial tools and incentives to implement the Redevelopment Plan.
4. Enhance the physical, economic and social fabric of the community by eliminating blight and decay, encouraging investment in housing, strengthening commercial functions and expanding employment opportunities.
5. Provide a framework for accommodating the orderly growth and expansion of Lutheran Theological Seminary and Columbia College.
6. Reorient commercial activity toward neighborhood residential needs by clustering businesses at targeted North Main Street locations, upgrading the tenant mix and creating a more functional, and linear commercial environment.
7. Expand home ownership in Eau Claire/North Columbia by promoting infill housing development on vacant lots, and pursuing other City of Columbia housing ownership incentives.