Congaree Vista Guild Welcomes NAI Avant to the Neighborhood
May 17, 2013
COLUMBIA, SC – May 17, 2013 – The Congaree Vista Guild, a non-profit, membership-based organization comprising a wide variety of restaurateurs, shop, business and gallery owners, homeowners and museums in the Vista, announces that national commercial real estate firm NAI Avant has purchased The Dupre building at 807 Gervias Street and is relocating its corporate office to the Vista.
Additionally, several other developments are coming to the Vista, including national retailer Urban Outfitters on Gervais Street, Chipotle Mexican Grill at open at the corner of Wayne and Gervais Streets and the University of South Carolina’s new alumni center and its Moore School of Business.
“The Vista is an intellectually and culturally stimulating environment, which will help us strengthen our progressive, competitive edge and continue to recruit top-tier talent available in the Southeast,” said NAI Avant CEO Todd Avant. “Not to mention the invaluable opportunities for client and prospect interplay in the Vista from coffee, lunch, dinner to the many entertainment venues and boutique shops. We see a terrific and strengthening demand they people want to work in vibrant urban areas. The Dupre building is a special place in my opinion, and it has been my favorite building in the Vista for a long time.”
NAI Avant purchased 807 Gervais Street on Tuesday, May 14, 2013 from Rosie Craig, Vista property owner, long-time preservationist and Vista Guild board member.
“Because I knew Todd Avant appreciated things I appreciated I knew the building would be in good hands,” said Craig. “NAI Avant has wonderful plans to take the space to an even higher level. When you own a historic building you have not only the rights but also the responsibility to care for it. You also have the knowledge that the building belongs to the fabric of the city it’s in. The fact that NAI wants to move to the Vista is proof that our neighborhood is a thriving, urban district.”
“As home to many of our city’s art galleries, hotels, businesses, restaurants, museums and the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center, growth in the Vista is always good for our city, and it’s evident that businesses such as NAI Avant also want to take advantage of the culture of historic preservation and activity in the Vista,” said Sarah Lewis, executive director of the Vista Guild. “As always, the Vista Guild encourages development that nods to our neighborhood’s historic past.”
The Congaree Vista Guild estimates investments of at least $150 million within the neighborhood will take place within the next year. In addition to new desirable restaurants, retailers and businesses in the neighborhood, the City of Columbia has recently made several streetscape improvements in the Vista, including pedestrian-friendly bumpouts designed to calm traffic and make street crossings safer for foot traffic. The Congaree Vista’s hotels, restaurants and bars generate $1.4 million annually in hospitality tax from food and beverage sales.
For more information about the Vista Guild, visit www.VistaColumbia.com or contact Sarah Lewis at (803) 269-5946. Follow the Vista Guild on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: @VistaGuild.
