New live-work spaces coming to the Vista
July 31, 2020
Local architect and long-time Vista investor Scott Garvin is transforming the buildings at 1209 and 1211 Gadsden Street into new a live-work complex called Gadsden Place. The longtime home of Columbia auto parts distributor BW Clark, 1209 and 1211 Gadsden Street are distinctive Italianate buildings within Columbia’s West Gervais Commercial Historic District. Work will retain the buildings’ historic character and add a sidewalk and new landscaping along Gadsden Street.
Constructed in 1920, 1209 and 1211 Gadsden Street housed various tenants throughout the 20th century, including a bottling and fountain drink supply company known as WC Peeler. BW Clark has occupied the buildings since 2000. Though they have been altered to suit changing uses and tenants, the buildings retain historic features that will be retained in their rehabilitation, including thick chamfered posts, hardwood floors, and early 20th century elevators.
Plans for the buildings’ adaptive reuse include reopening infilled windows and doors and creating lightwells to bring natural light into the basement. The buildings will be subdivided into twelve large live-work units with enough space for in-home offices. Second floor units will have rooftop decks accessible via spiral staircases in the buildings’ historic elevator shafts. New skylights will flood the buildings’ central atriums with daylight. A new sidewalk, grass, and trees will enhance the pedestrian experience along Gadsden Street between Lady and Gervais Streets.
“We know that the relationship between home space and workspace is changing, and we’re eager to bring the live-work concept to the Vista,” said Scott Garvin, the project developer and President local architecture firm Garvin Design Group. “It’s an added bonus that we can do it in a way that reuses two of the Vista’s historic buildings. Gadsden Place will be one of the city’s most character-filled, pedestrian-friendly places to live and work.”
About Garvin Design Group
Celebrating its 17th anniversary this year, Garvin Design Group offers comprehensive planning and design services for a variety of project types and sizes. From master planning and programming to interior up-fits and new construction, Garvin Design Group strives to provide client-driven design solutions throughout South Carolina. The firm of 21 people has completed more than $900,000,000 worth of projects since its founding in 2003. Garvin Design Group’s contributions to the community and the profession recently earned the American Institute of Architects – South Carolina’s (AIA SC) 2019 Firm Award and the Columbia Chamber’s 2020 Small Business of the Year Award.
