Business Briefs

By John Temple LigonTownship renovation and expansion

The Township board last week disclosed a site plan of the block bounded by Taylor, Barnwell, Blanding, and Henderson. The 74–year–old Township is under a renovation/redevelopment study, but no one on the board is talking budget, even when the acquisition and improvement of the entire block is illustrated as the scope of their ambitions. Our last report suggested a total budget of maybe $50 million, which no one refuted. Now Mayor Coble is saying the project could be $25 million. Coble is the same project cost estimator who said several years ago that the new coliseum of over 20,000 seats would cost “$30–$35 million.” With fewer seats, the Colonial Center cost twice that. Coble is the same real estate development defender who said the convention center Hilton brought to the city by architect Bobby Lyles (Township renovation architect) and developer John Lumpkin was a doable deal at a total development cost of $240,000 per room. It wasn’t and it was killed by Coble’s city council. Instead Windsor/Aughtry got the go–ahead for their new full–service Hilton, which is coming in at half the price per room. Coble is the same predictor of project cost who declared the convention center a $15 million deal (1996), and it later locked in under contract for $37.4 million. NYC’s Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center is costing $300 million to renovate. The Royal Opera House in London’s Covent Garden also cost over $300 million to renovate over ten years ago. Both have about the same number of seats as the Township. Still, a substandard building should go through a substandard renovation on a substandard budget. Makes sense if the budget is held. Just what, please, is that budget?

Convention Center Hilton update

Windsor/Aughtry presented their plans for the convention center headquarters hotel to city council two weeks ago. Developer Bo Aughtry said the hotel should cost $26 million for about 222 rooms, depending on suite count and configuration. However it shakes out, it appears the hotel’s total cost is close to $120,000 per room. At that rate, the formerly proposed Hilton, the 300–room deal put together by Columbia architect Bobby Lyles and developer John Lumpkin, should have topped out at $36 million. Lyles and Lumpkin were delivering to the city 300 rooms for about $72 million, twice as much. Windsor/Aughtry plans on a profit. The city had no chance to turn a profit. Lyles, on the other hand, was set to score. According to the city’s report, total design fees for the Lyles/Lumpkin Hilton were over $2 million. Windsor/Aughtry reportedly is paying less than $250,000 in design fees, complete. Lyles won’t see the full $2 million, but he did collect $700,000, all for a building never to be built.

Saks sacked

The Charleston Saks Fifth Avenue, in Majestic Square at the corner of Market and King, is scheduled to soon close. Their Hilton Head store will convert to an Off 5th discount outlet.

If Columbia can’t accommodate...

Here in Columbia, we have seven Independence Air flights daily to Washington, but if you live in Winnsboro, you might consider Charlotte for departure. Charlotte Douglas International Airport last week began offering eight nonstop flights daily to Washington Dulles, starting at $59 each way.

The Chinese flex,

amazingly enough

China’s harsh one–child rule on family planning is pushing the country into an aging population, not to mention an imbalance which leaves women at an uncomfortable premium. Beijing is reconsidering its family planning policies. Also, their central bank is reconsidering the yuan’s exchange rate, the economic imbalance that exports goods from China to here at a currency– based 40% discount. Allowed to float, the yuan may approach real and fair value with our dollar. For the past few years of China’s economic boom and their growing demand for imports, we’ve been selling goods over there at an increasing rate. However, for the past few years, for every dollar’s worth of goods we sold to China, they sold us six dollar’s worth.

Now the bad news from China in mixed metaphors

China’s government is working to cool its overheating economy with a soft landing, which should cut the demand for imports from the US.

Former Lieutenant Governor Morris trial delayed to November 1

SC Attorney General Henry McMaster said Morris is charged with 24 counts of securities fraud. Morris allegedly mislead investors by telling them to invest when his company, Carolina Investors, was well on its way to going under. A total of 8,000 investors lost over $277 million. Reportedly Morris questioned how he could know what was going on back at company headquarters when he was hustling investors. How could Morris know? He was only Carolina Investors’ board chairman.

Real estate conference

The Realtors Commercial Alliance of the Greater Columbia Association of Realtors, the SC chapter of Certified Commercial Investment Members, and the Carolinas Chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors are holding a conference called the Greater Columbia Commercial Real Estate Market Forecast. Mark Vitner, senior economist and director of corporate investment banking for Wachovia, is the keynote speaker. For a member of one of the groups, admission is $30, while non– members can attend for $45. The conference is from noon to 2 pm, October 13, at the Embassy Suites on Stoneridge Drive. For more information, call the Greater Columbia Association of Realtors, 771-8852.

Congratulations, SC!

According to the US Chamber of Commerce’s Institute for Legal Reform, SC is not among the nation’s ten worst state legal systems for doing business. Starting at the bottom, the ten worst are: (50) MS, (49) WV, (48) AL, (47) LA, (46) CA, (45) TX, (44) IL, (43) MT, (42) AK, (41) MO.