Soon, Columbians who head across the Blossom Street bridge will be welcomed by an attractive brick sign, and by attractive young women in jogging costume. Or so we are led to gather, from the artist’s rendering. Here’s hoping we are not disappointed by the actuality.
Friendly competitor Clare Morris, who does publicity for the town of Cayce, shares the following release:
City of Cayce to construct new welcome sign
at Blossom Street Bridge
Landmark part of City’s ongoing beautification efforts
Drivers coming across the Blossom Street Bridge soon will be greeted by a new landmark to let them know they are entering the City of Cayce.
Cayce Beautification Foundation will place a new welcome sign near the intersection of Blossom Street and Knox Abbott Drive. To support the foundation’s efforts, Cayce City Council has approved funding for the project through the City’s Tax Increment Financing District or “TIF.”
“We are very excited about the new sign, which will identify the beginning of our city and provide a warm welcome to visitors and residents alike,” says Cayce Beautification Chairman Butch Kelly.
The new sign is part of Cayce’s redevelopment plan and its placement marks the beginning of the City’s beautification efforts along Knox Abbott Drive. Construction will begin within three to six months, based on permitting.
“With our diverse cultural and recreational amenities, we want people to see Cayce as a destination,” explains Mayor Elise Partin. “We want visitors and potential business owners to see the beauty that Cayce residents know is here. This new sign reflects our tremendous civic pride.”
But seriously, folks — since Mayor Elise Partin took office several years back, much has been done to beautify Cayce, particularly the critical corridor in from the airport. This effort lays out the welcoming mat at the other door.
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Cayce, especially along Knox Abbott Drive, has looked so much better than any of the other corridors into Columbia for more than a decade, at least since they lowered all the signs! I wish the other entryways were as tidy!
As the artist photoshoped in 80 year old trees for a background, I’d say you are bound to be disappointed – for at least a half century.
A blonde and a ‘not very black’ jogger. Very good.
Mark, there are old trees there, on the edge of the old Guignard kilns.
Always considered Cayce a prime (versus a blighted area)…
“TIF districts are not without criticism. Although tax increment financing is one mechanism for local governments that does not directly rely on federal funds, some question whether TIF districts actually serve their resident populations. As investment in an area increases, it is not uncommon for real estate values to rise and for gentrification to occur. An organization called Municipal Officials for Redevelopment Reform (MORR) holds regular conferences on redevelopment abuse.” Source: “Redevelopment.com website”. Retrieved 2009-12-04.
Although generally sold to legislatures as a tool to redevelop blighted areas, some districts are drawn up where development would happen anyway such as prime areas at the edges of cities. California has had to pass legislation designed to curb this abuse. sources: Tax Increment Financing and Economic Development, Uses, Structures and Impact. Edited by Craig L. Johnson and Joyce Y. Man. State University of New York Press; California State Controller’s Annual Report on Redevelopment Agencies, 2007-2008.
“California, where TIF began in the United States in 1952, has currently discontinued the use of them.”
More S.C. shame in the making, or just the latest quest to finance growth in bloated government?
When will professional financial techniques like right-sizing be considered by Cayce?
There is a perspective issue, though.
Hey! Where are the attractive young men in jogging clothes?! 🙁
Juan is touching on some very good points there.
Did Cayce really need a brick sign to welcome folks to Cayce from Columbia?
This is an example of a “feel good” improvement that will do little to improve the Knox Abbot road area.
Time as has passed it by. The fast food “restaurant row” area has not changed since I was a kid in the 80s. The businesses have come and gone but most the buildings are the same they have been in 30 years.
I compare this to the fountain that West Columbia built across from Zestos in Triangle City.
Did they need a special tax district to build this sign? Couldn’t they have just found the money in the budget elsewhere?
I understand that Cayce and other cities want to promote economic development. The answer can’t always be to hamstring future tax revenues because its easier than making hard decisions in the budget.
There’s a fountain across from Zesto’s in Triangle City?
@kathryn
Picture of West Columbia Fountain
http://www.columbiacents.com/storage/post-images/west-columbia/WestColumbiafountain.jpg
Hope it works. I didn’t edit so it is a bit large.
@Tavis
I can see why West Columbia is THE place for new businesses to locate. That fountain is Bellagio-esque in its splendor.
Uh-huh. I like the way it is so attractively placed behind the handy power pole…
In any case, it’s way better than what I saw several times out on Highway 321 a few years back. For the longest time, there was this VERY makeshift sign, just before the turnoff to Hidden Valley Golf Club, that proudly announced something like “Future site of City of Gaston City Limits Sign.” Or “Welcome Sign.” Or something like that… I’ve seldom seen civic pride taken to a more self-parodying extreme.
I don’t know when that was, but it must have been before I carried a phone with a good camera in it…
That’s actually not a power pole. It’s the base of a monster billboard which totally overpowers the fountain. It’s very odd. If I drive by there anytime soon. I’ll try to take a wider shot.
First sorry about the picture. I went to the SC fed credit union just down the street. Saw the tweet from Kathryn so I figured I’d pull over and take a happy snap.
It was raining and my kid was in the car so didn’t really have much time to set it up.
The fountain is located in the middle of the road, one of the islands. I had to park in a shop that I think use to be a pawn shop? Now it is one of those cigarette mega dealers.
I just pointed that out, the West Cola fountain, last Thursday to my kids.
They found it funny – in a strangely bad kiind of way.
I wondered whether the billboard company didn’t cut a deal to make a “civic improvement” in return for the right to put up that monster sign. If the City did pay for the fountain, the money would have been better spent pulling down that billboard – which must be on public property.
Anyway, Cayce’s sign is not in the same league as its sister city’s fountain.
Zoom in on the picture and soak it all in. Painful and funny at the same time.
Wow. I go that way all the time and never even noticed it!
Triangle City is so bad, it’s sort of ironically hip!
Yeah… that’s the effect we West Columbians were going for. We weren’t sure folks from across the river were hip enough to get it…
Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve been on that stretch of 12th Street between Knox Abbott and Augusta Road (a.k.a. Meeting Street, a.k.a. Highway 1) in years…
“Triangle City is so bad, it’s sort of ironically hip!”
Maybe if you’re Danny Frazier or one of his boys.
I was just at the Cayce riverwalk entrance right by where that sign will be walking with my Nephew. I must say the trees in this rendering are greatly romanticized. There is really only one there and it is much smaller.