A proposed University of South Carolina student housing complex could be built near downtown Columbia. The University of South Carolina Development Foundation is behind the proposal near Main and Whaley streets.
The proposed student housing complex near Main and Whaley streets was reported by Post and Courier.
The foundation's proposal is for student housing on the property.
A Block in Transition
A College Quik Mart once operated on the block at Main and Whaley streets before it closed and was demolished in late summer 2026.
The location overlooks the intersection of Whaley and South Main, which the report identifies as one of downtown's most flood-prone spots along Rocky Branch Creek. Any future complex there would also sit within walking distance of The Lofts, an existing private student housing complex, and near USC's Campus Village, the 1,800-bed development that opened in August 2023 just blocks away.
Planning Considerations
The Columbia Planning Commission is scheduled to take up the rezoning request at its meeting Thursday, with the city's own page for the session listing a 4 p.m. start at City Hall, 1737 Main Street. Columbia city staff have recommended the commission approve the proposed development, citing USC's growing needs as a reason for that recommendation.
Staff acknowledged the proposed rezoning would not align with previous city guidelines written for nearby historic mill-village neighborhoods, which have objected to the university's growing student body in the past. But staff said they were comfortable recommending approval anyway because the site is isolated from the mill district's core across Assembly Street, and because adjacent land use in the immediate area is already institutionally focused.
Notably, those historic mill-village neighborhoods were not the parties behind a 2024 lawsuit over Campus Village. That suit, filed by three neighborhoods, alleged the city's Planning Commission had allowed USC to renege on promises about limiting student numbers and providing more parking at the development. It was dropped in December 2025.
Growth Pressures Behind the Request
The rezoning push comes as USC's enrollment keeps climbing. The university's Columbia campus served 41,650 undergraduate and graduate students in fall 2026, about 2.5% more than the previous fall and nearly 18% higher than five years earlier, according to The State. USC also received 69,000 applications in 2026, a 64% jump from fall 2021.
The USC Development Foundation is an independent organization that supports USC through real estate investments.
University officials have also floated a possible town and gown district along South Main Street, with ground-floor retail and market-rate housing above, though plans remain unfinalized.
