West Columbia development growing with hospital

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As Lexington Medical Center in West Columbia grows, so does the area surrounding it.

In March, Lexington Medical Center dedicated its new 545,000-square-foot patient care tower, the largest hospital expansion in S.C. history. And because of its proximity to the Interstate 26 exit for Sunset Boulevard, the area surrounding the hospital is seeing corresponding growth.

In the past several years, Starbucks, Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers and Residence Inn by Marriott have popped up among the medical offices associated with the hospital along Sunset Boulevard.

The developer of the Residence Inn, Solara Hospitality, is building another hotel on an adjoining lot. Construction is scheduled to begin this month on the $14 million TownePlace by Marriott.

"We found that the hotel that we opened two years ago has been exceeding our expectations, and we had an opportunity to purchase additional land next to us,” said Clancy Cipkala, Solara Hospitality managing partner. “When we saw that Lexington Medical Center was growing as rapidly as they are, as well as the growth of the corporate businesses in the greater Lexington-West Columbia area — and our proximity to downtown — we felt that it was another opportunity to add an additional hotel.”

Particularly in the neighborhood surrounding the hospital, there is a demand for extended-stay accommodations, Cipkala said.

Solara Hospitality also is in negotiations to purchase several nearby outparcel lots for potential retail development.

“We’ve also seen amenities come in with restaurants and offices,” Cipkala said. “That’s a good indicator that there’s going to be more growth to satisfy those new businesses coming in.”

BJ Unthank, West Columbia’s director of economic development, said via email that a Dunkin’ Donuts will anchor a new retail building between Bojangles and Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers on the south side of Sunset Boulevard. The retail spaces have been leased but other tenants have not been announced.

In addition to the Residence Inn in West Columbia, Solara Hospitality developed and manages TownePlace Suites Columbia Northwest/Harbison and Residence Inn Columbia Northwest/Harbison. Solara also developed Fairfield Inn & Suites Columbia Northeast in 2009 and sold it.

“We feel there are expanding markets within the whole greater Columbia area, including the Northeast, the university area, and the I-26 corridor stretching from Lexington to Newberry,” Cipkala said. “We feel Columbia is an expanding, great opportunity for growth in the Southeast for its central location to many markets. If you take Atlanta, Charlotte, Greenville, everything within a three-hour drive, you probably have close to 20 million people.”

Cipkala, the S.C. Restaurant and Lodging Association 2017 Hotelier of the Year, and business partner Andy Briggs are making their hotels pet-friendly, providing fitness centers and high-speed internet access, and offering grocery shopping for extended stays. A guest can leave a list on a room refrigerator or at the front desk and hotel staff will shop for them.

“They love it, especially if you’re there for months, which is a lot of our guests,” Briggs said. “They bring it (the shopping list) down, give it to us, and our managers go out and put it right in their fridge for them, so the guest doesn’t have to worry about anything when it comes to that.”

This article first appeared in the Nov. 4 print edition of the Columbia Regional Business Report.