Located just blocks from the University of South Carolina, Five Points has long been synonymous with student nightlife and a bustling bar scene.

Legal pushback and community-driven efforts have prompted a shift toward a more inclusive, all-day destination, one that reestablishes Five Points as a uniquely Columbia neighborhood staple beyond late-night crowds.

But two key developments in the works could affect the district dramatically in the coming years. And ideas for a revamped landscape design should further elevate the district’s allure.

At the corner of Saluda Avenue and Blossom Street sits a vacant Wells Fargo building.

Local family-run developers, the Burtses, purchased the property in March 2022 under the corporate name We Love Five Points. Columbia’s Board of Zoning Appeals last month gave the developers permission for a five-story building.

Referred to as Lorem Ipsum Development, the project will include a parking garage topped by three stories of hotel rooms. The garage will sit at the center of the structure, wrapped by a mixed-use building that conceals it from street view, according to Gunnar Burts, one of the project’s developers.

“The building will also contain retail, office space, live-work space and a rooftop restaurant and bar,” Burts said.

The development is expected to break ground in mid- to late-2027.

While still in office, former senator and attorney Dick Harpootlian secured state funding to support construction of the parking garage, which will be a public-private partnership with the City of Columbia. Public parking has long been identified as a key piece in bringing more daytime visitors into the district.

Harpootlian, who has been the face of neighborhood battles to manage some of the rowdier college bars, is excited about the project.

“You’ll have a transition from vape shops and bars to something a bit more substantial, and I think that’s good for the community,” he said.

California developer re-imagines a block of Harden

At the other end of the district, another major project is underway.

A development known as The Treadwell is expected to break ground within the next month.

The project will feature three storefronts designed for long-term Five Points tenants across from Food Lion on Harden Street. Two leases have already been signed, one for a high-end café and another for a college-friendly restaurant.

Developer Gustavo Spoliansky has been steadily revitalizing the block at 928-950 Harden St., from the far side of Waffle House north to the Spectrum office. He bought his first piece of the retail strip in 2017.

“The first phase of construction was to renovate all of the old buildings,” Spoliansky said. “One of them didn’t even have a roof on it. It had been abandoned for years. We call that the ‘skylight one’ as a joke.”

Though Spoliansky resides in Malibu, California, and had never visited Columbia before purchasing the property, he cares for the Five Points identity.

“I fell in love with the community,” he said. “I love Columbia. I love South Carolina. I love the people. Everyone I’ve worked with and spoken to here has been so warm.”

His name for the development comes with inspiration local to the area. Dr. Henrie Monteith Treadwell was the University of South Carolina’s first African American woman graduate.

In terms of construction, Spoliansky credits conversations with local developer Richard Burts, Gunnar’s father, as shaping his vision.

“When I bought the building, Richard Burts said to me, ‘Hey, we really want to preserve the fabric of Five Points.’ And that’s what I did. I repurposed a whole block of Five Points.”

Five Points in bloom

Change in the village isn’t limited to large-scale construction.

In August 2025, Cecilia Stucker was appointed Beautification Manager for the Five Points Association, a merchants and residents group.

Stucker, a Columbia native, has longstanding family ties in the community and counts Richard Burts as a longtime family friend.

“Richard is obviously a developer, but he’s very big on bringing locally owned small businesses into spaces,” Stucker said. “He acts as a mentor to folks who are trying to get started.”

Before stepping into her new role, Stucker helped launch Blossom Plant and Produce, a Five Points small business. It was during that time that Burts approached her about expanding beautification efforts in the district.

“’We need to get back to those basics of beautification in terms of landscaping,’” Stucker recalled Burts saying.

The role, created to take advantage of her expertise, focuses on enhancing the neighborhood’s aesthetics and sustainability. Early initiatives include developing cohesive plant container designs, installing seasonal hanging baskets on lamp posts and improving “gateways” – the visual thresholds marking entry into the district.

Stucker incorporates principles of permaculture in her work.

“Permaculture is utilizing primarily native species of plants, but also vegetables and herbs, to create landscape or container designs that are kind of self-sufficient,” she said. “We’re using plants that help disperse nutrients to others instead of having to put down loads of fertilizer.”

Her sustainability efforts include composting initiatives and using recycled topsoil from the City of Columbia.

Brian Neiger, the city’s Forestry and Beautification Superintendent, has been working with Stucker as the city pursues Bee City USA certification, a national program that encourages pollinator conservation.

Discussions also have included the possibility of incorporating energy efficiency, said Adam Shloan, the owner of Andy’s Deli who is interested in beatification initiatives.

“With green roofing, I was thinking it could help with cooling costs and help manage rainwater – help with how hot and miserable it gets in the summer,” Shloan said. “One year when they were doing the streetscaping, it got to 117 degrees.”

Shloan, the son of the founder of Andy’s Deli, has witnessed the district’s evolution firsthand.

“Five Points always had a funky thing going on – it always had its own personality,” Shloan said. “I remember when we used to just have stop signs. Stop signs and no traffic lights.”

He also recalls the first national chain to move in.

“The first chain that came down here was Starbucks, and they packed up and left,” Shloan said.

That former Starbucks space soon will become the permanent home of Godspeed, a Columbia-based formerly popup coffee shop. The shift aligns with the district’s new but familiar identity, with locally owned shops at the core.

Plans for beautification will emerge alongside plans for development, Stucker said.

For Five Points’ future, the goal is not to eliminate nightlife but expand the areas possibilities.

“We just want to see it be more balanced,” Gunnar Burts said. “Right now, it’s basically just Saluda Avenue with retail, so we’re hoping to spread that.”

For Ashley Lenlor, president of the Five Points Association and owner of Little Happy gift shop, the vision is to have a place where people come back to.

“My goal for Five Points would be to see every storefront filled, to see a full-landscaped Saluda, down through Harden, with a mixture of everything: retail, restaurants and bars.”