Fire Hits Redevelopment Site of Former Forest Acres Mall in $100M Project

Fire Hits Redevelopment Site of Former Forest Acres Mall in $100M Project

A blaze erupted at the demolition site of Richland Mall in Forest Acres, a $100 million redevelopment project, on Monday afternoon. Smoke billowed from one of the mall’s sections, where the fire originated shortly after 3:30 p.m.

The cause of the fire has been attributed to sparks from an area where workers were engaged in cutting metal, said Columbia City Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins. Both lanes of Forest Drive, the street fronting the mall site, were temporarily blocked as city firefighters worked to douse the flames. Responders from Forest Acres police and EMS also arrived on the scene.

“The fire started on the third floor of one of the sections, but fortunately nothing collapsed,” Jenkins reported. “There was pretty good fire showing at the location and we had seven engines respond to the scene. Fortunately no workers or firefighters were injured.”

The fire was successfully controlled within about 30 minutes, and regular traffic resumed around 5:30 p.m. As of now, there are no indications that the fire will disrupt the ongoing demolition work.

Futuristic Redevelopment Plan

Demolition of the old mall commenced in March. It made way for the site’s future transformation into an open-air mixed-use complex, as first announced in November 2022. Southeastern Development of Augusta, Ga., is handling the $100 million redevelopment plan for the site.

A company spokesperson revealed that the demolition of the mall’s 930,000-square-foot concrete structure would likely take about a year. Once completed, the future site will become a 32-acre mixed-use property featuring retail, a brewery or taproom, green space, a grocery store, and apartments.

In conjunction with the redevelopment deal, the City of Forest Acres purchased six acres of land behind the mall. Plans are currently underway to develop a sizeable park on the purchased land.


Author: HERE Irmo

HERE Irmo

Recent Posts

Columbia’s City Roots Achieves 50-60% Increase in Microgreen Production Amid Facility Expansion

Columbia's Microgreen Grower Sees Significant Production Increase In Columbia, South Carolina, City Roots, an organic…

18 hours ago

Rock Hill Elects Everett Stubbs as New State Senator in Narrow Victory

Rock Hill Welcomes New State Senator Everett Stubbs Rock Hill, South Carolina - In a…

18 hours ago

Bigfoot Sighting Sparks Excitement and Skepticism in Rural South Carolina

Bigfoot Sighting Reported in Rural South Carolina Peak, South Carolina - Bigfoot enthusiasts are abuzz…

18 hours ago

Charleston Gears Up for Dazzling Meteor Showers This Fall

Charleston Prepares for Spectacular Meteor Showers Charleston is gearing up for a remarkable display of…

18 hours ago

Columbia Launches Annual Thanks and Giving Food Drive as Community Unites for the Holiday Season

Columbia Kicks Off the Season of Giving! As the holiday season approaches, Columbia is buzzing…

19 hours ago