Columbus Underground recently spoke with Chad Thompson, Chief Marketing Officer for Lifestyle Communities, to get an update on the LC RiverSouth development Downtown. Thompson also provided some insight into the other projects that LC is developing, both in the Columbus area and in other markets. Read on for some highlights from that conversation.
On the other markets that LC is active in:
“In the Nashville area we’re in Murfreesboro and Mount Juliet, and in Downtown Nashville we have an enormous project being built called LC Germantown. These aren’t cookie cutter types of projects, we’re always sensitive to how a new development will look, and how it will fit into a historic neighborhood. We also own land in an area called SoBro, south of Broadway, where their convention center is.”
“We have communities in Louisville and Lexington, and we have land on the peninsula in Charleston, which is exciting. And we’re actively pursuing some sites in Raleigh-Durham, too.”
On what LC is looking for in a market:
“Typically, we’re looking for cities similar in some ways to our home base, Columbus. So that means a growing population, a good workforce, a university presence, typically a state capitol… these are the kind of things that make sense.”
On how Columbus compares to the other markets LC is operating in:
“Nashville is kind of a unique situation, with the type of growth they’ve seen and the number of people moving there, it’s almost comparable to a place like Austin. If you look at our city, we’re not far off — Columbus is up there on some lists in terms of development, and it seems like something new gets proposed or approved every day. One difference is that here, most of the development is being done by local companies, whereas in Nashville there is national and even international interest. They are also building big, 30-plus story towers, and we are not seeing that… the land prices in Downtown Nashville are really high.”
“But Nashville is still evolving what it stands for culturally, and how it’s perceived nationally. And in Columbus, obviously our reputation and the perception of the city continues to evolve and get more and more positive. Every time the New York Times or somebody does an article about what it’s like to come here, that’s beneficial.”
“Raleigh is getting there, in terms of their development, but they are probably behind Columbus. Louisville and Lexington are each a little but different, but they’ve both been very good markets for us.”
For more information, visit www.lifestylecommunities.com.
All photos and renderings provided by LC.