Driving School in Forest Acres, SC

FOREST ACRES — A new Mexican restaurant is coming to Forest Acres after Takosushi closed its location in the Lowes Shopping Center earlier this month.

Jimador Mexican Cuisine, also known as El Jimador, will fill the 4711 Forest Drive spot in what the City of Forest Acres said is “good news for tacos and queso lovers,” in a social media announcement.

The new Forest Acres El Jimador will join the Mexican restaurant’s seven other locations which span from Camden to Cayce to Irmo.

On its website, El Jimador said Chef Francisco Macias prides himself on providing a “real Mexican family experience” for customers with fresh ingredients and authentic Mexican recipes. The restaurant’s menu is extensive, options include everything from nachos to seafood specials to burritos.

The new Jimador comes after Takosushi quietly closed the doors of its Forest Acres location earlier this month. The Latin and Asian fusion restaurant first opened in Forest Acres in May 2024 and offered a wide variety of menu items like its “takos,” Southwest tuna tartare and more than 25 signature sushi rolls.

The first Takosushi restaurant opened in 2008 and now boasts seven locations across South Carolina and Georgia, including two locations in the Midlands. The restaurant joined the Food People Restaurant Group in 2022 which operates Takosushi as well as Crave Artisan Market, Carolina Ale House and Alpine Bagel Cafe in North Carolina.

James Williams, one of the owners of Takosushi and the president of Food People, said the Forest Acres location wasn’t as busy as the restaurants in Lexington or Columbia’s Main Street. While the Food People team initially considered creating a new concept, they ultimately decided closing it and selling the space to El Jimador was “the best path forward.”

Williams said Takosushi is also working to open a new location in Spartanburg and is planning to shift resources from the Forest Acres location to the new Upstate space. He encouraged people sad about the news to visit Takosushi’s locations at 1332 Main St. or 102c W Main St., Lexington, or to visit Crave — which Williams runs with his younger brother — in West Columbia or on Millwood Avenue.

“We're super interested and excited and trying to make cool things happen in Columbia,” Williams said. “Just doesn't always work, but we're going to keep doing cool stuff around town.”

Looking for another sushi option in Forest Acres? CO has a variety of sushi options available at 4840 Forest Drive, Unit 65.

FOREST ACRES — City officials have taken the first step to approve new zoning for the former Richland Mall site, paving the way for new retail and hundreds of apartments on the property.

The city’s Planning Commission voted 5-1 to change the zoning for the 26-acre from the current C-5 commercial designation to a Planned Development District (PDD) at a Sept. 23 meeting.

The new zoning will allow the developer to build more dense apartments on the site while also allowing the city to have a bigger say in landscaping and other details of the development, City Administrator Shaun Greenwood said.

“A PPD is really kind of a negotiation between the developer and the city,” Greenwood said. “With staff and the city attorney, what we try to do is make sure that we try to do is make sure that we’ve captured everything that is included in our comprehensive plan, through conversations individually with council members.”

The city will hold a public hearing on the rezoning proposal, and Forest Acres City Council will have to vote in favor before the change takes effect.

Augusta-based Southeastern Development plans to build 380 one and two-bedroom luxury apartments on the property, as well as a new Kroger grocery store and various freestanding retail storefronts.

“We’re really excited just to have this mixed-use project and open this property up,” said Jason Long, vice president of Southeastern Development. “Everybody can see how open it is now. You don’t realize how big the site was until it's gone.”

Southeastern Development bought the 32-acre mall property in an $18.6 million deal in early 2023, before selling off a 6-acre plot to the city to develop a park for $3 million.

Work on the first and second phases of the development, consisting of the apartments and retail, are expected to begin in early 2026 and wrap up in 2027, if the rezoning is approved by the city, Long said.

The park the city is building on its portion of the land is expected to be completed around the same time, Greenwood said.

A third phase of the redevelopment will be left as vacant land until solid plans can be made, Long said. Southeastern is considering several options for that plot, including retail, more apartments or a hotel.

Crews began demolishing the 930,000-square-foot mall in March 2024, which had struggled to compete with other area malls for shoppers since the 1980s. The mall’s last tenant closed its doors in 2023.

The 930,000-square-foot mall structure has been completely demolished. Southeastern expects the last of the rubble to be cleared from the site by the end of the year, Long said. Forest Acres officials had previously expected that to be done by the end of 2024.

A central portion of the mall’s parking garage will be left standing to serve the apartments, which will be built at either end of the garage structure. Crews have demolished one end of the garage where one of the apartment buildings will stand, with the other expected to come down in the coming weeks.

The pair of five-story apartment buildings will stand atop a one-story podium. The buildings will be nestled at the bottom of an area where the property slopes down off of Forest Drive and North Beltline Boulevard, which should minimize the towering effect of the buildings, Long said.

The ground floor of the garage and podium will serve as covered parking for the Kroger, he said.

Planning Commission Chairman Ellis Creel was the sole vote against the rezoning, citing concerns over the stormwater runoff the site could generate towards Pen Branch creek, which runs through the site.

“I would have liked double or even triple (the vegetation buffer between the redevelopment and the creek),” Creel said. “I understand the developer says they're working on that and that was addressed, but what we have right now on paper is not double or triple or different. And they’re under no obligation to do more than what we just voted on.”

Pen Branch, which previously ran under a parking lot behind the mall, flooded badly during the 2015 “thousand-year flood,” he said. He is overall in favor of the redevelopment plans for the site, he said.

Southeastern maintains its plans for the site will leave more green space to counteract runoff than the concrete monolith that once stood there.

Pen Branch runs through the city’s portion of the property, and addressing runoff concerns and cleaning up the creek is part of the city’s plans for the park, Greenwood said.

The developer discussed the possibility of putting in more restaurants, a brewery, additional retain space, multifamily apartments, or a hotel.

FOREST ACRES, S.C. — The Forest Acres Planning Commission approved a motion to change the zoning for 3400 Forest Drive, the former property of the Richland Mall.

The motion would amend the zoning for the area from Commercial Enterprise/Redevelopment Zone (C5) to Planned Development District (PPD).

The commission's approval is another step forward in Forest Acres revitalizing the former property of the Richland Mall to into a space leaders say will better sever the community.

During the meeting, the new owner of the property, Southeastern Development, presented their design plans for the plot of land.

Phases I and II of the development will feature a 120,000 square foot Kroger, along with 380 multi-family apartment units, as well as 35,000 square feet of space for retail stores.

During public comment, residents were disappointed in a large portion of the space being turned into a grocery and not more space for unique local business. Senior Vice President of Southeastern Development, Jason Long explained the grocery store was the better financial option.

"We have the 25-acre site of the mall, you really wouldn't want to fill it up with all retail. It's not a feasible plan in today's world in today's Amazon shopping world to build that much retail," Long explained.

A smaller Kroger store across the street from the property will abandon its current building and overtake the new superstore upon completion. Leaving the smaller store available for new development.

The third phase of development is still being determined for what it will feature.

Southeastern discusses the possibility of putting in more restaurants, a brewery, additional retain space, multifamily apartments, or a hotel.

Public comments expressed the desire to add more housing, but the commission was interested in putting in a hotel.

“We're losing out on business in Forest Acres because we don't have a hotel. I'm envisioning something theoretically where (visitors)come in, they could stay at the hotel, they could visit the park, they could do a little bit of grocery shopping for their relatives, go visit them, have a little bit of time with themselves, and maybe enjoy the retail,” said Ellis Creel the Forest Acres Planning Commission chair.

With the motion passing the commission, city council will conduct it’s first and second reading in October, and if it passes, the developers will apply for permits to begin construction for phase I and II which would begin in 2026 with some portions done by 2027.

FOREST ACRES, S.C. (WIS) - At its Tuesday meeting, the Forest Acres Planning Commission voted 5-1 to rezone the area where the former Richland Mall once stood.

The lot was currently designated as a Commercial Enterprise/Redevelopment Zone, but the commission approved on a 5-1 vote to change it to a Planned Development District or PDD.

By changing the zoning, the developer, Southeastern, will be able to provide a more detailed plan laying out what exactly can be built in each area of the lot to the commission, and, by extension, the Forest Acres City Council.

The new zoning delegation will let the city approve each significant change that the developer proposes and ensure that the new development is cohesive and sustainable.

The development project is set to be completed in three phases.

The first phase will be the demolition of the two existing parking garage wings, which will be replaced with four-story apartments that have space for businesses and amenities.

Part of the garage will still remain to provide parking for residents and commercial uses.

The second phase will involve the construction of the new Kroger grocery store and approximately 25,000 to 40,000 additional square feet for various businesses and restaurants.

The last phase is the construction of more retail and office space and potentially more apartment units. This phase is also expected to include the creation of a public park.

Click here to find out more about what the zoning change means.

The full plan that Southeastern presented to the commission can be found below.

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