Driving School in West Columbia, SC

Thousands and thousands of cars traverse Sunset Boulevard in West Columbia every day.

Now there’s a new shop on the way where drivers could stop and pick up parts to repair those cars, should the need arise.

AutoZone, which has thousands of locations across the U.S., is planning a new auto parts store at 2250 Sunset Blvd. in West Columbia. That’s in the Westland Square shopping center that is anchored by a Food Lion supermarket. There is a large sign in the window at the space where the AutoZone is going announcing that it is “coming soon,” and a City of West Columbia building permit is in the window.

An opening date for the new auto parts store has not been publicly announced. Construction was going on in the space when a reporter stopped by recently. There is a QR code on the AutoZone sign in the window for those who might be interested in applying for a job there.

AutoZone is a ubiquitous brand in the auto repair world, with shops cross the nation and region. There currently are 15 AutoZone locations across the Richland County and Lexington County areas, per a store locator tool on the company’s website. Its stores are known for carrying batteries, oil, tools, spark plugs, headlights, wipers and hundreds of other car-related accessories.

The Westland Square shopping center is home to a number of businesses, including the aforementioned Food Lion, as well as Cucinella’s Pizza, Pho & Banh Mi Asian restaurant, and several others. The shopping center is located less than a mile east of Interstate 26, and other nearby businesses include a Lizard’s Thicket, a Groucho’s Deli, and a Rush’s, among others. It’s about a mile to the east of Lexington Health’s main hospital campus.

WEST COLUMBIA — Longtime Zesto owner and Springdale town councilman Gus Manos may soon have another testament to his strong legacy in West Columbia. The South Carolina Statehouse is considering renaming a portion of 12th Street after him.

Manos, who opened Zesto in West Columbia’s Triangle City in 1960, passed away in December, spurring an outpouring of support from across the Midlands.

Manos was well known as a restaurant owner, turning Zesto into an iconic spot for fried chicken and ice cream, but he was also an active community member. He was a lifelong member of Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church and a dedicated civic servant, serving on the the town council governing the neighboring Town of Springdale for decades before retiring in 2015, during which time he served as mayor pro-tem.

And soon, he could also be the namesake of a road after state Rep. Micah Caskey introduced a bill that would rename the stretch of 12th Street from Knox Abbott Drive to Jarvis Klapman Boulevard “Gus Manos Memorial Street.”

If passed by the senate, the new road name would also be accompanied by new signage telling Manos’ story from immigrating to the U.S. at age 11 and serving in the U.S. Army to making a substantial impact in South Carolina — even being awarded the Order of the Palmetto, the state’s highest civilian honor, in 2015.

West Columbia Mayor Tem Miles told Free Times he couldn’t think of a more iconic West Columbia businessman than Manos, and that honoring him with a street name feels like a “no brainer.”

“He was just a staple for Triangle City, and I'm not speaking just for West Columbia, but for this whole area over here,” Miles said. “He was approachable. He cared about supporting the youth as they grew up in the community, giving them a place to come work and learn business. He was personally involved and connected. Just an incredible, incredible man.”

Pete Manos, Gus Manos’ son and the current owner of Zesto, said even the idea of the bill is incredibly moving to him. Pete said his father often spent long hours making Zesto the best it could be, and that his “incredible heart” and “incredible personality” resonated with people long before and will resonate with people long after his passing.

Pete Manos hopes when people drive down Gus Manos Memorial Street, they’ll picture his father in the kitchen or greeting them at the door.

“He touched a lot of people. And he was, there's never gonna be another one like him,” Pete Manos said. “He's just he was one that one in a million.”

As of Feb. 5 at 4 p.m., the bill has passed the house and is waiting to be passed in the senate. The complete text of the bill and its status can be found on the South Carolina Legislature’s website.

WEST COLUMBIA — Plans for a two-story triplex on a narrow residential street were approved by West Columbia’s City Council after the developer scaled the plans back.

The council voted to approve a request from developer Howard Hunt to rezone the property at the intersection of Spring and South Witt streets to make way for the project at a Feb. 3 meeting.

Hunt had originally proposed a nearly 2,000-square-foot, three-story building with a rooftop space.

West Columbia’s Planning Commission had previously recommended city council deny the request for the original plans at a July 2025 meeting, citing the building’s height not fitting with the character of the neighborhood.

The triplex had previously been opposed by neighbors at the July meeting.

“I think it introduces a scale and density that doesn't fit, and once that line is crossed, it becomes easier for future projects to follow suit, which would change the feeling and the livability of our community,” Isabella Lever said at the meeting. “I’m not against development whatsoever, but I believe it should be thoughtful, proportional and respectful of all the existing community.”

Developer Howard Hunt maintained the project would boost the local economy by bringing new tenants into the neighborhood and called the Planning Commission’s vote last summer a “speed bump” at the prior meeting.

The city’s Planning Commission votes to recommend council approve or deny projects and requests, but council can still vote independently of the recommendations.

The site — which is approximately a tenth of an acre, according to local tax maps — is near the city’s riverfront district, which has grown into a local entertainment destination in recent years.

An identical proposal was denied by the same commission in May, according to city documents.

Though the state Department of Transportation does not collect traffic data on Spring or South Witt streets, the area is known for narrow residential roads often reduced to one lane of traffic by parked cars or overgrown trees.

Nearby growth in West Columbia

After years of West Columbia’s riverfront district attracting the attention of developers, projects deeper within the city’s core have begun to pick up steam.

Not far from the planned triplex on S. Witt, developer The Wilson Company has proposed 27 homes along Cromwell Street.

Closer to the border with Cayce, an expansion of the Still Hopes retirement community is also underway. The retirement village will add 200 new units and a clubhouse to the existing residences on the site.

West Columbia has recently invested $7.5 million in a project to take the major thoroughfare Meeting Street from four lanes to two to improve pedestrian safety and aesthetics.

Meanwhile, closer to the riverfront, progress has remained stagnant at the vacant Capitol Square shopping center across the road from the House of Raeford Farms chicken plant.

The city approved plans for new apartments and commercial space there in 2024, but ground has yet to be broken.

The city of West Columbia is beginning a $15 million overhaul of the Mill Village neighborhood and Alexander Road.

This comprehensive project is designed to modernize the area’s utility networks, reduce the risk of severe flooding, and improve overall safety and mobility for residents and visitors, according to a news release from the city.

The initiative is fueled by a strategic partnership between the city and two major state agencies: the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority and the South Carolina Office of Resilience. By combining these resources, the city is addressing aging infrastructure above and below the ground, according to the release.

A centerpiece of this project is a long-term investment from the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority. While surface-level road and drainage work are the most visible parts of the project, the SCRIA’s participation focuses on a broader effort to replace aging water infrastructure, the release stated.

This large-scale utility investment ensures that as the neighborhood grows, its foundational systems, specifically water and wastewater, remain reliable. By replacing aging pipes now, the city says it is preventing water main breaks and ensuring the consistent delivery of high-quality drinking water. This strategy allows the city to maximize taxpayer dollars by upgrading underground utilities at the same time the roads and drainage systems are being rebuilt.

South Carolina Sen. Russell Ott said, “I am excited to see this important project move forward. The city of West Columbia, and the Mill Village area specifically, have seen significant impacts in recent years, including during storms like Hurricane Helene. These improvements will help reduce flooding and improve stormwater mitigation, while also protecting homes and families and strengthening critical utility infrastructure that supports reliable, safe drinking water for residents who rely on it every day. This project reflects the South Carolina Rural Infrastructure Authority’s continued investment in communities as it modernizes water and wastewater systems across the state.”

State Rep. Micah Caskey said in the release, “Mill Village residents have asked for real stormwater solutions, and this project delivers vital protection for their homes and quality of life. This effort is a testament to our close partnership with the city of West Columbia. By working hand-in-hand with Mayor Tem Miles, the City Council, and City Administrator Brian Carter, we are ensuring the best possible use of taxpayer dollars by layering state and local resources to tackle multiple challenges at once.”

Bonnie Ammons, executive director of the S.C. Rural Infrastructure Authority, said the Mill Village Area Project is one phase of a $10 million grant awarded to West Columbia for the replacement of aging water infrastructure.

Construction began in January and is expected to take approximately 15 months to complete in phases, the release stated. This phased approach will allow the city to maintain access to homes and businesses while managing traffic.

Planned improvements include:

City of West Columbia Mayor Tem Miles said in the release, “I am excited this project is getting underway. It will fix longstanding problems with water infrastructure, stormwater drainage, road surfaces, traffic flow, and parking in the Mill Village and surrounding area. These improvements are much needed.”

To keep residents and businesses informed, the city will provide regular updates through various methods, including callouts, city social media platforms, a dedicated project webpage and door hangers.

WEST COLUMBIA — As West Columbia moves closer to finalizing plans to narrow a main road, some residents and local business owners have concerns that the plan could cause issues with traffic and access along the street.

The revitalization project, sometimes nicknamed a “road diet”, will take Meeting Street from a four-lane thoroughfare into a two-lane street. The project will extend from the beginning of Sunset Boulevard to 9th Street, just shy of a mile of roadway – complete with sidewalks, landscaped medians, and 63 street-parking spaces.

West Columbia Mayor Tem Miles said the purpose of the road diet is to create a more walkable district that will pull activity up from the popular River District.

“For years, we’ve wanted to spread the revitalization energy that we’ve worked so hard to get going across our town,” Miles said. “This is part of that.”

Councilmember David Moye said that safety was also a big factor in planning the road diet, which has been in the works for the past 15 years.

“Meeting street has a real problem with pedestrian and bike crashes and fatalities, even with the relatively few people walking or biking there now. If nothing is done, this will only get worse as the area becomes more popular,” Moye said.

But some residents and business owners along Meeting Street have criticized the proposed plans.

Restricted access?

Willie Wells, who owns Bill’s Music Shop and Pickin’ Parlor, said he’s concerned the proposed medians will make it impossible for performers with larger vehicles and buses to get in and out of his parking lot.

“I’ve got a 45-foot bus that I move in and out of here. When I have to get out of here, I’ve got to go all the way into the other lane. But if there's an island, I’d have to run up all over the median,” Wells said.

The current projections show seven medians up and down the 0.81-mile stretch, landscaped with trees and shrubs.

Wells isn’t convinced that the project will encourage more people to walk and shop along the road. Instead, he’s worried that it will decrease the visibility of his business.

“They’re telling me they want more foot traffic. Foot traffic from where? There’s no foot traffic,” Wells said. “What it’s going to do is hurt some of the businesses up and down the road, because everybody's not going to come down Meeting Street anymore. They’re going to go over to Jarvis Clapman (Boulevard), and we’re going to lose traffic.”

Across the street at Best Mattress, owner Buddy Delaney shared similar concerns, but said he sees both sides of the issue.

“On one hand, I’m really happy about where the city is going and the exciting things we’ve got going on,” Delaney said, noting his family’s store has been in town for almost a century. “But, I’m also a little concerned about narrowing the streets and adding the curbs and the medians. It’s just going to make it a little more difficult to get our tractor trailers in.”

The business has large trucks moving lumber, steel, and foam in and out of their manufacturing facility almost daily. Delaney believes the city can work out a "compromise" on the medians, perhaps by making them less wide or changing their placement. In general, he said he’s in favor of a slower moving Meeting Street.

Limited flexibility

The mayor said the plans are not finalized yet, but the city wanted to have a concept to take to stakeholders for input. Discussions with those business owners remain ongoing, and he hopes that plans will be finalized within the next couple of weeks.

Miles said the city has limited flexibility on the location of the medians, because SCDOT has asked for medians in specific locations to avoid dangerous cross-traffic turning.

“I don’t know what the final outcome is going to be. It’s still a work in progress. You may have seven (medians), you may have fewer,” he added.

It’s not just business owners who have been speaking out, though. Residents have taken to social media to voice concerns that the road diet will create a “bottleneck” during rush hour. One commenter called the move “short-sighted”, complaining that West Columbia is growing and that traffic is only going to get worse.

In response, Miles has been posting his own “traffic studies” from his walks up and down the street.

“Morning rush hour traffic study in progress: 8:19 am. Not a single east bound car,” he posted to social media alongside a photo of a single car idling at a stoplight.

The mayor said he’s been posting in part to provide a visual for how limited the scope of the project is, and also to give a reference for traffic utilization.

“It’s easy to say during rush hour it’s always crowded, but it’s not. Look, most of the time (there’s traffic) it’s not even due to rush hour,” Miles said.

Some residents raised concerns that the road diet will route increased traffic to the “rotting” bridges on Jarvis Clapman Boulevard and Blossom Street, pointing to the potholes riddling the pavement.

Miles agreed that the bridges were in “terrible shape,” but said those lines of inquiry were "disingenuous."

While he said the bridges all need work, he doesn’t believe the narrowing of Meeting Street will impact which point of entry to Columbia drivers choose.

The project will cost approximately $7.5 million, with a portion of that funding coming from COVID-relief funds. Miles expects the work to take about a year, wrapping up around early 2027.