By FITSNews || The University of South Carolina’s failed “Innovista” research campus – which has already blown through $150 million in tax dollars with nothing but empty buildings (and emptier political promises) to show for it – is set to receive another $154 million of your money when the Columbia (S.C.) City Council approves a massive “Innovista redevelopment plan” on Thursday.
As reported previously on FITS, this “corrupt boondoggle” – which includes the creation of a new “Tax Increment Financing” (TIF) district – has already received preliminary approval from City Council members.
Without the TIF, “Inept-o-Vista” is dead in the water.
Not surprisingly, the creation of this special tax district will result in dramatically increased property taxes for homes and businesses that do not fall within the boundaries of the TIF – and that’s on top of a proposed 11-12% property tax hike the city is already considering in an effort to fill its depleted coffers.
Obviously, this “redevelopment plan” represents yet another gigantic taxpayer investment in the botched project – which has been marred by costly failures and has managed to land only two small private sector tenants. It has also failed miserably to produce the “thousands of high-paying jobs” it promised just a few short years ago.
Worst of all, Innovista’s so-called “main draw” – hydrogen fuel cell research – has turned out to be a private sector loser, which goes to the heart of why we believe government shouldn’t be picking winners and losers in the private sector in the first place.
As a result of these failures, Innovista has been a huge embarrassment for its leading political supporters – S.C. House Speaker Bobby Harrell, Columbia Mayor Bob Coble and USC President Harris Pastides. Of course not as much of an embarrassment as it could have been, since the “newspaper of record” in Columbia S.C. has always been Innovista’s premier promoter, as well as its insurance policy against bad press.
As Innovista has imploded, so have the City of Columbia’s finances – yet these dire financial straits haven’t stopped city council members like Tameika Isaac-Devine from dipping their snouts into the taxpayer trough.
No wonder South Carolina’s “famously hot” capital city has been famously dubbed the “Face of the Recession.”
Anyway, if you’re as fed up with this crap as we are, then get involved. Particularly if you’re a City of Columbia taxpayer, but also if you’re a South Carolina taxpayer, because the approval of the TIF will no doubt result in millions in additional state funds (as well as USC tuition revenue) going toward this insanely expensive hole in the ground.
Thursday’s meeting will be held on the third floor of City Hall (1737 Main Street, Columbia S.C.) at 6:00 p.m.
Oh, and here are the email addresses for Columbia City Council if you’d like to share your thoughts with them, too …
(click on names below to send email)
E.W. Cromartie III
Sam Davis
Tameika Isaac-Devine
Kirman Finlay
Belinda Gergel
Daniel Rickenmann
Also, stay tuned for additional reports this week on the Innovista boondoggle, including an inside look at some of the University’s PR plans as well as the behind-the-scenes deals that were cut to ensure “buy-in” from certain city council members.
WEB EXTRA
Innovista Redevelopment Plan
By Cooter Brown February 1, 2010 at 6:43 am
Aint ye got t’ be “in” befo ye can gits bailed “out”?
By Ynotfirst February 1, 2010 at 6:51 am
if I lived anywhere else, I’d say ” unbelievable”
By Chip February 1, 2010 at 7:18 am
I don’t think the City of Columbia/Innovista scandal could happen in another city in the country. Columbia’s government is the absolute worst.
And of course USC is doing all of this while upgrading athletic facilities to the tune of about $200 million dollars. Why USC is allowed to float all of those bonds is beyond me…the Budget and Control Board has lost its mind too.
By Justin February 1, 2010 at 9:11 am
Figures, USC wasting all this money on something that’s proven it’s a failure. How about passing some of that money down here to USC Aiken? I’m paying 8 grand a year for tuition yet every time it rains the hallways of the science building becomes ‘kitchen pot rain collection’ central.
By really???? February 1, 2010 at 9:45 am
Justin….Thanks for the laugh. Be thankful you are only paying 8k/year. I paid half the price to get my LL.M. from the best school in the nation (UF) than I did for one year of law school at USC (aka not the best school in the nation). There is something terribly wrong with the cost of tuition in this state. Yankees wont keep coming from out of state if the price does not get better (they may have already stopped since I have been out of undergrad for 6 years now).
By Genomic Repairman February 1, 2010 at 11:38 am
Uh no scientist is going to set foot on that the campus of that project with its shaky beginnings. If USC wants to build a research campus like many other universities they should encourage partnership with private companies not fucking FUND them. And they may be the only ones doing hydrogen fuel cell technology around because everyone else realized that shit is currently not the most practical solution to the energy dilemma.
By Genomic Repairman February 1, 2010 at 11:39 am
Oh yeah and if you think Florida is the best school in the nation you must breathe solely through your mouth.
Hook em horns!
By Weighing In February 1, 2010 at 12:11 pm
if the yanks don’t want to come and pay the freight, then to hell with them. Besides “Really”, LLM is specialized law focusing on tax, not the whole law.
For reference (undergrad):
USC out of State Costs 23,332.00
UF’s out of state costs 23,744.00
UGA out of state Costs 25,740.00
UNC out of state costs 23,513.00
UT out of state costs 27,780.00
Law School:
USC out of State Costs $38,014.00
UF’s out of state costs $33,592.00
UGA out of state Costs $45,546.00
UNC out of state costs $29,332.00 (they have a 15% acceptance rate)
UT out of state costs $31,981.00
By Not Sayin', Just Sayin' February 1, 2010 at 1:10 pm
No wonder 5pm traffic is so bad going toward Camden and Lexington …
By really???? February 1, 2010 at 3:33 pm
you should take a look at instate tuition because that is what you pay at UF if you are a SC resident since there is no school in the state that offers that degree.
By really???? February 1, 2010 at 3:45 pm
I use the term “best” only in referring to their LL.M. program. Also, I don’t think it matters that an LL.M. is a specialized degree. It is still full time, even longer actually since it is a full calendar year and not just an academic year.
By really???? February 1, 2010 at 4:18 pm
In-state 06-07
SC School of law $16,156
UF Levin College of Law $9,861
By Weighing In February 1, 2010 at 4:19 pm
Yes UF does have low rates, won’t disagree there. But, it does matter that the LLM is specialized, in your own words:
“if you are a SC resident since there is no school in the state that offers that degree.” is why you get the instate tution. It’s referred to as the academic common market.
For example, a lot of midwestern students come to Coastal Carolina University for it’s marine biology program and pay instate rates because most of these states don’t have one.
I’m pretty sure I could get in state tuition at the University of Alaska Anchorage for a degree in Igloo Architecture, since we don’t offer that here (yet). So, just like your LLM, I go to the Academic Common Market.
By really???? February 2, 2010 at 10:02 am
Weighing In. I think you are missing the point. If other states can provide far superior quality at such a low price, we should be able to do better. That is all I am saying. There is no excuse for a practically tier 3 public law school to be almost double the price of a top school. (price being one of the things that probably brings it close to the third tier)