City of Columbia Water Headquarters

The City of Columbia retained Cox and Dinkins to convert an abandoned 10-acre automobile dealership into The City of Columbia’s Municipal Water-Wastewater Division Headquarters. This project earned a LEED gold certificate from the United States Green Building Council.

Sustainable design elements incorporated in the redevelopment included:

• The salvage and reuse of 75 percent of recycled site building materials.
• A green roof to aid in energy consumption reduction.
• The removal of 2.5 acres of asphalt to increase green space.
• Asphalt reclamation to reduce waste export.
• Bio-retention areas for pollutant removal and improved water quality.
• And permeable pavements to decrease stormwater runoff rates.

South Carolina’s American Institute of Architects Chapter presented the project with the Honor Award for Adaptive Reuse, which recognizes “thoughtful interventions that create synergy between old and new.”