Empire Student Housing

Located in the heart of downtown Columbia within walking distance of Main Street, the Vista, and the University of South Carolina, The Empire building abuts Assembly, Park, and Pendleton Streets. The Empires contains upscale private dormitory suites located above ground-floor retail establishments and provides shoppers, visitors, and residents with pedestrian friendly access to the University and Columbia’s premier downtown dining and shopping districts.

The six-story, 503,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art, residential and retail complex offers 220-units (totaling  650-beds), theater, fitness complex, roof-top pool, an attached nine-story parking garage, and pedestrian friendly walkways and accesses.

This inner-city, re-development, site spans two blocks with more than thirty feet of elevation drop, which presented many engineering challenges. Cox and Dinkins and the design team provided innovative solutions to overcome the challenges, culminating with an impressive new addition to the downtown area.