Arabella Spring 

Blythewood, Richland County, Columbia, SC 

Categories Place Visioning, Placemaking 

Main Services Place Design, Planning & Permitting, Projects Communication 

Objective Redesign the future community’s master plan to improve density and establish a relevant and marketable project identity 

Project Type Residential community 

Project Size 566 future single-family residential lots on approx. 220 total acres 

Status Ongoing 

Arabella Spring is a 220-acre future residential project planned for 566 single-family homes. The project faced a number of critical issues: 

• The previously approved plan was inefficient and outdated for the current market;

• All development plan approvals had expired; and

• Lack of project identity (raw land)

St. Bourke was brought in to address the above issues by redesigning the project’s master plan, securing the necessary municipal approvals, and creating a strong project identity with the ultimate goal of creating a comprehensive, “ready to develop” disposal package for the client to market for sale. 

Redesigned Master Plan – Prior to redesigning the master plan, we conducted an extensive market analysis of new residential communities in the surrounding area and met with active homebuilders and residential sales agents to ensure the plan we delivered was in line with current demand for housing in this market. After concluding the above investigations and analyzing the previously approved conceptual plans, the site’s natural topographical features, and the current zoning code, we determined that the project’s design and density could be improved dramatically. The roadways were redesigned to work with the topography rather than against it, and a variety of lot sizes (40’ – 75’) were introduced to improve the community’s streetscapes and appeal to a wide range of homebuyers. Additionally, 34% of the total project (75 acres) was designated as community greenspace to preserve the natural setting. 

Expired Plan Approvals – once the improved sketch plan was finalized with our client and our team of local consultants, we began working directly with the Richland County Development Review Team (DRT) to obtain approvals. After the sketch plan approvals were secured in a unanimous vote, we began further discussions with Richland County to progress towards obtaining a Land Disturbance Permit (LDP). Extensive wetlands studies and traffic impact analyses, both required to obtain an LDP, were conducted on behalf of the Client to be packaged with the land for sale. 

Lack of Project Identity – one issue that most raw land tracts have is a lack of identity. Despite being one of the last large residential land tracts in the area, the project had no identity other than vacant land when acquired by our client. Our marketing and communications team conducted extensive research on not only the site itself, but on Blythewood, Columbia, and Richland County. After considering the context of the site, the project was ultimately renamed “Arabella Spring” – “Arabella” coming from Dr. Matilda Arabella Evans, the first Black female physician in South 

Carolina, and “Spring” coming from the natural spring located in the center of the project and preserved by the new land plan. 

For more information on Arabella Spring, pleas contact Adam Mitchell at adam@stbourke.com