From Former Mental Hospital to Recreational Hub

Nearly two centuries after it was built, the South Carolina Lunatic Asylum in Columbia is being converted into a mixed-use project known as the BullStreet District.

By Keith Schneider

July 23, 2019

COLUMBIA, S.C. — The South Carolina Lunatic Asylum admitted its first patient in 1828. Ever since, its impressive brick wards surrounded by nearly 200 acres of leafy lawns and gardens served as landmarks in Columbia, the state’s capital.

Almost 200 years later, and three decades after the last patient was discharged, the old brick buildings and expansive open space are being steadily converted into one of the largest downtown mixed-use real estate projects in the nation, a 181-acre development known as the BullStreet District.

A mile from Columbia’s central business district, and more than twice as large, the BullStreet project reflects the latest trends in designing and building compact urban neighborhoods. The district features an array of modern office, residential, retail, entertainment and recreational spaces.

Read more in The New York Times article by Keith Schneider, published July 23, 2019: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/23/business/columbia-south-carolina-bullstreet.html