Developers to build apartments, retail after buying property near BullStreet District

COLUMBIA - A parcel of property across from the BullStreet District will be redeveloped into 200 or more apartments and also substantial retail space.

Astral Development of New York has purchased six adjacent properties near the intersections of Elmwood and Bull streets for $2.125 million, according to John McAllister Realty Consulting of Columbia.

The sale closed Feb. 1, according to McAllister.

The developers still are finalizing their designs but expect to build at least 200 apartments in the area that are intended to be attractive to young professionals, according to a statement from Astral.

The project, an investment of at least $50 million, is not intended to be student housing, according to the company.

Early projections show a building of five stories, but the design has not been finalized. The company said it expects the building to offer studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments.

The company's plans also include substantial retail space on the lower levels and parking to go with it on the site, which is 1.6 acres in total.

No groundbreaking is expected before 2024, according to the company, which is based in New York. Astral Development cited the growth of the Bull Street District and Columbia's Downtown and nearby neighborhoods as reasons the project makes sense to them.

"The area has a lot of great momentum, and we are proud to play a role in its continued success;' the company said in a statement.

The property now has six small buildings on it facing Elmwood Avenue and Marion and Bull streets. All those would be demolished to make way for the new construction.

The buildings slated for removal do not include the No Name Deli, a popular local lunch spot. That piece of property had been included in an earlier auction of the real estate that did not go through.

Before the auction, Murphy USA proposed a convenience store and gas station for the site, but that plan fell through after the city's Board of Zoning Appeals failed to approve the plan on a tie vote.

In 2022, the longtime owners of No Name retired, but little has changed at the business, except that the classic deli now does accept credit cards.

Two apartment projects, including the redevelopment of the Babcock building, continue to build on the Bull Street District campus. Astral's project would add to a trend of more apartment living near downtown.