COLUMBIA, S.C. — After years of back and forth, the pink polka dot house in the historic Shandon neighborhood is set to be demolished.
The City of Columbia's Design and Development Review Commission (DDRC) gave a first round of approval to the tear down Thursday night.
The homeowner has requested the city’s permission to demolish the property three times. After getting denied for the second time in 2018, he painted pink polka dots all over the exterior.
Now, two years later, the city has finally given the 'okay'.
"While staff finds that the property has historic and architectural significance as a contributing building of the Shandon neighborhood, based on the systemic issues provided in the report and observation, the duplex would require significant rebuilding from the roof to the foundation," said Rachel Walling, Senior Planner for the Commission.
The staff to the Commission recommended providing approval for the demolition of 140-142 South Walker Street, because it's beyond repair.
The tear down requires the city’s approval because the property is in the Shandon community character area.
"I get what they’re trying to do, preserve historic Columbia," said Lee Willm. "They just want to make sure things aren’t getting torn down that don’t need to be torn down."
Willm, owner of Willm Construction, is buying the polka dot house from the current owner now that they're allowed to rebuild.
The Commission explained that the house is very damaged on the inside and out from years of vacancy.
Repairing it would cost more than $150,000.
After tear down, Willm plans to build a new home that will fit in with the style of the neighborhood and put it on the market.
Before he gets started, the city will need to give the demolition a second approval on November 12th.
Willm technically has a year to take down the house, but he says it’ll be demolished this winter.