Garvin Design Group

Per the South Carolina Inventory Form for Historic Districts and Individual Properties in a Multiple Property Submission (Sept. 20, 1985):

"In 1917 the company undertook the first (southern) section of the brick warehouse. The warehouse has substantial brick exterior walls and firewalls defining four compartments on each of the four floors. The brickwork is common bond. Each compartment has an arched cargo door on the west elevation, with small paired windows to either side. These windows, which have segmental-arched heads, have had their original sash replaced with clear plastic. The south elevation of this warehouse has four sets of similar paired windows on each floor, with a simple stepped parapet at the roof line. Open frame walkways are present on the east side of the building. Inclined ramps with endless chains provide for carrying the bales between floors; wooden stairs are also located in these frame walkways. The northern section of the brick warehouse, which doubled the building's storage capacity, was built in 1923. The new section is similar to the 1917 section with the exception of treated window lintels with soldier courses and steel, six-light casement sash. A freight elevator is located in this section. The warehouse's sixteen compartments have heavy timber floors and slow-burning timber framework, including two longitudinal files of wooden posts. The floors all slope down from the central north-south axis of the building, presumably to help drain water should the sprinkler system be activated.

The Palmetto Compress and Warehouse Company Building is significant for its role in the growth of the textile industry in Columbia and the state of South Carolina. The building is one of only three surviving cotton compress facilities in the Southeast and one of the largest cotton warehouses in the state. The building is also significant as an excellent example of warehouse design and construction from the early twentieth century.

The rapidly expanding industry demanded development of related industries and services, including railroads and warehouses. The growing demands of the industry prompted the organization of the Palmetto Compress and Warehouse Company, about 1912. Construction of the first section of the brick warehouse began in 1917; the warehouse was in operation by 1919. With the construction of the second half of the warehouse in 1923, the company had a capacity of 50,000 bales of cotton. By 1936, the Palmetto Compress and Warehouse Company boasted a top capacity of 60,000 bales. The Palmetto Compress Warehouse was operating one of only four cotton compresses in the Southeast in 1978. As of July 1985, the Palmetto Compress and Warehouse Company is still active and the buildings are in use for their original purpose."

The rehabilitation project focused on preserving the original warehouse form, while introducing apartment and retail uses within the given framework. The existing east porch was in varying levels of disrepair, so it was rebuilt using the same heavy timber framing, decking, and design as the original. The exterior walls and interior structure of the warehouse were preserved, including the sloped wooden floors, which are still visible as exposed wood ceilings from below. Above the existing timber decking, platforms were custom-framed to create level floors. In each bay, at the apex of the sloped floors, a large opening was cut from the first floor through the roof to allow daylight to fill the central core of the building. This open light well introduces natural daylighting, views, and fresh air to the common spaces and units via juliet balconies, upper floor terraces, and ground floor patios. The structure remains to show the original floor locations and give scale to the 350,000 square foot warehouse.

The sliding bay doors on the West and East facades are held in the open position, showing the original function, while each opening is infilled with 3/4 lite custom windows that show the guardrail height and original crossbuck design. The sills of the smaller window openings were lowered to allow views out and maximize daylight into dwelling units. Original steel windows were refurbished, while the formerly wood windows were replaced with clad windows of identical brick mould and detailing. Along the secondary east elevation, new rectangular doors were cut in to provide access to the units from the porch and increase daylighting into units. The existing bay doors had lower head heights and were infilled will 3/4 lite clad windows with a crossbuck design.

Although the building is no longer storing cotton, the Palmetto Compress Warehouse is still standing, intact, as one of the last surviving examples of warehouse design and early twentieth century construction. The rehabilitation project focused on preserving the historic warehouse form, while introducing apartment and retail uses within the given framework to accentuate its unique features. The warehouse's transformation also helps to anchor a transforming district between downtown Columbia and the riverfront.