Developer Peddling Biking Community

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(This article is reprinted with permission from the Columbia Regional Business Report.)

Joe Mellett’s inspiration for the development of a car-free community came from several places.  Part came from biking across the country with a couple of college friends, and part came from having a friend in Phoenix be struck and killed by a motorist while cycling. 

Today, Mellett and his partners are developing Bicycle City near Gaston in Lexington County.  They have purchased 160 acres, with an additional 628 acres under option.  The first ten lots are being designed, Mellett said.

Lexington County was chosen for this development for several reasons: the greenways the county has developed, the proximity to the new farmers market on US Highway 378 and the weather that allows for year-round cycling.

The greenways include the West Columbia and Cayce Riverwalk and its proposed extension to Interstate 77, where people can travel safely by bicycle.

“We are also looking forward to the new 12th street extension as part of connectivity to downtown locations,” Mellett said.

Home sizes will range from eight-hundred square feet to sixteen-hundred square feet; they will be certified for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and will incorporate alternative forms of energy.

“We are working with modular home builders and are looking for local partners as well,” Mellett said.

People who live in the community may own cars, but they will have to park at designated areas and either walk or bike to their homes.  Mellett said parking would be roughly a minute’s walk or ride from the homes.

The only vehicles that will have access to the community – via unpaved roadways – are emergency vehicles and delivery trucks, he said.

Charlie Compton, Lexington County planning director, said the County Council has pushed for low-impact development, and this development fits the bill.

The only step left for the developers is to provide the county with engineering drawings of storm drainage.

The development will grow along with demand for the project, which Mellett is optimistic about, he said.

He also sees this development as being mixed-use, with commercial, retail and residential all within the area.

“Cycling is more popular than skiing, golf and tennis combined,” he said.  “There are hundreds of golfing communities; I think there is room for one biking community.”

He said that roughly fifteen-hundred people, through Bicycle City’s website, have shown interest in living and working in the community.

Mellett said it is possible to bike from the property to downtown Columbia, about 12.7 miles.  It took him about thirty-five minutes.  Half of the ride was on an old state roadway, one-third on the greenway and the rest in “a little bit of traffic.”

To make cycling in the Midlands more attractive, municipalities need to continue to invest in greenways, to reduce cyclists’ interactions with cars, he said.

Cycling in the United States is big business.  The economic impact of cycling in Colorado is calculated at $1 billion a year.  It makes a $60 million impact on the communities of the northern Outer Banks of North Carolina, he said.

Mellett said Bicycle City is working to reduce people’s carbon footprint by reducing car emissions and incorporating alternative energy into powering homes.  He said the neighborhood is also tackling childhood obesity by promoting an active way of life.

“We are coming out at the perfect time.  A lot of people are downsizing and looking to live a great lifestyle for less,” he said.  “And if gas goes back up to $4 a gallon, it (the development) will look even more attractive.