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The Chesnut Cottage Bed and Breakfast is for Sale
(Some owner financing available)
As you consider relocating to the sunny South, the information below may be of interest. Location, area demographics and reasons for guests to visit are major factors that sometimes are not given enough consideration. The location of the B&B also needs to be compatible with your life style.
What does the Chesnut Cottage have to offer?
Location The Chesnut Cottage is located in downtown Columbia at the northern edge of the University of South Carolina campus and the southern edge of the Columbia Historic District. It is a little over 4 miles from Fort Jackson and about a mile from all three of Columbia's museums and its finest dining and shopping districts--Five Points, The Vista, and Main Street. The B&B is fifteen minutes from the Columbia International Airport and about the same to the smaller Owens Airfield. We are an hour and one half from Charlotte, Charleston, and Greenville, and about 2 1/2 hours from the beach and the mountains.
Topretirements.com in its April 13 newsletter noted that "Columbia has frequently been rated as one of the top retirement towns in the USA. CNN Money included it in its 25 Best Places to Retire for 2009 because it has the amenities of city life, Southern Hospitality, a low cost of living, outdoor recreation, and a temperate climate. Consumer Reports compared the CNN Money list with the U.S. News list of best places to retire and found only one city common to both lists - Columbia, South Carolina. U.S. News described it as "a colorful capital city with a riverfront esplanade" with relatively low median home prices."
Size and possible expansion Many B&B’s offered for sale are already all they can be in profitability. The Chesnut Cottage currently has 5 guest rooms but also offered is an adjacent property with enough parking and space for an ambitious innkeeper to expand up to 14 rooms if desired. The B&B is offered as a turnkey operation with everything required for continuing the business as usual from day one.
Competition Currently there is one other bed and breakfast in Columbia, the 1425 Inn. There are however other establishments that refer to themselves B&B's that are really Inn's or small hotels. We have been honored to receive many fine referrals and greet our returning guests for more than 21 years.
Columbia's metro population is comprised of several small towns. In addition to Columbia itself there are West Columbia, Forest Acres, Cayce, Irmo, Lexington, and Chapin. For such a large area and population it still has a small town atmosphere. The University provides cultural, visual, musical, and theater venues in addition to two ballet companies and four private theaters. The riverfront is in the process of being developed in the downtown are and has a three mile long riverwalk that is popular with a beautiful view of both sides of the river and canal.
Weather: The Columbia area (except for the rare snowfall that lasts 24 hours if that long) enjoys some of the best weather in America, allowing for year round golfing and outdoor enjoyment.
History: The Chesnut Cottage has been on the National Historic Register for 50 years and the historic marker placed in 1936 designated the house as site #4 in Columbia. Several pages of information on its famous guests are detailed in Mary Chesnut's Diary from Dixie. Check out our history pages on the website for more information and links to other sites. The Cottage's location in the historic district of downtown Columbia is across the street from the Woodrow Wilson boyhood home, the Lorick House, and is walking distance from the Robert Mills house, the Hampton Preston house, and all of Historic Columbia's beautifully restored house museums. Included in the sale of the Cottage are first editions of Mary Chesnut's Diary, the Saturday Evening Post magazines announcing it's publication with its first printed pages in 1905, and numerous artifacts and period furniture from the war time period. There is also a library of over 1000 books of every kind included for the pleasure of our guests.
Legal The Cottage is zoned for an Bed and Breakfast, and has met all required state, local and insurance inspections for 21 years.
Living costs, South Carolina's property taxes and cost of living are attractive in comparison to many other areas.
Introduction, training Our retirement home is 22 miles from the Cottage and we will provide information and support as requested.
For information call or email:
Gale and Sherwood Garrett
Innkeepers
ggarrett@sc.rr.com
803 414 1718
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