Huge score for Columbia and the whole state.

BTW, the article says that the jobs will average $55,000.

^ I'd bet that some of the people relocating to Columbia for the IBM service center would be interested in living in a more urban setting. Columbia has over 100,000 residents in 60 square miles, and while sprawl is an issue, there's also an ongoing effort to limit it. Meanwhile, Columbia's downtown has over 7,000 residents, many upstairs spaces have been renovated and converted into residences, and there are proposals for new residential developments in and near downtown as well.

Unfortunately, one of the more promising proposals for downtown was scaled back. Originally developers had planned to construct an eight-story mixed-use building at Tenth and Locust streets, but the project was canceled due to lackluster demand for the commercial space that was part of the development. Instead, a four-story residential building will occupy the site. There's also the Old Southwest neighborhood, which features Arts & Crafts and Colonial architecture dating back to the 1920s and 1930s, and this area is within walking distance of downtown, or The District in Columbia-speak.

Columbia also has a New Urbanism development, albeit on the edge of town, as The Village of Cherry Hill features traditional architecture and homes that are within walking distance of a town square, not unlike New Town on a smaller scale.

So I'm optimistic that at least some of Columbia's newcomers will choose a more urban setting for their home. That said, Columbia is like St. Louis on a smaller scale in that it truly offers something for everyone. Even with relatively rapid growth over the last few decades, there are still rural areas that are not all that far from The District and the University of Missouri campus. I love it there- so I'm glad to see that IBM has chosen to locate this service center there!