Columbia's promise of progress

Those of us who staked our future in Columbia years ago can remember what "progress" used to look like: Parkade, the first shopping center of its kind, with its veritable Flaming Pit steakhouse, on Business Loop 70; the great Columbia Mall that arose from a sprawling farm on what was then the city's western frontier; and the concrete canopy that was downtown's response to the imperative of shopping under cover.

Before long, the handful of farms south of Memorial Stadium on the opposite banks of the Hinkson were overtaken by what has become known as Nifong, a city center of its own seemingly haphazard design. Columbia spilled out in all directions with Walmarts and big box stores, houses and duplexes. Homes and businesses multiplied like toadstools after a warm spring rain, affirming that our local economy had, indeed, come of age.

All was well in the city.

Then came the market crash of 2008. Bankruptcies emptied big box stores. Struggling manufacturing firms laid off dozens of workers. Not even the industries that had kept the flames of optimism burning bright — health care, insurance and education — were immune.

So here we are, catching our collective breath from the old boom that went bust and pinning our hopes on the new promises of the 21st century: life sciences, business incubators, data centers and a research reactor poised to become a global player in the production of medical isotopes. Also a research park is being designed, in the words of one, "to take advantage of the new high-tech economy that is likely to emerge from the carnage," and an animal sciences corridor connecting Columbia to a constellation of supporting players in Kansas City and beyond.