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US: Hospitality development and management company Raines will open The Lantern Hotel Columbia in autumn 2025, a 59-key boutique hotel located in Columbia’s Vista neighbourhood.
The hotel will be built inside the city’s historic firehouse and will form part of the company’s Woven lifestyle portfolio.
Expected to open in autumn 2025, The Lantern will offer training and employment opportunities for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities through a partnership with the University of South Carolina (USC) and its CarolinaLIFE programme.
Students from USC’s College of Hospitality, Retail and Sport Management will also be involved in operations, with the hotel positioned as a purpose-led, inclusive hospitality destination.
The project includes the launch of Ladder 13, a signature restaurant led by James Beard Foundation Award nominee and USC alumnus Kevin Johnson.
Raines is leading the development, with Garvin Design Group as architect and Mashburn Construction as builder.
Managing partner Grey Raines said: “Looking back on our decades of experience in hospitality and the relationships we’ve built over the years, this one feels different. The Lantern has the ability to impact lives.”
A second site, The Lantern Rock Hill, is set to open in autumn 2026.
Highlights:
• Raines will open the 59-key Lantern Hotel Columbia in autumn 2025.
• The project will reuse Columbia’s historic firehouse in the Vista neighbourhood.
• A restaurant by chef Kevin Johnson will open as Ladder 13.
• The hotel will provide hospitality career paths for USC students in the CarolinaLIFE program.
• A second site in Rock Hill is planned for autumn 2026.
