With the Great Recession waning, tech companies moving into Charleston, and the Holy City earning top marks from tourist publications, the peninsula is set for a business and development boom like it’s never seen before. According to calculations by the Preservation Society of Charleston, about 1,850 new hotel rooms have been proposed for the peninsula — and that could be bad news for livability. Robert Gurley, director of advocacy for the Preservation Society, says his concerns include density of development, increased traffic on narrow streets, and aesthetics that don’t mesh with the surrounding streetscape.
Other Charlestonians have more personal reservations about the coming tidal wave of change. Alluette Jones-Smalls owns Alluette’s Cafe, a world-famous soul food restaurant in the building that developers plan to tear down to build a hotel at 415 Meeting St. She figures she has another year before the owner sells the building and she’s forced to move. “How much more building can this little city handle?” she asks.
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bldg1.bindPopup(“New office building
Address: 174 Meeting St.
Property value: $2.9 million
Current owner: Blake Rawlins, 174 Meeting Street Associates
What’s there: A parking lot between the First Citizens building and Hood Law Firm.
What’s coming: An office building
The scoop: The Board of Architectural Review voted to approve the construction of a new office building by Eddie Bello and McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture at its March 27 meeting.”);
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bldg2.bindPopup(“Kitchen 208
Address: 208 King St.
Open date: May 2013
Property value: $2.8 million
What’s there: The site of the former Carlton Daily Twentieth Century Antiques, previously a YMCA.
What’s coming: A breakfast-and-lunch restaurant. The menu will be developed by Circa 1886 Executive Chef Marc Collins and his sous chef, Matt Pleasants.
The scoop: Kitchen 208 will be the newest business under the umbrella of Charming Inns, which owns Circa 1886 and a number of Charleston’s historic inns. According to spokeswoman Linn Lesesne, the restaurant will fill two gaps in the King Street scene: patio dining and quality breakfast.”);
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bldg3.bindPopup(“New hotel
Address: 79 Wentworth St.
Possible open date: The architect estimates he is a year away from breaking ground on renovations.
Property value: $780,000
Current owner: CCS Associates LLC
What’s there: A vacant 6,000-square-foot retail building.
What’s coming: The City of Charleston has approved redevelopment for a 35-room inn. According to architect Neil Stevenson, the Restoration on King hotel is planning to expand to the property at 79 Wentworth.
The scoop: “We’ve been working on this for a while, and then the economy fell,” Stevenson says.”);
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bldg4.bindPopup(“New hotel
Address 249 Meeting St.
Possible open date: Unknown
Property value: $1.5 million
Current owner: McAlister-Togant Wentworth Meeting LLC
What’s there: A vacant building within wafting distance of Jestine’s Kitchen and FIG.
What’s coming: A 50-room, four-story boutique inn from Orlando-based hotel chain the Kessler Collection.
The scoop: Applicant Richard Gowe went before the Board of Architectural Review on March 27 to seek preliminary approval for construction at the site, but the board deferred his application. According to meeting minutes, the board made comments regarding ground-floor materials consistency, stucco detailing, and a rooftop canopy.”);
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bldg5.bindPopup(“Millennium Music building
Address 372 Calhoun St.
Possible open date: Unknown
Property value: $5.5 million
Current owner: King and Calhoun LLC
What’s there: The former site of Millennium Music, complete with a rooftop terrace. The building has been vacant since 2008, and the owners have tossed around ideas for the space including luxury condos.
What’s coming: Renovations to accommodate multiple retail and restaurant spaces on the King and Calhoun sides.
The scoop: Tim Keane, the city’s director of planning, preservation, and sustainabilty, says the building’s owners haven’t gotten any building permits yet, but their plans were approved in the fall of 2012 by the Board of Architectural Review. The BAR gunned down an earlier plan that featured über-modern renovations, leading the owners to submit a more conservative redesign.”);
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bldg6.bindPopup(“New hotel
Address 141 Calhoun St.
Possible open date: Unknown
Property value: $650,000
Current owner: 141 Calhoun Street LLC
What’s there: A vacant building next door to Trio Club on a long, skinny lot. It once housed a hair salon with parking in the rear.
What’s coming: An eight-story, 50-room hotel with parking underneath.
The scoop: Chris Price, of 141 Calhoun Street LLC, is president and CEO of the PrimeSouth Group, which has been involved in several King Street development projects, including the relocation of software company PeopleMatter to 466 King St. Plans for the hotel were submitted to the Board of Architectural Review in October 2012, according to the Post and Courier.”);
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bldg7.bindPopup(“New hotel
Address 115 and 117 Calhoun St.
Possible open date: Unknown
Property value: $1.7 million
Current owner: B & B of Charleston LLC
What’s there: The historic Otis Mill Tenement, now the home of Distinctive Events, along with an adjacent parking lot.
What’s coming: A 46-room hotel.
The scoop: According to the Post and Courier, building owners B & B of Charleston LLC sought a special exception to allow a three-story “boutique inn” on the property in October 2012.”);
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bldg8.bindPopup(“Hotel Dewberry
Address: 334 Meeting St.
Possible open date: Fall 2013
Property value: $13.4 million
Current owner: Dewberry 334 Meeting Street LLC
What’s there: The vacant L. Mendel Rivers Federal Building, a 108,000-square-foot office building built in 1964 with a marble facade facing Marion Square.
What’s coming: According to the website of Dewberry Capital, the Atlanta-based firm behind the hotel project, the building is being renovated to meet LEED green-building specifications, and it will include 161 rooms, multiple restaurants and bars, banquet and meeting facilities, a pool, and a rooftop spa.
The scoop: Dewberry Capital bought the building from the General Services Administration in January 2008 for $15 million, according to county records.”);
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bldg9.bindPopup(“New hotel
Address 404 King St.
Possible open date: Unknown, but the developer just won an important court battle last year, so expect changes soon.
Property value: $1.9 million
What’s there: The long-vacant former downtown branch of the Charleston County Public Library.
What’s coming: An eight-story, 105-foot-tall hotel from developer Michael Bennett, whose company, Bennett Hospitality, owns numerous hotels including the downtown Embassy Suites and Hampton Inn.
The scoop: Bennett’s Library Associates LLC announced plans to build the hotel back in 2004, but preservationists took issue with the proposed height, and a judge ruled in 2010 that the City of Charleston had illegally rezoned the property. Bennett and the City appealed the decision, and the state Supreme Court reversed the lower-court ruling in October 2012. “We’re going to dust off plans and see where we go forward from here,” Bennett told the Post and Courier at the time.”);
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bldg10.bindPopup(“Charleston Progressive Academy
Address 382 Meeting St.
Possible open date: Fall 2013Property value: Unknown
Current owner: Charleston County School District
What’s there: The former Courtenay School, now under renovations
What’s coming: One of the schools that the district determined was at risk for seismic damage, the Courtenay School is being renovated for safety and will house the Charleston Progressive Academy, a magnet school for pre-K through sixth grade.
The scoop: Construction crews are renovating parts of the historic 1955 building and demolishing others to replace them. The Courtenay School was one of Charleston’s “equalization” schools in the ’50s, designed to provide a “separate but equal” education for African-American students as the school district stalled on integration.”);
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bldg11.bindPopup(“New restaurant
Address 3 Morris St.
(southwest corner of King and Morris)
Possible open date: Unknown
Property value: $120,000
Current owner: Morris and King LLC
What’s there: A vacant building next door to the Belmont.
What’s coming: According to city planner Tim Keane, there are plans for a restaurant on the ground floor and offices on the second floor.
The scoop: According to Keane, the building is undergoing “substantial renovation.” The owner and architect could not be reached for comment.”);
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bldg12.bindPopup(“400 Meeting St. Apartments
Address 400 Meeting St.
Possible open date: In time for the fall 2013 semester at the College of Charleston
Property value: $3.4 million
Current owner: Phoenix Meeting Street LP
What’s there: Under construction
What’s coming: Student housing. According to a sales representative, there will be 41 units with a total of 160 beds, most of which have already been pre-leased. Prices range from $850 to $960 per bed, and the rent covers all utilities except electricity. Cable and internet are included.
The scoop: Call the leasing number after business hours, and you get a voicemail message that begins like this: “Remember that home in your past, that special place where you were surrounded by comfort and peace of mind? Now you can have that special place again.””);
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bldg13.bindPopup(“New hotel
Address 415 Meeting St.
Possible open date: The developer expects to begin construction in mid- to late-2014. The developer’s previous hotel project at 425 Meeting St. took 15 months to construct.
Property value: $1.8 million
Current owner: Burris Maxie Clyde Jr. Trust
What’s there: Burris Liquor Store owner Clyde Burris says his shop, which has been on the lot for 45 years, will be relocating to a bigger space across the street. Burris also leases space in his building to Alluette’s Cafe and Safe Way convenience store.
What’s coming: A five-story hotel with up to 165 rooms, a pool, a restaurant, and 3,000 square feet of meeting space, according to plans submitted by Charlotte-based Tara Investments. Tara developed and owns the new Holiday Inn next door at 425 Meeting St.
The scoop: Amit Patel, an associate at Tara, says the new hotel has been in the works since the developer submitted plans to the city back in 2006. “Development in Charleston takes a little while, so we’re doing one thing at a time,” Patel says.”);
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bldg14.bindPopup(“New hotel
Address 583 King St.
Possible open date: Unknown
Property value: $750,000
Current owner: Reznick King Street Properties LP
What’s there: A vacant lot.
What’s coming: A 54-room inn.
The scoop: The Board of Zoning Appeals will hold a hearing on April 29 to hear a request from Erika V. Harrison for a special exception to allow the hotel in a general business-accommodations district.”);
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bldg15.bindPopup(“Midtown development
Address Along the east side of King Street from Cannon to Spring streets
Possible open date: 2015
Property value: $1.1 million
Current owner: Regent/BN Charleston Holdings LLC
What’s there: Four buildings and some vacant lots.
What’s coming: A 300-room hotel, 30,000 square feet of retail and office space, and a 400-space parking deck. According to Robert Clement, president of CC&T Real Estate, two of the existing buildings will be demolished and two — including a former Civil War hospital — will remain standing. Currently, CC&T is working on asbestos abatement and securing the final permits from the S.C. Department of Transportation. “We’re dying to start as soon as possible,” Clement says.
The scoop: “This whole area is coming into its own, and it’s really exciting and fun to watch,” Clement says. “This is just a wonderful restoration of an area of King Street that has not been living up to its potential.” Clement has billed the project, which has been in the works since before the recession, as the northern “bookend” to match Charleston Place on the southern end of King Street.”);
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bldg15.bindPopup(“Elan Midtown
Apartment complex
Address 441 Meeting St.
Possible open date: Spring 2013
Property value: $4.5 million
Current owner: GS Midtown Apartments LP
What’s there: Apartments under construction
What’s coming: A 200-unit pet-friendly boutique apartment complex from Greystar Real Estate Partners, a nationwide company with headquarters in Charleston. The promotional website bills the complex as “All Status, No Quo.” Starting rent ranges from $1,405 for the 539-square-foot “Beaufain” studio apartment to $2,490 for the 1,312-square-foot “Market” with two bedrooms and two baths.
The scoop: Residents of the historic Eastside neighborhood have expressed concern that this and other luxury developments along Meeting Street will cause their property taxes to rise, pricing them out of their homes. Greystar did not respond to a request for comment.”);
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bldg16.bindPopup(“Evening Post development
Address Numerous parcels bounded by Meeting, Line, St. Philip, and Columbus streets, totaling about 12 acres
Possible open date: Gradual development over the next 10 to 15 years
Property value: $18.4 million
Current owner: Evening Post Publishing Company, the Post and Courier’s parent company
What’s there: The Post and Courier office and printing plant, parking lots, and vacant lots
What’s coming: Evening Post’s master plan for the area includes 450 residences, more than 900,000 square feet of retail and office space, and three parking garages with at least 2,100 spaces. The company has said that it will consider redeveloping the current Columbus Street site of the P&C offices last, after the other parcels have been developed.
The scoop: “It’s still early for us, but [development] is certainly moving in our direction,” says Ron Owens, Evening Post’s vice president of finance. “Our first phase is still a little ways off, and I’m not sure what all it’s going to encompass yet.” Owens says the first phase will likely take place near the intersection of Columbus and Meeting streets.”);
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bldg17.bindPopup(“Evening Post development
Address Numerous parcels bounded by Meeting, Line, St. Philip, and Columbus streets, totaling about 12 acres
Possible open date: Gradual development over the next 10 to 15 years
Property value: $18.4 million
Current owner: Evening Post Publishing Company, the Post and Courier’s parent company
What’s there: The Post and Courier office and printing plant, parking lots, and vacant lots
What’s coming: Evening Post’s master plan for the area includes 450 residences, more than 900,000 square feet of retail and office space, and three parking garages with at least 2,100 spaces. The company has said that it will consider redeveloping the current Columbus Street site of the P&C offices last, after the other parcels have been developed.
The scoop: “It’s still early for us, but [development] is certainly moving in our direction,” says Ron Owens, Evening Post’s vice president of finance. “Our first phase is still a little ways off, and I’m not sure what all it’s going to encompass yet.” Owens says the first phase will likely take place near the intersection of Columbus and Meeting streets.”);
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