More than a dozen businesses are opening offices and locations in a growing creative hub tucked between the peninsula and Park Circle.
Construction is well underway at Navy Yard Charleston’s Design District, with large-scale renovations to the historic buildings and roads of the campus, breathing new life into former industrial spaces adjacent to Riverfront Park.
Since the beginning of August, the site has welcomed new locations for businesses like Textures, a luxury hardwood company; Artis Construction, a construction company specializing in historic restoration; and Kravet, a leader in home furnishings. More are on the way.
company Textures | Photo by Joseph Bradshaws
“Just seeing, in the few days I’ve been here, how these organic interactions happen especially between all these creatives … has been wonderful,” said Britni Johnson, vice president of public relations and communications for Jamestown, the real estate investment company behind the Design District. “For up and coming areas, the creative people are always going to be the first to come in and really establish a place. That’s literally happening right here, right now.”
Johnson, who normally works from Atlanta, has spent the last several months seeing the Design District from a computer screen, photos and videos. Seeing it in person for the first time in September, she said, changed the way she envisions the project and how it connects to the rest of the Lowcountry.
“It’s a lot to take in,” she said. “All the different pieces of the Navy Yard — people don’t realize how connected everything is. I’ve been trying for so long to understand this by looking at a map, and everything seemed so much more spread out. But everything is really just right here.”
Further closing the distance is the newly opened bridge connecting the Navy Yard to Cosgrove Avenue, giving residents and workers easier access to and from West Ashley, North Charleston and Interstate 26.
Familiar faces, new locations
The redevelopment of the historic storehouses Eight and Nine and the refurbished outdoor courtyard nestled between the two buildings is already complete. Together, they feature 32,000 square feet of creative office space, 7,200 square feet of first-floor restaurant space and 86 luxury apartments. They also are home to the newly opened businesses.
“We specialize in pre-finished, engineered hardwoods,” said Julie Gibbs, project coordinator for Nashville-based Textures. “We are the first branch here in Charleston. It’s very exciting. We’re rocking this new, fun adventure, and we’re just excited about this new Design District.”
Textures boasts the first finished showroom of the Design District, complete with its own luxury hardwoods and a fresh coat of paint. It’s a big step up from the gray concrete that previously permeated the building.
Meanwhile, Charleston-based Aris Construction’s new showroom will act as a satellite office to foster collaborations with other creative businesses. Though the space is not yet open to the public, team leaders are excited about the future.
“It’s exciting. It’s a great place to connect,” said marketing executive-turned builder Tim Sites. “We wanted to be a part of this community and rub shoulders with all the creative types. It’s a dynamic mix of people who create stuff and folks who make things. It’s a real community. Most of our employees work in Park Circle, and there’s only so many houses downtown.
“It just creates an energy that I think is really exciting, and you just want to be a part of it.”
The ground floor of Storehouse Nine filled faster than expected, according to Navy Yard Associate Marketing Manager Thea Anderson, so some businesses can open smaller locations in the second-floor studios, typically leased for residents.
Global home furnishing company Kravet temporarily leased a small upstairs unit for its business in August, and though it’s not open to clients, showroom manager Sally Liipfert said it’s been a great partnership already.
“Traditionally, our design clients have had to go to Atlanta, which has been the closest showroom to have a resource library available to them,” she said. “So now, we’re excited that they won’t have to travel that far. We’re really hoping to be a hub for all of our coastal customers from North Carolina to Georgia.”
Kravet signed a lease to open a 2,240-square-foot showroom in Storehouse Eight that is still under construction. Once complete, the company will move from its temporary space upstairs into the full showroom.
While several businesses have already moved in and started making the Design District their home-away-from-home, other businesses are still to-come. The large, glass building at the front of the courtyard between storehouses Eight and Nine will soon be home to a new location of local favorite Second State Coffee, and the rooftop restaurant atop Storehouse Nine will feature a yet-to-be-revealed Indigo Road establishment.
More: navyyardcharleston.com and charlestondesigndistrict.com
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