Members of the historic Radcliffeborough neighborhood who live nestled between King Street and Ashley Avenue at Radcliffe Street have long fought against gentrification and development.
The 2020 purchase of a historic house on 15 Radcliffe St. — now a parking lot — heralded a new phase in the neighborhood’s decline, according to some neighbors. The buyer, well-connected Charleston developer Frank Brumley, had plans to move the house to make room for his new projects on the site.
“We were fighting to keep that house where it was and fix it up where it stood to use it as the cornerstone for our little neighborhood,” said Radcliffeborough resident Annie Sitton. “I canvassed the entire area, and I even talked to some other developers around here, and they agreed, too.”
Brumley did not respond to several requests for comment.
The house was moved in 2022 despite an outpouring of criticism from Radcliffeborough residents. Now, the developer has plans to build a new parking garage on the lot, reigniting the fight against overdevelopment in the small neighborhood just off of busy upper King Street.
“We knew that moving the house was the last-man standing, so to speak, in stopping this garage,” said Radcliffeborough Neighborhood Association President Liz Soule-Brainard.
“Enough people voted to move the house because we wanted it to be preserved, but that doesn’t mean anyone has any thoughts on the parking garage other than, ‘No.’ ”
Traffic, noise and crime
Residents say a new parking garage would be more than just an eyesore towering over the nearby homes.
“Traffic, noise pollution, crime, and you build this however-many-story concrete building, and it’s permanent,” said one Radcliffeborough resident who asked to remain anonymous. “It’s going to permanently change the appearance of this block.”
She added many of her neighbors are also concerned about being pushed out of their generational homes.
“That’s sort of what happens to these properties near parking garages,” she said. “They become rental properties because people don’t want to live near the garages.”
While national statistics show parking garages are often areas of elevated crime rates, Charleston police said earlier this year that crime around the city’s garages is typically low. Most incidents instead occur along major corridors rather than in parking areas, officials said at a Charleston City Council meeting March 25.
Traffic, however, remains a large issue.
“Assuming it’s a public garage with 300 to 400 spaces in it, that’s a lot of traffic coming in and out of Radcliffeborough that isn’t there now,” Soule-Brainard said. She added that residents along George Street and south of Calhoun have several garages with entrances and exits onto King Street, alleviating some of the impact. But the site at 15 Radcliffe St. may not allow for that configuration.
“There’s just no good way to make it happen,” she said.
Project’s future uncertain
Despite the developer securing a zoning change in March to enable the parking garage to be built, the project hasn’t yet been brought to Charleston City Council for approval. Several residents speculated on what the holdup could be, from crossed wires with the College of Charleston to strategically timed construction.
Others, however, instead prefer to consider what they’d rather see at 15 Radcliffe St. instead.
“We’re really pushing for some sort of housing, whether it’s student housing or public,” Soule-Brainard said. “I believe we need a lot more attainable housing for workforce members. People can’t afford to live here anymore. Even [the Medical University of South Carolina] is having trouble recruiting doctors because they can’t afford to live downtown.
“If you work downtown, you have to drive in,” she added. “You sit in traffic and create pollution and noise. It’s bad all around.”
Regardless of the lot’s fate, the anonymous resident said it was important for it to be a benefit to the community of residents who live there.
“It’s David and Goliath,” she said. “We just need a couple good stones.”
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