Last fall, this circa-1840 house on Woolfe Street was readied to move several blocks east of Meeting Street to make way for a new apartment complex and a 162-room hotel. A local contractor will restore the structure on Amherst Street.
Then-Mayor Joseph Riley Jr. (left center) celebrates the opening of Charleston Place on September 2, 1986.
Charleston Place was built on a once-derelict block in the center of the peninsula. Called “Riley’s Folly” in the ’80s, the project is largely credited with resurrecting the city and putting Charleston on the map.
Charleston Place, now under the global Belmond brand, celebrated its 30th anniversary last year, completing renovations on all of its guest rooms as well as the Thoroughbred Club and adding more amenities, such as the new pub, Meeting at Market.
Recent additions to the accommodations roster include The Restoration, a revamped former condo timeshare
The Dewberry, the long-empty L. Mendel Rivers Federal Building transformed into a mid-century gem
The Spectator, a boutique property right off the City Market
This map from the Peninsula Hotel Study, prepared by the City of Charleston’s department of Planning, Preservation, and Sustainability and division of Business and Neighborhood Services in June 2016, shows all existing hotels and those under construction in magenta and 11 recently approved in orange. Upon completion, the peninsula will have nearly 6,000 guest accommodations. To read the full report, visit www.charleston-sc.gov/DocumentCenter/View/11618.
Zero George boutique hotel
Dean Porter Andrews, a hospitality industry veteran and CEO of Easton Porter Group, believes the city should establish quality guidelines for new peninsula hotels to address downtown livability issues and achieve optimal economic benefit.
The newly redesigned Marriott North Charleston, near Charleston International Airport
The gallery at Grand Bohemian on Wentworth are among the hotel’s amenities that locals can enjoy, too.
The Élevé restaurant at Grand Bohemian on Wentworth
The Rise coffee shop at The Restoration on Wentworth Street
Public spaces at The Restoration include The Rise coffee shop, as well as a courtyard, a gallery, rooftop restaurant and bar The Watch, and a spa.
The Port Mercantile shop at The Restoration
The Dewberry offers up inviting outdoor seating areas.
The Dewberry’s Living Room for daytime meetings or evening cocktails
The Dewberry's snazzy mid-century lobby
For a few years, construction cranes have dominated the downtown skyline. At right is the Courtyards at 411 Meeting Street complex, under-market rental apartments that are slated to become a 300-room hotel.
In a post for buildingsarecool.com, local architect Stephen Ramos calculated required parking for buildings of the same size but different uses, based on City of Charleston ratios, and determined that hotels contribute the least to traffic congestion.
Hotel Bennett, locally owned by Bennett Hospitality and operated by Salamander Hotels, will open in fall 2017 adjacent to Marion Square.
The luxury property will offer 179 guest quarters, two restaurants, three bars, a spa, a ballroom, and meeting spaces.
Charleston Area Convention and Visitors Bureau CEO Helen Hill says the key to balancing tourism and livability issues is the right mix of hotel types across municipal lines.
Last fall, The Post and Courier ran an op-ed by art historian and If Venice Dies author Salvatore Settis, who warns of unchecked tourism killing an historic city, such as Venice (shown here).
“The city has a long history of highly regulating tourism. We don’t want to throw the gates wide open, but our goal is to balance the tourist experience with the quality of the resident experience,” says Jacob Lindsey, director of the city’s department of Planning, Preservation, and Sustainability, which aims to achieve a balance of building uses and promote walkability to minimize traffic.
A 54-room hotel goes up on a former vacant lot on upper King, across the street from the Hyatt House/Hyatt Place properties, which opened in September 2015 with a combined 304 rooms, meeting spaces, and a parking garage.
Easton Porter Group CEO Dean Andrews believes the growth in hotel development and the cruise industry raise similar questions about quality of life versus tourism. Achieving a beneficial balance results from prioritizing quality over quantity, he suggests.
