Projects underway to preserve, restore historic Charleston Naval Base buildings
VIDEO: Projects underway to preserve, restore historic Charleston Naval Base buildings By Kaitlin Stansell | April 29, 2021 at 4:33 PM EDT - Updated April 29 at 6:57 PM
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Expansive plans are underway to restore and revitalize the former Charleston Navy base.
While the project is set to bring homes, shops, a concert venue and more to the historic area, a Lowcountry preservation group has partnered with the development firm to make sure the areaâs history lives on.
The project has been coined âNavy Yard Charleston,â and the real estate and investment company behind it, the Jamestown, plans to break ground this year.
Neighbors, Charleston group express concerns over planned development on peninsula
VIDEO: Neighbors, Charleston group express concerns over planned development on peninsula By Lillian Donahue | February 8, 2021 at 3:32 PM EST - Updated February 8 at 6:54 PM
CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Neighbors and a local group say they want to make sure a proposed 8-story apartment complex at the entrance of the Charleston peninsula does not worsen frequent flooding issues in the area.
Winslow Hastie, president of the Historic Charleston Foundation, said the location right across from the Medical University of South Carolina and Roper St. Francis Hospitals is a critical spot of the city.
Charlestonâs greatest architectural controversy in the 21st century turned out not to be much about architecture at all.
Most everyone agrees The Jasper, a new apartment, office and retail building on the peninsulaâs southwestern edge, is vastly more stylish and handsome than the boxy Sergeant Jasper building it replaced.
The Jasper s architecture, guided by Antunovich Associates of Chicago, is far more contextual, traditional and reflective of the best of Charleston s taller buildings, including the People s Building and the Francis Marion Hotel.
But thatâs still not enough to endear it to many people, especially those who fought so long â and ultimately unsuccessfully â for a lower building (or buildings). That said, the developer has a chance to help improve things.
By Adam Parker
aparker@postandcourier.com
Locally, the initiative would directly benefit Charlestonâs Gullah Society, which works to identify, document and preserve Black burial grounds throughout South Carolina.
The Gullah Society was among nearly 60 organizations that submitted a letter of support to House leaders in November last year.
A House bill, introduced in February 2019 by Rep. Alma Adams, D-.N.C., details the project, which would be administered by the National Park Service. It is modeled after two similar projects NPS manages: âWe Shall Overcome: Historic Places of the Civil Rights Movementâ and âThe National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program.â
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