Charleston, South Carolina — just the name itself evokes a picture of Southern hospitality. It is a place where history and classic beauty reign supreme. Downtown Charleston is unique in that it is a vibrant center, integral to the entire Charleston area. "In recent years, the city has experienced an economic resurgence that has further enhanced the prosperity of many downtown residents," (Executive Summary, City of Charleston's Downtown Plan). Every year when we enter the month of March, downtown Charleston becomes alive as camellias begin to fade and azaleas come into their full splendor. The chill of winter departs as spring gradually makes a welcomed appearance. Historic Charleston Foundation celebrates the season with its Annual Festival of Houses and Gardens. These spring tours kick-off the tourist season drawing an increasing number of visitors to the area.
Yet, the increasing popularity of the city has raised many concerns among locals about the growing number of visitors. "Charleston's uniqueness and quality of life ensure that it will continue to be in demand as a place to live, a place to work and a place to visit. Pressures for growth will continue, a positive attribute for any city that must continue to evolve in order to thrive economically, socially and culturally. The key issue becomes one of managing the change, and directing the growth."
In order to achieve this goal, the City of Charleston devised "The Downtown Charleston Plan" to ensure that balance is maintained and that growth contributes to downtown in a way that will improve the quality of life. Tim Keane, the Director of the Department of Planning and Neighborhoods for the City of Charleston, provided insight into the future of downtown Charleston. He reiterated that Charleston is a special place unlike anywhere in the United States and with the spring comes a tremendous amount of visitors. These visitors are very important to the city's economic growth, but are secondary to the residents of downtown Charleston. The City's emphasis is to maintain downtown as a first-class, high quality place to live. Balance is a crucial part of making downtown a spectacular place in which to live and work. The City has an award-winning tourism management plan, which has studied existing hotel accommodations and the need for future ones. As with any new construction, new hotels must first be approved by the City and then, are strategically positioned in areas as to not overwhelm any one section. The idea is to balance new commercial growth.
Keane believes that two of the most important tenets of the City's Downtown Plan are: "One, to make sure the city has first-rate jobs (beyond the service sector of the tourism industry) for the future. Second, to make sure Charleston remains a first-class, high quality place to live." The City is extremely sensitive to neighborhoods and they actively seek out ways to balance commercial structures in residential areas. Examples include living in neighborhoods in close proximity to the medical complexes and around commercial King Street. Another key issue that the City is facing is what needs to be done to achieve balance in the neighborhoods once the Cooper River bridges are removed and a new one is built.
Along with the City's neighborhood interest comes the strategy to increase affordable housing downtown. The City is presently working hard to make Charleston an even more beautiful place to live, work and visit with several construction projects. One of these projects is Streetscape, a $10.6 million project, which is part of the revitalization of King Street and extends from Broad Street to Carolina Street for a total of 15 city blocks. King Street is one of Charleston's original streets and has served as the retail center since the 1700s. Construction will include the addition of: "underground utilities, planting trees, installing street lamps, re-paving the street, installing curbs, handicap access and bluestone sidewalks," (Charleston Peninsula Business Association). Anticipated completion for the Calhoun to Wentworth Street portion of Streetscape is scheduled for Summer 2001. According to Keane, these current projects are working together to create a common goal — accommodating future growth and adding to the beauty of public spaces for generations to come.
The Charleston area consists of 90 square miles. The Peninsula is one small portion of this area; in fact, it is only eight and one half square miles. Keane mentioned that the City is also involved in projects outside of downtown and is presently doing a lot of work in suburban locations West of the Ashley and on James Island. These projects include revitalizing the Ashley Bridge District, which includes two of downtown's oldest suburbs: Byrnes Downs and Avondale. Revitalization of the Ashley Landing Shopping Center in the Northbridge area is also in the works, along with a beautification project along Highway 7. Several intersections are getting a facelift including one at the intersection of Folly Road and Maybank Highway on James Island. These are just a few examples of the great opportunities the City is taking to enhance the appearance of West Ashley and James Island.
In conclusion, the City of Charleston is working hard to balance the investment of the peninsula with the entire Charleston vicinity, especially devoting their attentions to James Island, West Ashley and Johns Island. Here again, the goal is to balance growth throughout, not just in downtown Charleston and Mt. Pleasant. In 1990, the entire Charleston area consisted of 40 square miles. It has doubled in size over a 10-year period and will continue to steadily grow. The City of Charleston has great assets in which to invest and will successfully achieve the balance they are striving for as outlined in their Downtown Plan.
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Charleston, South Carolina — just the name itself evokes a picture of Southern hospitality. It is a place where history and classic beauty reign supreme. Downtown Charleston is unique in that it is a vibrant center, integral to the entire Charleston area. "In recent years, the city has experienced an economic resurgence that has further enhanced the prosperity of many downtown residents," (Executive Summary, City of Charleston's Downtown Plan). Every year when we enter the month of March, downtown Charleston becomes alive as camellias begin to fade and azaleas come into their full splendor. The chill of winter departs as spring gradually makes a welcomed appearance. Historic Charleston Foundation celebrates the season with its Annual Festival of Houses and Gardens. These spring tours kick-off the tourist season drawing an increasing number of visitors to the area. 
Keane believes that two of the most important tenets of the City's Downtown Plan are: "One, to make sure the city has first-rate jobs (beyond the service sector of the tourism industry) for the future. Second, to make sure Charleston remains a first-class, high quality place to live." The City is extremely sensitive to neighborhoods and they actively seek out ways to balance commercial structures in residential areas. Examples include living in neighborhoods in close proximity to the medical complexes and around commercial King Street. Another key issue that the City is facing is what needs to be done to achieve balance in the neighborhoods once the Cooper River bridges are removed and a new one is built. 
For over two decades Dolphin Architects & Builders has designed and built some of the finest homes in the South Carolina Lowcountry. From prestigious awards in design excellence and construction quality, to trendsetter awards in service, our expertise has been recognized by the industry both locally and nationally. Our clients recommend us for our unique seamless design/build process. Call us to discover The Dolphin Difference for your dream home.
Charleston's luxury property leader. Charleston is a city of extreme complexity, from its distinctive historic neighborhoods to the beauty and romance of its architecture. Charleston real estate is our passion. When it comes to luxury properties Carriage Properties experience and knowledge are beyond compare. All of our 19 agents are full time realtors, a cohesive team, and have among them over 200 years of real estate experience. Offices on Exchange Street, Charleston. 
R.M. Buck Builders, Inc. is a family-owned custom home builder with an unsurpassed reputation for building luxury homes. Their attention to detail will satisfy even the most discriminating client. Located on Johns Island, R.M. Buck Builders is unique with a high-end custom cabinet and carpentry shop to offer you architectural and artistic design. Whether your building a luxurious new home or breathing new life into your present home, R.M. Buck Builders can make you dreams a reality.
