Demanding excellence for Charleston's skyline: Courier Square Phase III heads to BAR-Large

Lisa Jones
Director of Advocacy

On Wednesday, July 9, 2025, the City of Charleston's Board of Architectural Review – Large (BAR-L) will hear from the Courier Square Phase III (CSP3) team seeking conceptual approval for the site’s considerable building and public realm design plans. CSP3 is a mixed-use Planned Urban Development (PUD), approved in 2023, that encompasses an entire city block across 3.7 acres between Columbus, Line, and King Streets. This will be one of our last opportunities to help shape the future of this new “midtown” district that will be one of the most dense areas of the peninsula outside the Medical District.

Historic Charleston Foundation will be at the meeting to provide comments, in person, that focus on Charleston’s expectation for world-class architecture on a project of this scale and significance. We have HIGH expectations for this development, and we believe Charleston deserves nothing less.

Meeting Details:

Board of Architectural Review – Large (BAR-L) Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at 4:30 p.m.

Public Meeting Room, First Floor, 2 George Street

How to engage:

  1. Submit online comments by 12 p.m. Tuesday, July 8.
  2. Speak in person at the meeting on Wednesday, July 9 at 4:30 pm.
  3. Pass along your comments about Courier Square Phase III to HCF Director of Advocacy, Lisa Jones, via email.
  4. Engage virtually and stream via YouTube.

Context:

Historic Charleston Foundation has engaged with the CSP3 team for several years. When they proposed to rezone the site from height districts 4 and 8 to height districts 8-12 in 2023, we opposed the increase unless strict requirements for additional public space and architectural excellence were included. The proposed rezoning was approved. As a result of the increased height allowances, the CSP3 conceptual design includes:

  • 37,400 square feet of new public space
  • 10,894 square feet of expanded sidewalks
  • 28,000 square feet for a new plaza adjacent to the Lowline

In total, this creates 1.75 acres of new public space on Charleston's peninsula, and the Foundation supports this meaningful contribution to the public realm. HCF is also advocating for high-quality urban design, architecture, and materials across the project.

Additional public space included in this conceptual design was a condition of the additional height allowance in 2023.

July 9 meeting:

Wednesday’s BAR-L agenda has been broken out into five separate items:

  • Agenda #5 Conceptual approval of the site plan;
  • Agenda #6 Conceptual approval of “Building 1”
  • Agenda #7 Conceptual approval of “Building 2”
  • Agenda #8 Conceptual approval of “Building 3”
  • Agenda #9 Conceptual approval of “Building 4”

Our feedback for the meeting:

While we believe the design is heading in a good direction, Foundation staff will share the following feedback at the meeting, organizing our comments on the skyline and the ground level of a couple of the buildings.

  1. The skyline: The two highest tower elements (at Building 1 and Building 3) need some work to become truly additive to Charleston’s famed skyline. HCF would like the applicants to sculpt the towers, using tools such as setbacks and an erosion of mass at the top floors, to create more depth and visual interest where they terminate at the sky. We believe the adjacent clock tower at The Guild should serve as inspiration.
  2. The ground level:
    1. Pedestrians will experience the hotel (Building 1) from the Lowline and Courier Square. The building's sides that are in proximity to pedestrians should be treated as a building frontage, as the PUD expressly calls for.
    2. The entry court into the hotel and residences along Columbus Street should have more architectural detail and added depth, texture, and the use of high-quality materials. More detail is allocated to the corbelled brick cornice at the fifth level, and we would like to see this kind of attention also brought down to the ground. This is also required by the PUD.
    3. In general, special attention should be paid to the level that the pedestrian will experience the most: the ground floor plane. Architectural details should be a priority at this level, with its proximity to the public.

Historic Charleston Foundation is hopeful that the applicants will adhere to their commitment to provide workforce, affordable housing and retail space—making this site a link to King Street’s vibrant past. (These commitments are outlined in the PUD, but are not part of BAR-L review.)

Rendering, BAR-Large Agenda Item #8

As a Charleston resident, what do you think?

We hope you will take a moment to engage with the future of Charleston's peninsula at the meeting on Wednesday, July 9, but if you're unable to join us, stream on YouTube and stay connected for updates.  

Meeting Details:

Board of Architectural Review – Large (BAR-L) Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at 4:30 p.m.

Public Meeting Room, First Floor, 2 George Street

How to engage:

  1. Submit online comments by 12 p.m. Tuesday, July 8.
  2. Speak in person at the meeting on Wednesday, July 9 at 4:30 pm.
  3. Pass along your comments about Courier Square Phase III to HCF Director of Advocacy, Lisa Jones, via email.
  4. Engage virtually and stream via YouTube.