Livability

On May 14, 2025, the BAR-L approved a hotel at 657 King Street that exceeds allowed height in the split-zoned district on a portion of the property. Historic Charleston Foundation filed a legal appeal, arguing there’s no zoning uncertainty and the decision sets a harmful precedent.

Historic Charleston Foundation actively participates in the tourism business—but not at the expense of our residents. We enjoy celebrating Charleston’s unique history, culture, and architecture with our guests. Tourism, when managed properly, is fundamental to the sustained preservation of our city. However, when tourism runs rampant and unchecked, the consequences can lead to dire impacts on everyday livability for locals. It is critical to find an intentional balance between visitors and residents to enhance the quality of life for everyone. Moving towards a healthy balance between tourism and livability is the primary goal of HCF’s partnership with the City of Charleston, Bloomberg Associates and Explore Charleston—and was the topic of HCF’s Future of Responsible Tourism Forum on May 20th at the Charleston Museum.

HCF is grateful for Charleston's incredible community of preservation-minded property owners, many we have the pleasure of knowing through our easement and covenant program. To support property owners, the Foundation has developed a series of programs to provide more insight and connection to preservation professionals. The first session focused on insurance, with a panel of local insurance executives.

Tourism is a key part of the Charleston economy, and it certainly imparts many benefits for locals—no one is disputing that. However, we periodically need to take a pulse check and see how and where we need to improve, pivot, adjust. The Foundation has a long history of advocacy in this area.

It has taken me this long to process the sudden and tragic death of my dear friend Dale Morris earlier this month. Dale was one of those incredible colleagues that you meet and immediately connect with both professionally and personally—a very rare thing. I first met Dale when he came to town with the Dutch embassy in the spring of 2018.

HCF has been working for decades to strike a healthy balance between neighborhood vitality, residential livability, and responsible tourism. The latest challenge to this balancing act is the threat of new hotel proposals for properties not currently zoned for accommodation uses. For example, the proposal at the April 16th Planning Commission requests an extension of the Accommodations Overlay Zone to allow for a hotel at 529-537 Meeting Street – if allowed, this extension could create a detrimental precedent.

Historic Charleston Foundation led the charge during the 2025 National Historic Preservation Advocacy Week on Capitol Hill in early March, catch up with our Advocacy Team to learn more.

A word from Winslow Hastie, President & CEO, reflecting on HCF's work over 2024, and looking ahead to 2025. Browse HCF's 2024 Impact Report to dive deeper into our work in preservation, advocacy, and the two historic house museums this year.

Affectionately known in Charleston as the “Toilet Paper Tower” HCF receives a reply from the State Historic Preservation Office and the FCC regarding the tower's design.

Charleston City Council took a major step toward the transformative redevelopment of Union Pier, with final approval to establish a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district. The work ahead may be challenging, but with the support of our community, this vision for Union Pier is finally within reach.

An update from Winslow Hastie, October 2024: Hurricane season reminds us of the devastation they can cause, and while the Lowcountry has been spared so far, we remain cautious as the season continues. Meanwhile, at home, the controversial 295 Calhoun apartment project has received conceptual approval, despite concerns about its scale and fit within downtown Charleston's urban fabric and HCF debuts its new Development Map and website.