Owner proposes demo of downtown Charleston building

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) – The owner of a building on Meeting Street in downtown Charleston that houses three businesses has asked the city’s architecture review board for permission to demolish the structure fully.

280 Meeting Street houses three shops: The Bicycle Shoppe, 319 Men and Theatre 99. Tenants of the building declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment by the time of publishing.

The building was constructed in parts, with the principal structure in the 1910s, a one-story showroom addition in 1951 and a rear accessory structure in 1952.

Anna Catherine Alexander, Director of Advocacy at the Preservation Society of Charleston, says in recent years, the board has entertained numerous requests for demolition on mid-century buildings in particular.

“This building at 280 Meeting Street has a really unique and kind of evolving history where the oldest part of the building dates to the early 20th century, and then the one-story showroom portion of the building dates to the 1950s. We’ve got a variety of architectural periods represented,” Alexander says.

The review committee is accepting online public comment through Sept. 9 at 12 p.m.

The committee will visit the site on Tuesday ahead of its Wednesday meeting. As of Thursday, the agenda item had received more than 200 online comments.

“We think that speaks volumes about the need to preserve this space, not only as a representation of its time, but for all of the continued uses that can continue to occupy this space. Adaptive reuse is critically important as we think about the evolution of our city and these buildings were built to serve multiple functions over time. This building has many lives left ahead of it,” Alexander says.

The demolition request does not specify any reasoning for the demo or propose what the space could be used for if it is granted. The owner is listed as W.E. Applegate III of 280 Meeting Street Associates LLC and the applicant for the work is listed as Eddie Bello of Bello Garris Architects.

Historians say in a city of history that often dates back hundreds of years, a building like this may not seem old, but its contribution to the city’s recent life and story should be taken into account.

“It’s important that Charleston’s architecture tells a full story of the periods of development and the people who have called this place home, who have occupied these businesses. 280 Meeting Street is an important representation of early and mid-20th-century development. It’s been an incubator for locally owned businesses, and clearly has been demonstrated through the community input. It’s a place that really matters to people,” Alexander says.

Contextually, a neighboring one-story office at 284 Meeting Street was approved for demo in 2024. A condo complex is now being built on the property next door. Alexander encourages people interested in providing a comment online or to consider attending the meeting.

“A space for small businesses, a space for arts and culture to continue to thrive on Meeting Street – all of this is at risk if this building is lost. And we really hope that the Board of Architectural Review will hear it loud and clear that this is a space the community values and should be protected,” Alexander says.

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