The College of Charleston is planning two buildings that push its campus into the middle of the city's commercial district. President Andrew T. Hsu is calling it a renaissance.
Both are early. Both are worth watching.
The hospitality school
The former College Lodge residence hall at 159 Calhoun St. started coming down this month. What replaces it is anchored by the Michael and Amy Bennett School for Hospitality and Tourism Management, the college's first named school.
The numbers behind it are not subtle. The region draws nearly eight million visitors a year against a $14 billion tourism economy, and demand for the program has exploded.
"The number of applicants has more than tripled in the last seven years," Hsu told the Post & Courier.
The building is planned as more than classrooms. Early plans include offices for Explore Charleston, an event and conference center, and an alumni center with a 2,500-square-foot multipurpose space, a welcome center, and access to a sixth-floor rooftop.
The school came from a gift by hotel developer Michael Bennett and his wife Amy, a College of Charleston alumna. When it was announced, Bennett said the finest hospitality school in America ought to be in the finest hospitality city in America.
Explore Charleston CEO Helen Hill called it an extraordinary investment, and said it creates a facility where her organization can "work side by side with the School under one roof."
The business school
The other project sits at Market and East Bay, and it comes from Ben Navarro.
He bought the long-vacant Carroll Building for $11.5 million last year and intends to gift it to the college. In a commentary published in the Post & Courier last October, the Beemok founder called it "one of the ugliest buildings in all of downtown at one of the most dangerous intersections."
"We plan to give this land to the college, and we will work with it to build a world-class business school worthy of its students," he wrote.
The site is less than a ten-minute walk from the Beatty Center. It puts students inside the historic commercial district, along a corridor that sees millions of visitors a year, and next door to the planned Union Pier redevelopment.
"This site gives us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a business school that is deeply connected to Charleston," School of Business Dean Paul Schwager said.
The timeline
Both remain in planning. No construction timelines have been announced, and both have to go before the necessary city boards.
Hsu expects the hospitality building to take shape in the next two to three years, and says a public-private partnership may be needed to make it feasible. Another dormitory on the Calhoun site was considered and dropped when construction costs made it unsustainable.
This is a summary of an article published in the Post & Courier. Click here if you'd like to read that article.
