Goal: for new developments in the Holy City to have that Charleston feel.

The City of Charleston's Board of Architectural Review (BAR-L) recently granted final approval for Greystar's redevelopment project at 635 King St. The proposed project dubbed Courier Square Phase II, Building I includes apartment, retail, and mixed-use space.

The architecture firm Sottile & Sottile is the Savannah, GA-based team behind the project. Before presenting to city leaders, the team wanted to ensure its plans further developed the Holy City’s uniqueness and avoided adding another building to the skyline that could fit into any other major city.

The firm laid out five requirements for what the design must achieve:

Solution must be humane
Solution must be from Charleston
Solution must relate well to all frontages
Solution must beautify the skyline
Solution must reward the street experience

Design and development teams have hosted meetings, community talks, and been planning for the past two years. Take a look at the blog post published in 2022 that aimed to set a new standard for architectural excellence in the Holy City.

Folks from the American College of the Building Arts have created elements like iron lanterns, gates, stone columns, sculpted terra cotta panels, and hand-carved keystones. | Photos by Sottile & Sottile via City of Charleston BAR-L

Fun fact: The American College of the Building Arts is slated to create elements for the project like iron lanterns, gates, stone columns, sculpted terra cotta panels, and hand-carved keystones.

Browse the floor plans, how tall each building will be, and other details in the project (scroll to page 78).

Stay up to date with projects across the city and attend a BAR meeting. The group is made up of two sections. BAR-Large (BAR-L), which tackles large projects and meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of every month. BAR-Small (BAR-S) is for smaller projects and they meet on the second and fourth Thursdays of every month.