More Revitalization Downtown

This is a great time to live in Charleston! Here and now more than ever my old adage holds true: reasonable real estate is always a good investment!
"Last month, the Best Western hotel at 250 Spring St., near Lockwood Drive, held its grand opening. The eight-story, 151-room hotel is a former Howard Johnson hotel purchased in April 2006 by Charleston Hotel Owners LLC, which spent about $4 million renovating the building.

In May, the nearby Charleston Marriott on Lockwood Drive held its grand opening. The 14-story, 340-room hotel, formerly the Charleston Riverview hotel, was purchased two years ago by Greenville-based JHM Hotels. JHM officials would not disclose renovation costs.
Real estate and hospitality professionals expect these two full-service hotels, whose names are recognized internationally, not only to draw more visitors to peninsula Charleston’s 'gateway,' the western approach to the city from Savannah Highway’s crossing of the Ashley River, but to spark more revitalization in that area.

In 1998, the city adopted a 10- to 15-year plan to revitalize the gateway area, which for years had been an unattractive corridor. Steps toward revitalization had already been taken along Lockwood Avenue, with the creation of Joseph P. Riley Jr. Park, home of the Charleston RiverDogs minor league baseball team, and the opening of Brittlebank Park, a waterfront park offering access to the Ashley River. In 2002, real estate giant The Beach Co. opened The Bristol luxury condominiums and later added a marina to that development.

The renovated hotels mesh with the city’s vision of a new and improved Ashley River district, said Michael Maher, director of the Charleston Civic Design Center.

'They’re contributing to making that area more attractive and to giving it a new identity,' Maher said.

Other contributions to the gateway area include the new municipal complex on Lockwood Avenue, The Citadel’s new football stadium, MUSC’s new hospital and parking deck and the Bee Street Lofts, mid-rise luxury condominiums adjacent to MUSC and offering views of the Ashley River, Maher said.

While the gateway is undergoing its upgrade, streetscapes—including new signs, sidewalks, trees and light poles—are on the drawing board for Spring and Cannon streets, which lead to the gateway. The revitalization of the Spring and Cannon corridor will form a synergy with the gateway improvements and reconnect the gateway with the rest of the peninsula, Maher said."

For the new Marriott: http://www.marriottcharleston.com/
For the new Best Western: http://www.ashleyriverinn.com/door/
For the full Charleston Regional Business Journal article: http://www.charlestonbusiness.com/current/13_15/news/9904-1.html