By Kathleen Dayton
Staff Writer

Another high-profile site at Marion Square may be redeveloped, and whether that means demolition of an existing building is not yet clear.

The L. Mendel Rivers Federal Building at the corner of Meeting and Charlotte streets, constructed in 1964 and empty for the past eight years, is scheduled to be auctioned by the federal government this summer if state, local or county governments first do not make offers to purchase it.

City of Charleston officials earlier had wanted to trade a vacant lot the city owns on Broad Street for the 2.2-acre Meeting Street site, but the federal government does not need the Broad Street site and wants to sell the Meeting Street property. The value of the building depends on appraisals.

Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., has said the city should guide redevelopment of the Meeting Street site and involve the community in the planning process because of the importance of the site. City planners have suggested that affordable housing, offices, a parking garage and even a small hotel could be part of the site’s redevelopment. The city has a limited time to make an offer on the building before the federal government auctions it online, and the mayor has said the city will approach the General Services Administration this week about a possible purchase.

Winslow Hastie, director of preservation for the Historic Charleston Foundation, said his organization had recently discussed the site with city officials, at which time the city was not interested in purchasing it.

Hastie is not sure if redevelopment of the site would include retaining the building or demolishing it.

“We would just ask that people not just assume it has to come down,” Hastie said. “We’ve been studying the building for the past few months. The preservation of what’s called the recent past is a new movement in the preservation world, looking at preserving buildings that are less than 50 years old. It’s being done all over the country.”

The building is constructed of quality materials, such as marble and Flemish-bond brick, and is set back from the street so that it does not block the view of the adjacent Citadel Square Baptist Church. The Rivers Federal building is contaminated with asbestos, but asbestos can be removed and would have to be removed even if the building is demolished, Hastie said.

“If we don’t allow things to become 50 years old, we’ll never be able to analyze them in a preservation context,” Hastie said. “We really don’t have a lot of buildings from the 1950s and ‘60s, especially of this quality and this caliber of materials. If we hastily tear this thing down, in 20 or 40 years all of a sudden we’ll have a different perspective on that era. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever.”

The City Council would have to approve the city’s purchase of the Federal building. The city’s Board of Architectural Review is also guiding redevelopment of another key piece of property in the area, the site of the former Charleston County Library at 404 King St. Architects are revising plans for a 185-room hotel to replace the circa-1960 library.

SUBSCRIBE | REPRINTS | CONTACT US

Phone: 843-849-3100    Fax: 843-849-3122