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Lowndes Grove will continue to play host
By Kathleen Dayton
Staff Writer
Lowndes Grove Plantation will continue in its role as one of Charleston’s most popular spots for weddings, cocktail parties and corporate fetes after selling on July 31 for $6.7 million.
The property, which is the only surviving plantation on the Charleston peninsula, was sold to Patrick Properties LLC, the local event planning and restaurant business, which also owns
the William Aiken House, Fish restaurant and the American Theater.
The sale price approached, but did not top, the record outlay for property on the peninsula. A private home at 21 King St. sold June 15 for $7.2 million.
Patrick Properties purchased Lowndes Grove from Alexander and Tina Opoulos, who had purchased most of the property for $1.9 million in 2000 and later bought the adjoining carriage house, investing a total of about $2.5 million in the estate.
It is one of the Charleston area’s landmark bed-and-breakfast inns and is also used year-round as a venue for wedding receptions, charity balls, corporate functions and other events.
The property was originally part of a 325-acre plantation dating to the turn of the 18th century and is now surrounded by the Wagner Terrace neighborhood near The Citadel and Hampton Park.
Elle Haynes, a broker at William Means Real Estate, represented the sellers in the recent transaction. The property was listed for $7.2 million, a price which Haynes said left room for negotiation. Such a unique property is not affected by the current fluctuation in the housing market, she said.
“This is the kind of property that is (so) rare you could never find (it) again,” Haynes said, adding that among the property’s features that add to its value is its deep-water dock on the Ashley River. “So you can bring almost any size boat in there. Being able to dock a boat at a property downtown is very, very rare.”
The deal included the three-story, six-bedroom plantation house built in 1786, a four-bedroom carriage house, a three-bedroom groundskeeper’s house, a swimming pool, a dock and about $200,000 of antique furnishings.
Keeping the property as a bed and breakfast was not a condition of the sale, but part of the negotiation specified that the buyers would honor contracts already in place. Lowndes Grove has many reservations booked through 2008, Haynes said.
Because Patrick Properties is already in the event business, Haynes said the inn’s operation should go forward without a glitch.
“They know the business. They know that place will be able to produce numbers even greater than it has in the past,” Haynes said. “They have a stellar reputation for renovation. All it is going to do for them is add to an up and running prosperous business.”
Celeste Patrick, owner of Patrick Properties, said the property seemed like a decent deal and a good fit for her company.
“They were grossing over a million, about a million-and-a-half, and I think we can easily increase the gross by about a half,” Patrick said. “It won’t be right away, but I strongly feel that we can make it grow.”
Patrick Properties plans to retain the four current Lowndes Grove employees, including an events planner, but could add at least one more employee, Patrick said. The company intends to increase revenue by doing its own catering. Otherwise, there will be few changes at Lowndes Grove aside from some maintenance-based repairs and improved landscaping.
“We would like to be able to use the front garden grounds more and perhaps that back carriage house for smaller events,” Patrick said. “We need the landscaping to conform to using those spaces.”
Melinda Nicholson, a Prudential real estate agent who represented Patrick Properties in the purchase, said her clients intend to take the bed and breakfast to a whole new level.
“When they touch something, they do it right,” Nicholson said. “I’m just thrilled they bought this property and it will be protected and won’t be developed in any way.”
About 65% of Lowndes Grove is under a Lowcountry Open Land Trust conservation easement, Haynes said.
Patrick’s company is trying to determine how much of the property is not protected by the easement and then will place that property under easement as well, she said.
Patrick Properties has extensively restored its other properties on upper King Street, including the William Aiken House, which has also become a popular venue for weddings and wedding receptions.
Robert Gurley, president of the Preservation Society of Charleston, said he thinks the new owners will be good stewards of Lowndes Grove.
Alexander and Tina Opoulos sold Lowndes Grove seven years to the day after they had purchased it. Alexander Opoulos said he and his wife are thinking of retiring to Cape Town, South Africa, where he plans to spend more time playing golf. The couple is excited to have sold Lowndes Grove to Patrick Properties, Opoulos said.
“They’ve done a superb job in the historic properties they’ve renovated and maintained and run,” Opoulos said. “Even though it might have sold to an individual, we’re pleased that it’s going to continue as a venue which, without being corny, is where dreams are sort of made.
With regard to weddings, it was always sort of enchanting. We started a lot of couples on their life together and it’s nice they’ll be able to provide that to other folks.”
Kathleen Dayton is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail her at kdayton@charlestonbusiness.com.
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