Hey it’s Bill,
Charleston just did something I've never seen a city do before. Over five days, architects, urban planners, housing experts, and regular residents gathered in a room on Meeting Street and started drawing the future of this city from scratch. Not in theory. On paper. With pencils and rulers and actual dimensions.
This week's deep dive is all about Project 3500 -- the city's most ambitious affordable housing initiative in its history -- and the public design charrette that kicked off the real work of figuring out what 3,500+ new affordable homes actually look like in a city that takes its architecture very seriously. There's a lot here: global experts, hard math, some genuinely surprising design philosophy, and a few things that made me rethink what "affordable housing" even means.
Civic Snapshot
City of Charleston · Special Committee on Traffic and Transportation
Legal Briefing and Key Edits to Ebike Ordinance
Legal staff presented a revised ordinance draft, clarifying definitions and enforcement tools for ebikes, emotos, and mobility devices. Key changes include new definitions for assisted technology, expanded enforcement powers (such as towing ebikes operated by minors), and edits to ensure consistency across public rights of way. The committee debated the inclusion of emotos, the need for a clear definition of reckless operation, and the feasibility of age restrictions and enforcement. Police input emphasized the importance of clear device classifications and practical enforcement mechanisms.
City of Charleston · Committee on Real Estate
Management Operating Agreement with Explore Charleston for Visitor Center Garage
The committee reviewed a proposed agreement for Explore Charleston (the CVB) to take over management of the Visitor Center Garage, aiming to improve efficiency and oversight. The financial structure sets a $1.3 million baseline revenue, with the next $450,000 going to the city and any excess split with the CVB. The agreement includes a five-year term, open-book revenue monitoring, and allows for re-evaluation if results are not favorable. ABM would be removed from managing this garage but may continue with others. The committee will receive detailed revenue projections and comparisons before the final vote.
City of Charleston · City Council
Design Review Board Approval Authority Reduced for City Projects
Council approved an amendment requiring only conceptual review—rather than full approval—by the Design Review Board (DRB) for city capital projects. The Planning Commission had opposed the change, arguing that civic buildings deserve full scrutiny and that the amendment could lower standards for public projects, especially outside the peninsula. Staff ultimately recommended the amendment, and council debate focused on whether DRB review is an unnecessary hurdle for city-led developments. The amendment passed 12-1, with Council Member Poke opposed.
City of Charleston · City Council
MU3 Workforce Housing Zoning Amendment Adopted
Council adopted an ordinance amending the base zoning code to encourage mixed-use developments that blend affordable and market-rate housing. The new MU3 zoning prohibits clustering affordable units in a single building and ensures design review by the Board of Architectural Review (BAR) for peninsula projects. In response to public comment, council agreed to codify a "build first," 1-to-1 public housing replacement guarantee for properties undergoing rezoning via the HUD RAD program. The ordinance also adjusts AMI levels to align with current HUD federal code.
City of Charleston · City Council
City and County Reach Agreement on Morrison Drive Redevelopment
Council approved a term sheet for a one-year exclusive listing agreement between the city and county for 993 and 995 Morrison Drive. The county will seek to rezone the properties to MU3 under Project 3500 within 15 days of closing or a bona fide offer. If the deal falls through, a restrictive deed covenant will require a set percentage of affordable housing. The agreement also allows the county to enter a ground lease for parking in the interim. The Mayor noted this compromise resolves disagreements over price and saves city funds.
City of Charleston · City Council
John's Island Annexations Enable Critical Stoplight Installation
Council approved the annexation of two parcels on Johns Island, totaling 2.29 acres and 0.41 acres. These annexations are crucial for installing a long-awaited stoplight connecting Southwick and St. John's Woods Parkway, which will allow approximately 2,000 residents on both sides of Maybank Highway to safely turn left during the day. Council Member McBride highlighted the safety and connectivity benefits for the community.
The Deep Dive
The Affordability Crisis and Project 3500's Vision
The City of Charleston recently held a 5-day public design charrette for affordable housing with speakers from across the globe.
The Core Problem: Housing affordability is identified as the region's most pressing social, cultural, and economic issue. The area's median income has surged by nearly $100,000 over 12 years, largely reflecting an influx of wealthier residents who are displacing long-time locals and essential workers.
The Ambitious Goal: Project 3500 aims to create 3,500 net new affordable homes. Because the city requires a 50/50 mix of affordable and market-rate units, the project will ultimately deliver an aggregate scale of roughly 5,000 to 7,000 total units. This increases historical affordable housing production from about 57 homes a year to roughly 500 a year.
Target Locations: Using a data-driven approach to rank city, county, and institutional-owned properties, the city determined that 85% of the new housing will be built on the upper peninsula.
The Four Sacrosanct Guiding Principles
The Mayor outlined four essential pillars for the initiative:
No Displacement ("Build First"): Existing residents in housing authority properties (like Gadsden Green) will not be displaced. The city will utilize adjacent vacant parcels to construct new buildings first, allowing residents to move across the street before their old, obsolete units are torn down and redeveloped.
Demand Beauty: The city refuses to settle for the standard, cheap "Texas Donut" or "Costco warehouse" models of modern affordable housing. All new developments must reflect Charleston’s historic, human-scaled architectural DNA and marry form with function.
Eliminate Risk: Affordable housing is traditionally expensive to build due to the long, uncertain entitlement processes that drive up developers' costs. By having the city pre-design and pre-entitle the sites, the city removes this risk, drastically lowering the cost of capital from institutional investors.
Economies of Scale: Grouping the development into a massive 5,000+ unit initiative creates significant economies of scale, making construction, design, and financing substantially cheaper than building standard 89-unit complexes.
Global and Local Lessons (Guest Expert Lectures)
Ben Pentreath (UK): Emphasized that beautiful, livable places prioritize trees and landscapes over architecture. He advocated for walkable master plans where daily needs are within a 5-to-10-minute walk and stressed the importance of "tenure blindness"—where social housing is "pepper-potted" throughout a neighborhood so it is completely indistinguishable from private, market-rate homes.
Hugh Petter (Adam Architecture, UK): Shared data proving that high-quality, traditional urbanism yields long-term commercial and social value. He highlighted a walkability index tool used to prove that better-connected neighborhoods drive higher property values. He also championed using local building materials to stimulate the local economy through apprenticeships and artisan trades.
Vince Graham (I'On, Mt. Pleasant): Focused on the mathematical and social importance of interconnected street grids over cul-de-sacs, demonstrating how narrow, connected streets disperse traffic and create a superior public realm.
The Design Charrette Process and Typologies
Intensive Collaboration: The week-long design charrette at 108 Meeting Street involved physical measurements of local historic buildings, open houses, and technical meetings with preservationists, housing partners, and the American College of Building Arts.
Architectural Diversity: The designers focused on creating a varied streetscape rather than monolithic blocks. They studied multiple Charleston typologies, ranging from small single homes and row houses to corner stores, and mid-scale structures like repurposed school buildings.
Human-Scaled Details: The design team focused heavily on street textures, doorways, and utilizing raised foundations (adapted from historic structures like those on Rainbow Row) to meet modern flood and storm surge requirements while maintaining upper-level living aesthetics.
Site-Specific Strategies (Work-In-Progress)
Western Peninsula: Designs focus on infill development on edge parcels and parking lots. The plan introduces new street connections featuring slight "cranks" (deflected grids) rather than rigid lines, while exploring ways to handle necessary parking without creating massive, deadening surface lots.
Central Peninsula: Focuses on weaving new structures into established neighborhoods along the Low Line. This includes establishing strategic view corridors and introducing "reserves" for civic buildings.
Eastern Peninsula: Involves extending historic street patterns down toward the river, with architectural layouts heavily driven by local topography and site constraints.
Execution, Funding, and Next Steps
Funding Stack: The initiative will be funded by a combination of city-contributed land, special tax districts (TIFs), HUD financing, and private institutional capital drawn to social impact funds with lower yield requirements.
Logistics: The city must now determine an aggregate schedule to ensure multiple massive projects do not overwhelm local subcontractors and utility providers simultaneously.
The RFP "Beauty Contest": The city will finalize legal structures and issue Requests for Proposals (RFPs) to the private sector. Developers will be strictly bound by the city's pre-approved designs and zoning; the winning bids will be judged in a "beauty contest" format based primarily on their cost of capital.
Real Estate Corner
Historic Home of the Week
124 Church - This c.1790 home isn’t being featured because of its condition; it needs work, but it has a forgotten history. After I recorded the tour, I began digging into the history, and even had to visit the South Carolina Room at the library to dig around. Check out the tour below!
3 Bed | 2.5 Bath | 2652 sqft | $2,395,000
Deal Of The Week
Central West Ashley home under $500k
- Vaulted Ceilings
- Cozy, shaded backyard getaway
- 2-car garage
- Community fishing/kayak dock
-$489,000
How’s The Market?
The Charleston market is doing what it does best: staying steady while the rest of the country waits for a signal that hasn't come yet.
The Big Picture
Sales volume in Charleston was essentially flat from 2023 through 2025, with 2025 up just 1.4% over 2024. Through the first two months of 2026, we're tracking nearly identical to the same period last year. Translation: this is not a boom, and it is not a bust. It's a functioning market.
The median price of a home or condo in Charleston is currently around $433k. Single family homes sit a bit higher at $465k, with condos (about 25% of our market) pulling the overall number down slightly.
What's Moving Right Now
Just in the past week (March 20-26), 323 Charleston-area properties went under contract. Of those, 247 were single family homes with a median list price of $559k. Condos and townhomes accounted for another 67 contracts, with options at every price point from under $200k to over $2M.
Activity is spread across the region. Mount Pleasant had 39 single family contracts last week, with a median list price of $1.4M. North Charleston had 23 contracts with a median of $335k. West Ashley also logged 23 at a $545k median. There really is something happening at every price level right now.
The Rate Reality Check
The Fed did cut rates once more back in December, but inflation has ticked up since then. No more cuts look likely for the foreseeable future, which means mortgage rates are probably staying in their current range for a while. It's still early in 2026 to make bold predictions, but nothing in the data right now suggests a dramatic shift either direction.
The Economy Still Has a Pulse
Charleston's local economy continues to support the market. Boeing just committed $1M to the Angel Oak Preserve project through Lowcountry Land Trust, a 44-acre park and living museum that has now raised $6.9M toward its $16.5M goal. Nearly 200 affordable and workforce housing units are underway with $6.6M in backing from the Housing Our Future Trust Fund. And in North Charleston, a 91,000-square-foot facility was acquired and fully leased, with Smithey Ironware expanding manufacturing and Waterside Business Logistics moving in.
Jobs, investment, and civic infrastructure are all showing up. That tends to be good for real estate over the long haul.
That’s A Wrap
Before you go: Here’s how I can help
1) Buying a Home - If you’re planning a move in the next 12-18 months, it’s never too early to start chatting.
2) Market Conditions - I can send you a quick snapshot of what’s going on in your neighborhood or area.
3) Request an Update - Share a lot or address, and I’ll research what’s being planned or built there
Just respond to this email and let me know what I can help you with. Whether it’s buying, selling, or you just want to say hi. I read every email!
Until Next Week,
-Bill Olson
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