Feds vs. Charleston: The Fate of the Custom House

Charleston County · Special Housing Committee
Housing Our Future Plan Update and Land Acquisition Progress
An update was provided on the "Housing Our Future" plan, highlighting progress on five strategic goals and 27 sub-strategies. The Land Acquisition Program, in partnership with the Charleston Redevelopment Corporation, has allocated $2.5 million, with $765,000 remaining. Six projects have been awarded, creating 77 attainable units split between rental and homeownership. The committee is now reviewing additional applications to expend ARPA funds before the December 31st deadline.

Charleston County · Transportation Sales Tax Special Committee
Transportation Sales Tax Program Launch and Public Engagement
The committee convened to present and discuss the starting point for a new transportation sales tax program. Attendees included public participants and three mayors with council members, reflecting a broad outreach process. Staff and consultants gathered input from the public, municipalities, and the BCDCOG to ensure an objective, balanced starting point. The committee emphasized that more public engagement is planned to further refine the proposal.

Town of Mount Pleasant · Special Town Council Meeting
2026–2030 Strategic Plan Adopted to Guide Town Priorities
The Town Council approved the 2026–2030 Strategic Plan, which sets out 48 action items across departments to optimize services, strengthen assets, and build workforce resilience. The plan is grounded in a reaffirmed mission to deliver superior service and enduring quality, with core values including transparency, community engagement, and professional development. Highlights include a new arts/entertainment district, infrastructure lifecycle planning, expanded recreation and public safety initiatives, and a focus on neighborhood-level disaster preparedness. The plan’s SWOT analysis identified strengths in citizen service and budget, but also challenges such as aging infrastructure and staff recruitment.

Town of Mount Pleasant · Police Judicial and Legal Committee
Police Department Reports Crime Decline and Staffing Progress
The committee reviewed 2025 Police Department statistics showing a three-year downward trend in both violent and nonviolent offenses, with current totals at multi-year lows. Productivity remains high, with 122,000 calls for service and 84,000 officer-initiated calls. About 40% of arrests involve Mount Pleasant residents, while 60% are non-residents. The department discussed ongoing retirements and turnover but expressed optimism about staffing stability due to a new training pipeline and recruitment efforts.

City of Charleston · Committee on Community Development
Design Review Board Amendment Streamlines City Capital Projects
The committee endorsed an amendment to the Design Review Board (DRB) process for city capital projects, allowing only the initial conceptual review to be held publicly while preliminary and final reviews are handled by staff. The change aims to prevent delays for critical infrastructure projects, such as fire stations, that have already been vetted through budget and council processes. Councilmember McBride requested enhanced public notification beyond newspaper postings, and the committee agreed to move forward with the amendment.

City of Charleston · Committee on Community Development
New MU-3 Workforce Housing Zoning District Mandates On-Site Affordability
The committee considered the creation of the MU-3 Workforce Housing Zoning District (MU-3W), a new tool to implement Project 3500 by requiring a 50/50 split between market-rate and affordable units. The district mandates perpetual affordability through deed restrictions and prohibits fee-in-lieu options, ensuring developers build affordable units on-site. Site regulations remove density limits, reduce parking requirements, and protect street trees. While the committee recommended approval to City Council, some members dissented, citing concerns about AMI brackets and the need for more community understanding.

On Thursday, January 29, the Public Buildings Reform Board held a public hearing at the Gaillard Center to discuss the future of several underused federal buildings in the Southeast, including Charleston’s historic U.S. Custom House.

The hearing focused on whether older federal properties that are expensive to maintain and no longer fully used should be sold, leased, or otherwise repurposed.

Board members pointed to the nearby Dewberry Hotel as a successful example of adaptive reuse. The building originally opened in 1965 as a federal office for the Army Corps of Engineers and later fell into poor condition due to water intrusion and asbestos.

After a $77 million private investment, the building reopened in 2016 as a hotel and office space. Today, it generates about $680,000 in annual rent, contributes to the tax base, supports jobs, and helped spark surrounding development. The Board described it as a model for how outdated federal buildings can be returned to productive use.

Discussion then turned to the Custom House itself. Board members described the building as highly inefficient, with large amounts of common space and relatively little usable office area. The building is currently closed to the public and only lightly occupied.

Operating and maintenance costs were cited at more than $65,000 per employee each year, with recent federal spending including a $3 million contract for boiler replacement and other basic systems work. Despite the building’s historic role in customs operations, much of the space now sits unused.

Some Board members suggested that selling the property could reduce long-term federal costs, eliminate ongoing maintenance needs, and return the building to Charleston’s tax rolls.

Mayor William Cogswell emphasized Charleston’s long tradition of balancing preservation with progress. He described the Custom House as a defining part of the city’s waterfront and stressed that any future plan should improve public access and benefit the broader community.

Preservation leaders, including Brian Turner of the Preservation Society of Charleston and the Historic Charleston Foundation, highlighted the building’s history and architectural significance. They supported options that keep the structure protected while allowing new uses.

Turner recommended exploring long-term leases as an alternative to an outright sale. If the building is sold, preservation groups stressed the importance of legal protections for the interior and a public review process to safeguard historic features and restore public access.

During public comment, architectural designer and College of Charleston lecturer Jack Duncan proposed turning the Custom House into a civic space for early design conversations. The idea would create a neutral place for residents, designers, preservationists, and developers to talk through concepts before projects reach formal approval stages, potentially reducing conflict and confusion later.

This hearing marked the first step in the Public Buildings Reform Board’s review process. The Board will evaluate options such as sale, transfer, or lease and make recommendations to the Office of Management and Budget.

Any sale of the Custom House would require a public review under federal historic preservation law to ensure impacts are carefully considered.

From the federal government’s point of view, the U.S. Custom House is a real estate problem. It’s expensive to maintain, mostly empty, and no longer works well for modern federal offices. Their goal is pretty simple: reduce costs, shrink the federal footprint, and either sell the building or move it off their books.

Charleston sees it very differently.

To the city, the Custom House is a civic landmark. It’s part of the waterfront, part of the city’s history, and something the public should still be able to experience. Charleston’s concern isn’t just what happens to the building, but how and for whom. Preservation, public access, and long-term community value matter more than speed or efficiency.

So the tension isn’t whether the building should change. Everyone agrees the status quo isn’t working.

The real question is who gets to define success.
For the feds, success means lower costs.
For Charleston, success means a future that still serves the public.

That’s what this process is really about—and why the next decisions matter.

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Activity stayed strong this week, with 281 homes going under contract across the Charleston area, led by 226 single-family homes at a median list price of $516,000. What stands out is the balance. Entry-level homes are still moving, but so is the high end. 46 homes went under contract over $1M, including 18 over $2M, showing continued confidence from move-up and luxury buyers. Days on market remain reasonable at a median of 43 days, and distressed sales are almost nonexistent, signaling a healthy, demand-driven market rather than one fueled by urgency or stress. In short, buyers are active, sellers are realistic, and well-priced homes—across nearly every price point—are still finding traction.

1) Buying/Selling a Home - If you’re planning a move in the next 12-18 months, it’s never too early to start chatting.

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Until Next Week,

-Bill Olson

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