Call for adaptive reuse at West Ashley City office project
The c. 1966 Charleston Home for Children Chapel on Ingram Road is slated for demolition to make way for new City offices
The City of Charleston has sought and obtained a demolition permit for the Charleston Home for Children (c.1966) at 1660-1662 Ingram Road in West Ashley to build new offices. Under new rules enacted last year, no public notice was required. However, a small, mid-century chapel on the site designed by Simons and Lapham offers a unique placemaking opportunity for this new facility. Alongside our partners, Save Historic West Ashley, and MidModSC, PSC is urging the City to adaptively reuse this historic building as part of its new design, but we need your help.
In response to community interest in the preservation of the chapel, a public meeting to discuss the overall project has been scheduled for Monday, August 25, so West Ashley residents can weigh in on this proposal. Please join us in calling on the City to take this opportunity to incorporate a unique piece of this site’s history as part of its future. Comments can also be addressed to District 9 Charleston City Councilman William Tinkler at [email protected] — and please let us know if you submit comments by emailing [email protected].
1660-1662 Ingram Road Community Meeting
Monday, August 25 | 5:30 – 6:30 PM
Founders Hall at Charlestowne Landing | 1500 Old Towne Road
Registration is encouraged. Please RSVP via Eventbrite.
Charleston architecture firm Simons, Lapham, Mitchell & Small designed the mid-century buildings, including the chapel pictured above. Left: 1960s architectural elevations, right: interior wood paneling and trusses.
A Placemaking Opportunity
The c. 1966 chapel is the most visible and architecturally distinct of the complex of buildings that served as a home for dependent children, convent, women’s shelter, and site for charities. As the gateway to the site at the intersection of Sumar Street and Ingram Road, the chapel, with its steeply gabled roof, large geometric window openings, and wood-paneled interior, is a strong example of Mid-Century Modern architecture. Purpose-built as a gathering place, the space naturally lends itself to adaptation for civic use as part of the City’s redevelopment of the property.
Ensuring Transparent Design Review
The City of Charleston plans to demolish all buildings on the property, clearing the site for new offices for City staff. Under new rules passed to stimulate commercial reinvestment in West Ashley, demolition and design in this area do not require public notice nor approval by the Design Review Board.
In fact, the City already has a demolition permit in hand.
We don’t object to the goal: A municipal civil services presence in West Ashley could go a long way to help address some of the long-overlooked issues impacting residents.
But the City’s swift leverage of new rules to expedite demolition has raised significant concerns about residents’ ability to weigh in on future projects that impact their neighborhoods.
Thanks to City leadership, including Councilmember William Tinkler, there will be an opportunity to correct the record and allow the public to provide feedback on this proposed demolition and redevelopment on Monday, August 25.
The Preservation Society is hopeful that the City and its design team will see the mid-century chapel as an asset to the redevelopment and evaluate how it can be incorporated into a unique adaptive reuse project.
Promotional graphic produced by City of Charleston: