In a historic Charleston, South Carolina, neighborhood where new construction is rare, a small waterfront rental project is opening more than new housing — it's bringing public riverfront access and upgraded stormwater infrastructure to the Ashley River waterfront.
The multifamily development project, known as The Charles, pairs a boutique-scale rental development with public benefits in an area where growth is tightly constrained. Along with adding new housing without high‑density construction, the development created a publicly accessible waterfront park and incorporated stormwater systems designed to better manage runoff in a flood-prone section of the city. Those improvements extend beyond the property lines and into the surrounding neighborhood.
Locally owned by The Beach Co. and developed by Balfour Beatty, the project moved forward only after close coordination with Charleston’s preservation groups, resulting in a design that blended into the neighborhood rather than trying to stand out. The waterfront location required a different approach to stormwater, including an underground storage system that captures and recycles excess runoff along the Ashley River.
For its design-forward approach and incorporating a publicly accessible waterfront park and expanded stormwater management system, The Charles was selected by real estate professionals familiar with the market as the winner of the CoStar Impact Award for multifamily development of the year in Charleston.
About the project: The Charles is a boutique, build-to-rent development that combines rental housing and publicly accessible waterfront space. The project reflects the constraints of a coastal site while incorporating stormwater infrastructure and public amenities that extend beyond the property itself.
The project also required coordination with several city and civic agencies, including the Charleston Stormwater Management Department and the Charleston Fire Department to meet local safety, environmental and design requirements.
They made it happen: The project team included Nick Wegener of Balfour Beatty Construction as developer, architect Joseph Antunovich of Antunovich Associates, and engineer Michael Johnson of Forsberg Engineering & Surveying. The Beach Co. owns The Charles and also provides property management.
CoStar Research Manager Brian Dehart contributed to this report.