Charleston Says "Bless Your Heart" to Yet Another Hotel Proposal

In a move that has locals sipping their sweet tea with a knowing smirk, Charleston's Planning Commission finally put its foot down Wednesday evening with a resounding "not today, sugar" to developers eyeing prime downtown real estate for—you guessed it—another hotel.

The commission voted 5-4 against rezoning properties at 529 and 537 Meeting Street to an Accommodations Overlay Zone, effectively blocking plans for yet another place where tourists can rest their weary heads after a day of wearing seersucker and photographing Rainbow Row.

"I live within walking distance of this property, and I walk this street at least five times a week," Planning Commission board member Loquita Bryant-Jenkins declared during the meeting, channeling the collective eye-roll of residents who've watched hotel after hotel sprout up like spring azaleas.

Let's be real, y'all—Charleston already has more hotel rooms than a debutante has pearls. According to the Historic Charleston Foundation, the peninsula currently boasts a staggering 5,167 active hotel rooms with zoning for another 3,650 waiting in the wings. That's more rooms than there are recipes for shrimp and grits in the Holy City.

What makes this particular rejection downright delicious is that the property in question currently houses one of the city's HOPE Centers—a resource for unhoused and vulnerable residents. The irony of replacing services for those without homes with luxury accommodations for visitors wasn't lost on anyone with a lick of sense.

Developer Jeffery Roberts tried the "trust me, I'm one of y'all" approach, telling the commission: "We would never attempt a mercenary endeavor that we did not feel was good." Bless his heart. Nothing says "community-minded" quite like pushing out a homeless resource center for a building where rooms likely would cost more per night than many locals make in a week.

The Historic Charleston Foundation and Charleston Preservation Society both opposed the proposal—shocking approximately no one. Lisa Jenkins of the HCF reminded everyone that "maintaining the integrity of the Accommodations Overlay Zone is a key component of striking that balance" between tourism and actually having a functioning city where people can, y'all know, live.

Charleston's relationship with tourism has always been complicated—like that cousin who shows up uninvited to Sunday dinner but brings the good bourbon. We need the visitors, sure as sunshine, but at what point does hospitality cross over into self-sabotage?

With hotel projects like the Four Seasons (150 rooms), the Montford Hotel (150 rooms), The Flatiron (191 rooms), and the Cooper waterfront hotel (209 rooms) already in the pipeline, turning down this latest proposal feels like Charleston finally saying, "Honey, we're full up."

The city's tourism scene is hotter than asphalt in August, but Wednesday's decision suggests even Southern hospitality has its limits. Perhaps developers should consider something truly revolutionary—like affordable housing or businesses that serve the folks who actually call the Holy City home year-round.

For now, the HOPE Center will continue serving Charleston's vulnerable population at 529 Meeting Street, while developers nurse their disappointment and likely plot their next move. After all, in the South, "no" often just means "not right now"—but for today at least, Charleston's Planning Commission has given residents something to raise their glasses to.

Now ain't that something?