2 weeks Ago
Downtown Charleston has an art gallery district, an antiques district and even a brewery district. North Charleston will soon have its own attraction as home on the former Navy base with a first-of-its-kind shopping destination with showrooms for interior design professionals to buy products, such as textiles, wallpaper, rugs and high-end wood flooring. The Design District, set to open in the fall, is the latest announcement by developer Jamestown LP for Navy Yard Charleston , a sprawling multiphased plan on 85 acres on the former military installation.
The project includes retrofitting the former shipyard’s 1918-era brick buildings , called storehouses, to showcase work from crafts makers and home furnishing providers. The Charleston Design District will comprise a collection of showrooms inside Storehouse Eight, a large historic brick building which shares a long, grassy lawn with Storehouse Nine. The latter, opened last year is made up of 78 boutique apartments above ground-floor "makers studios," some of which are storefronts and some of which are live-work units that combine residential and non-residential uses within the same unit.
Design tenants already signed on at Storehouse Eight include Kravet — which has leased a 2,240-square-foot showroom for its high-end fabrics, wallcoverings, furniture, carpets, trimmings and lighting — and Schumacher, whose 3,760-square-foot space will serve as a showroom for its fabric, wallpaper and trim offerings. Patterson Flynn, a luxury rug and textile purveyor as well as Schumacher’s sister brand, will have a presence in the new showroom. Textures, a Nashville-based luxury flooring company known for its curated wood finishes, has leased a 1,620-square-foot showroom in Storehouse Nine.
These design houses join existing Charleston makers, design-oriented brands and firms already open at Navy Yard Charleston, including The Urban Electric Co., Fritz Porter, Middleton Made Knives, Post Loyal Architecture, IOLA Modern, Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, Inc. and Smithey Ironware Co .
“The formation of the Charleston Design District is, in part, a response to the diverse design and creative community that has amassed throughout the neighborhood over the past few years,” Michael Phillips, president of Jamestown, said in a written statement. “The history and architecture of the area offer a strong anchor and compelling backdrop.” When built out, the project will include 150,000 square feet of showroom spaces, according to the developer, which said it will also add design-oriented programming.
Navy Yard Charleston also announced it will add a large rooftop restaurant under a deal with The Indigo Road Hospitality Group of Charleston. The 8,200-square-foot establishment will have indoor and outdoor seating with views of the Cooper River, and will open on the top floor of Storehouse Nine. The former Charleston Naval Base & Shipyard officially closed in 1996 and has been the target of various stages of proposed and realized redevelopment plans, from the failed Noisette project to the state's newest port terminal.
Atlanta-based Jamestown took launched Navy Yard Charleston in 2021 with a goal to create a new urban center, with more than 1.2 million square feet of new offices, residences, shops and restaurants. The firm’s other design and maker districts across the country include the Boston Design Center , Ponce City Market and Westside Provisions District in Atlanta and Industry City in Brooklyn.
.
