Balancing Preservation and New Construction in Downtown Charleston

When the aquarium was built 10 years ago, it was seen as a great economic opportunity. But that hope hasn't played out. So officials want to try to beef up the area around the aquarium to boost its appeal -- the only problem is the historic character of the area would have to be interrupted.

"Now, the city is seeking to revive the street's fortunes through a special plan for the Calhoun Street-East Waterfront area. It spent about $300,000 to hire CKS Architecture and Urban Design and four other consultants to take an in-depth look at the area's zoning, public places, traffic and marketing.

The new plan was to serve as an update to the city's 2-decade-old Calhoun Corridor Study, but when a draft plan went before the city's Planning Commission recently, there were concerns that it might lead to too much hotel development and, possibly worse, a set of architectural guidelines that would lead to a blander city and less public input."