A dispute is still pending between the City of Charleston and The Beach Co. concerning the Sergeant Jasper Apartments located at Broad Street. The two sides said they plan to continue the appeals process after mediation was unsuccessful.

The Beach Co. stated it will reopen the apartments while the case is pending in circuit court.

The dispute began when the Charleston Board of Architectural Review deferred a proposal by The Beach Co. to demolish Sergeant Jasper and build an 18-story tower in its place. The tower would be home to residential units, retail and office space, and enclosed parking. The Beach Co. agreed to reduce the tower’s height to 13-stories at the request of board members, which is the same as the current building. The board then denied the plan anyway, which caused The Beach Co. to file its lawsuit.

The two groups were required to participate in pre-litigation mediation, but the process was unable to resolve the dispute.

Publicly, The Beach Co. pointed out it had gone to great lengths to accommodate the requests from the board. They had also spent a great deal of money to design the project and make changes, and to confirm their design plans according to zoning restrictions. Had it known the city would ultimately deny the request, it would have addressed the issues upfront instead of investing money to honor the requests throughout the process.

Essentially, The Beach Co. feels bamboozled and as if it was given the run-around on what it considers an important and lucrative project. They believe their goals will honor history and improve the current situation, and they plan to pursue the project while keeping the current apartments open.