Construction on new apartment homes continues on the southeast corner of Washington and Patrick streets in Charleston. In January 2023, Charleston City Council members were told by the owner of the Charleston Department Store and city officials that the building will be razed to make way for low-income housing.
The affordable-housing apartment building planned for the site got approval from Charleston’s Municipal Planning Commission in May 2023. The commission approved an application for a development of significant impact for the apartment units planned for 1661 Washington St. West. The store in 2023 after more than 100 years in business.
At the commission’s April 5, 2023 meeting, site engineer Chuck Garvick said Ohio-based Woda Cooper Companies plans to build a 32-unit multifamily housing building called "Washington Greene," a new low-income residential rental community on the approximately two-acre site. The proposed project will have all two-bedroom units and