West Ashley, the area across the Ashley River from peninsular Charleston, offers a change of pace from some of downtown’s more tourist-centric areas of town. Home to more than 40 percent of the city’s population, the area boasts parks, restaurants, breweries and shopping catered to locals.

Explore

Known to some as the “birthplace of South Carolina,” West Ashley is home to the well-preserved colonial village, Charlestowne Landing. The 184-acre state park off of Old Towne Road offers an opportunity to explore both the city and the state’s modern origins. With walking trails, marsh views and a small zoo, the state park is a site visitors and locals alike can visit multiple times for different experiences.

For the active set, West Ashley is home to Shadowmoss Golf & Country Club and bowling alley Ashley Lanes. Get practice on your swing at Charleston Golf, a combined golf simulator and bar.

Get a breath of fresh air on the 7.8 mile West Ashley Greenway which starts at U.S. Highway 17 and Wappoo Road and ends at Higgins Pier where anglers can cast a line. There’s another opportunity to fish off of Sam Rittenberg Boulevard at Northbridge Park.

For a different scenic walk, meander via boardwalk through marshes and coastal forest at the Stono River County Park in outer West Ashley.

Shopping

Unlike other areas of the city, West Ashley is home to some large-scale retail spaces that make it an ideal place for furniture stores and other specialty shops.

Residents don’t have to go far to furnish a home with pieces from both local shops and national chains. Some local favorites include Charleston Amish Furniture, Hausful and Warehouse 61.

Consign Charleston offers seemingly endless rows of second hand furniture, clothing and other treasures. The warehouse setting and fun mix of oldies music make it an ideal environment to spend an entire afternoon browsing for unique finds.

Further down U.S. Highway 17, more warehouse-style retail spaces offer a variety of maritime stores for the city’s boaters. Choose from Hankel Marine, West Marine and Seel’s Outboard among others.

Eat and drink like a local

In West Ashley, residents and visitors alike can start their day at local coffee shops like Second State Coffee which provides unique seasonal offerings like jasmine lattes in the summer, or Highfalutin Coffee Roasters has a rotating menu of international coffees from nearly every continent.

For more sustenance, New Orleans-style brunch is served at Ruby Sunshine daily. For a French flair, check out La Bonne Franquette’s brunch on weekends.

Those in a hurry can grab an authentic East Coast bagel from Blazing Star Cafe or make a stop at the Bigby Coffee drive-thru.

When lunch time rolls around, West Ashley delivers a bevy of barbecue options. Swig & Swine, Home Team BBQ and Bessingers Barbecue all have outposts in the area. But vegetarians have options, too. Stop at Dellzville for vegan eats including a pizza topped with edible flowers.

For sandwiches try the fried chicken at Boxcar Betty’s or a Chicken Charleston from East Bay Deli. Mellow Mushroom or Paisano’s Pizza Grill will satisfy a pizza craving too.

Spend the afternoon drinking local beers at breweries including Frothy Beard Brewing Company on Sam Rittenberg Boulevard, Charlestowne Fermentory’s two locations and Edisto River Brewing Company in outer West Ashley.

Dinner and drinks take many forms in West Ashley. Avondale Wine & Cheese offers a lengthy wine list accompanied by charcuterie and tapas. Across the street, Triangle Char & Bar offers a more laid vibe with beers and bar bites. Further down the road, The Glass Onion serves up authentic southern soul food with menu items like shrimp and grits, gumbo and red rice.

Casual drinks are served at favorite Avondale watering holes Gene’s Haufbrau, and The Roost Bar ’n Grille. Near the Shadowmoss neighborhood try House of Brews and for live music head to Tin Roof on Magnolia Road.

Supermarket, El Molino offers all specialty ingredients needed for a Latin meal including homemade tortillas. But there’s always the option to bail on cooking last minute and order the street tacos they make in-house.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — During a severe storm or a heavy downpour, the surrounding areas in the Windermere Community see a lot of flooded streets.

For years, city leaders have been working on what solution to bring to make the impact of storms less severe.

City leaders work to bring flood relief to an older community in West Ashley. (WCIV)

It seems like after research and community interaction, leaders came up with the Windermere Basin Project. When completed, this project would allow the water from a storm to drain a lot easier out of the streets and flow into a drainage system.

Even though this project is still in its surveying and design phase, Councilman Ross Appel believes this could be a game change for residents in West Ashley.

Read More: "Help is on the way": Major storm water improvements are coming to Windermere neighborhood

"This project's main goal is to engineer our way out of a a lot of challenges by improving pipe size, and improving the number of drainage conveyances," Councilman Ross Appel said. "... So we can drain the area better, because right now when we get big storms Old Windermere and South Windermere floods pretty substantial."

This project would not only help clear the streets, but it would also help improve the quality of life throughout the Lowcountry.

“It impacts schools, workplaces, and the shopping centers and the more improvements we can go especially in these older neighborhoods that were not designed when they were originally built with any kind of storm water approach," said Matthew Fountain, the Director of Storm Water Management.

Read More: West Ashley residents say neighborhood developer isn't helping with flooding concerns

"We basically go back and retrofit those properties and install and improve new storm water systems and they would behave like they would require new commercial development or a new substation to be built and make a real improvement to people’s life," he said.

No date of the completion has been set but the project recently received a $2 million grant for the process.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Big plans are approved for an affordable housing complex in West Ashley. The news sparked excitement among some neighbors, but concerns about traffic and the location as well.

The city’s housing department, council members and neighbors agree, affordable housing is a need in West Ashley. But the development does come with a lot of planning and factors to consider when approving a plan.

City of Charleston District 2 Councilmember Kevin Shealy says he initially did not support a 2020 zone change of the property from general business to diverse residential.

“At that time and in 2020, there was a there was an office building sitting there and it’s actually a good location for an office building because people may not have to drive downtown to go to work. They can work and live in the same place which fits in with the West Ashley Revitalization,” Shealy says.

In March of 2023, the planning commission approved initial design plans for the complex. Shealy says he is an advocate for affordable housing, but wants to make sure it’s being put in practical places.

Jerry Gray, who has lived in the area for about 15 years, thinks incoming affordable housing is good news.

“Charleston can be the land of opportunity for a lot of people. And it’s also a window of opportunity for people who want to start out. So having some level of affordable housing where people can start out, start building an American Dream is critical for any neighborhood,” Gray says.

While he says he’s excited about the complex and the opportunities it can bring, he admits that traffic does cross his mind when a project like this is approved.

“Highway 61, we want to keep it as a scenic road. So yeah, traffic would be a problem and a consideration but again, there’s work around for that,” Gray says.

Shealy says he also worries about traffic for people who live in his district. He explains that the South Carolina Department of Transportation grades state roads on a scale from A to F.

“Ashley River Road during peak times grade is an E, and it’s very close to an F. And it probably will be one day unless we can do something about those roads. Hopefully we get some help from the state, state or county and maybe they can help with traffic flowing,” Shealy says.

Gray referenced how widening Glenn McConnell Parkway and the development of Bees Ferry Road has created a connector between areas and will solve some of the traffic woes.

“So those things can be overcome with good planning,” Gray believes.

Shealy says he wants to see hard workers in Charleston like firefighters, police officers and teachers live and enjoy the same area where they work.

“We need affordable housing in the right locations. Live work and play. That’s kind of what the West Ashley revitalization idea said. But that’s also a reason for us to make sure we have commercial properties out in West Ashley out in the western part of West Ashley so that everybody’s not driving to downtown, causing these traffic congestions,” Shealy says.

Shealy says while he initially did not approve of the housing complex, now that it’s on its way, he is dedicated to making sure it fits into the neighborhood.

Gray says he is excited to see more people enjoying the area and hopes the city does its due diligence incorporating plans for runoff, traffic and other aspects of development in the plans.

To learn more about the details of the complex, click here.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

The redevelopment of the old Piggly Wiggly site near the Northbridge in West Ashley is continuing to move forward.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The redevelopment of the old Piggly Wiggly site near the Northbridge in West Ashley is continuing to move forward.

The city of Charleston presented three options to community members to hear their feedback on which option they preferred Thursday night.

Stormwater, traffic and noise were among the most common issues people shared at the meeting.

“All the water from the shopping center now comes to the pond in front of my house,” community member Nell Postell said.

City officials presented three options with the main difference being parking.

Option one is the most expensive option– costing the city around $43 million, but it was the most popular vote amongst community members.

It includes underground parking, which officials say could store water in the event of a storm.

“We have flooding problems everywhere, it’s all over the news, well this is how we can address it,” community member Kenneth Marolda said.

Option two includes an above ground parking garage and is about $10 million less expensive than the first proposal. It has the same commercial capacity as the first option but has less civic space.

Finally, option three includes a regular parking lot, decreasing the number of people the venue can hold and the total cost.

Although City of Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg did not specifically say he favors the option with the underground parking, he stressed how important it is to him for the development to include as much civic space as possible.

“I feel the most important thing about this whole project and development is providing a place where families in West Ashley can gather together,” Tecklenburg said.

City officials say part of the city’s portion of this project will be paid for via a special tax district in place.

Because of the site’s location, and because it will be partially funded with taxpayer money, city officials stressed the importance of getting the community on board with the development.

“It’s really important to get public feedback on this because this is the gateway into West Ashley and the city of Charleston,” West Ashley Coordinator Eric Pohlman said.

The plans will next be brought in front of the city council for a vote on June 20.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

WEST ASHLEY, S.C. (WCBD) – West Ashley community members are showing their support for the redevelopment of Sumar Street through a letter.

“From the beginning, since 2016, it has been a community-led project. The community spoke up and said ‘hey we don’t want a 20-pump gas station here. We want something that we can enjoy with our families and kind of set the tone for future development in West Ashley,’” said West Ashley Resident, Ed Sutton.

Last week, Charleston City Council reviewed three different proposals for Sumar Street which has been vacant since 2018 when an old Piggly Wiggly was demolished. Council voted 6-6 on option one, before deferring the project to the Community Development Committee.

“We’re very concerned about where it’s going to go from there. Is it just going to be stalled again?” asked Kenneth Marolda, a member of the West Ashley Revitalization Commission.

This week, a letter signed by nearly 20 West Ashley residents and leaders called on the committee to hold their next meeting in West Ashley.

“The venue needs to be West Ashley so that people from West Ashley have the opportunity to be at those meetings and to weigh in and to let the folks who seem to think that the support is not here, to let them know the support is here,” Charlie Smith told News 2. Smith is a member of the West Ashley Revitalization Commission.

The letter was addressed to Councilman Robert Mitchell, the chairman of Community Development.

He was one of the six council members to vote against the plan to spend $45 million on a civic center, underground parking garage, and other mixed-use development proposed in option one.

“These are projects that are needed for this area and if we don’t do it now, infrastructure costs and the cost of construction are only going to increase in the future. It’s only going to get more expensive,” said William Tinkler, a West Ashley resident.

News 2 reached out to Councilman Mitchell, but we have not heard back. We also reached out to Councilmembers Boyd Gregg, William Gregorie, and Keith Waring, who all voted no, however they have not responded yet.

News 2 interviewed Councilwoman Caroline Parker and Councilman Kevin Shealy about their opposition last week.

The date for the next Community Development Committee meeting has not yet been listed on the City of Charleston’s website.