Retrofit Atlas

Malls · South Carolina

Charles Towne Square

Imported, unreviewedRedevelopedOperatingNorth Charleston, SC

Charles Towne Square opened 1976, lost anchors, was redeveloped into office space with a call center and City Hall tower. · summary, model-written

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Site profile19 elements · what this retrofit is built with · tap a chip for the evidence

Former anchors
JCPenneyThis site: JCPenney wikipedia · all sites with this
Montgomery WardThis site: Montgomery Ward wikipedia · all sites with this
Place
15-minute neighbourhood (5+ of 6 daily needs within 800 m)This site: 6/6 openstreetmap · all sites with this
30,000+ vehicles a day on an adjacent roadThis site: 104,358 on INTERSTATE 26 fhwa-hpms · all sites with this
County typical rent $2,000+This site: $2,150/mo zillow · all sites with this
Grocery within 800 mThis site: 2 stores openstreetmap · all sites with this
High earthquake riskThis site: Relatively High fema-nri · all sites with this
High hurricane riskThis site: Very High fema-nri · all sites with this
High natural hazard risk (FEMA NRI)This site: Relatively High; hurricane, earthquake fema-nri · all sites with this
Interstate or freeway within 600 mThis site: INTERSTATE 26 fhwa-hpms · all sites with this
Renter-majority tractThis site: 65% census-acs · all sites with this
Tract house prices doubled in 10 yearsThis site: +176% fhfa · all sites with this
Walkable block group (EPA ≥ 12)This site: …index 13.5 epa-walkability · all sites with this
Strategy
RedevelopedThis site: The former mall site has been redeveloped as an office complex, with a Verizon Wireless call center operating in the former Ward's building and a new… extraction · all sites with this
New use
Civic and governmentThis site: …lti-story office tower near Piccadilly which houses the new City Hall for the City of North Charleston. In April 2019, the 18-scr extraction · all sites with this
Entertainment and sportsThis site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with this
HotelThis site: …new_use field extraction · all sites with this
HousingThis site: …creen Regal Cinemas was proposed to be demolished for a 300 residential unit complex. extraction · all sites with this
OfficeThis site: The former mall site has been redeveloped as an office complex, with a Verizon Wireless call center operating in t extraction · all sites with this

All elements and lists · Trends

Now

StatusOperatingextracted, unreviewed
StrategyRedevelopedextracted, unreviewed
New usesoffice, hotel, entertainmentextracted, unreviewed
What is there nowThe former mall site has been redeveloped as an office complex, with a Verizon Wireless call center operating in the former Ward's building and a new multi-story office tower near Piccadilly which houses the new City Hall for the City of North Charleston.extracted, unreviewed

Planning

Planning notesIn April 2019, the 18-screen Regal Cinemas was proposed to be demolished for a 300 residential unit complex.extracted, unreviewed

Securitised debt and public filers

Filings (2001 to date) that name “Charles Towne Square” and “North Charleston” (2 hits, first 2 sampled). No commercial-mortgage trust names this mall in the sample, which does not rule out a securitised loan. Text matches, not a title search. Open the search · all trusts.

KindFilerFilingsDatesForms
Public owner (strong)GLIMCHER REALTY TRUST12014-11-04 to 2014-11-048-K 1
Public owner (strong)Washington Prime Group Inc.12014-11-04 to 2014-11-048-K 1

As reported by the owner

Property tables from the owner's annual report (Form 10-K, Item 2) on EDGAR, one row per filing year. GLA, occupancy and anchors are the filer's own figures at that year end; “leased” counts signed leases, “occupied” counts open stores; ownership is the filer's share. Matched by name and place, unreviewed; the verbatim table row is in sec_facts.csv.

Year endFilerName in filingGLA sq ftOccupancyYearsShareSales psfAnchors listed
2016Washington Prime Group 10-K, 2017-02-24Charles Towne Square Charleston, SC
match: exact		71,794100.0% occupiedbuilt 1976100.0%
Fee
2014Washington Prime Group 10-K, 2015-02-26Charles Towne Square Charleston, SC
match: exact		71,794100.0% occupiedbuilt 1976100.0%
Fee
2009Simon Property Group 10-K, 2010-02-25Charles Towne Square Charleston, SC
match: exact		71,794100.0% occupiedbuilt 1976100.0%
Fee

Site context

Transit within 800 mno rail station; 1 bus stops within 400 mOpenStreetMap
Motorway junctions within 2 km16, 16B, 17, 17AOpenStreetMap
FEMA flood zoneX · AREA OF MINIMAL FLOOD HAZARDFEMA NFHL
EPA-regulated facilities within 500 m9: 2125 RICH ST. COMMERCIAL; CITY OF NORTH CHARLESTON MS4; ELEMENT SUITES NORTH ARCO; KRM MIDLANDS LLC PINEVIEW PLANT 3; MEDICAL UNIV OF SC MICROFILM PROEPA FRS
Census tract 450190031115,224 people, 958 per sq mi; median household income $62,097; median gross rent $1,590; 65% renters; 15.6% vacant units; 0.2% commute by transitACS 2023 5-year
Walkability (EPA, block group)index 13.5 of 20; 50 intersections per sq mi; nearest transit stop 874 m; land-use mix 0.82; 59,666 jobs within 45 min by car, 58,704 by transit; 21% of households without a carEPA Smart Location
Within a 10–15 minute walk (800 m)6 of 6 daily needs: 2 grocers, 2 schools, 2 parks or playgrounds, 1 health, 2 civic, 10 food and drink; 0 cycleway segments, 125 sidewalk-tagged segmentsOpenStreetMap
Opportunity ZonenoHUD
Housing permits, Charleston County (SC), 2024857 units in 5+ unit buildings, 244 in 2–4, 3,052 single-family; 2023: 1,300 in 5+Census BPS
Social vulnerability (CDC SVI 2022, tract)overall percentile 0.59; socioeconomic 0.68; housing and transport 0.43; 17% below 150% of poverty; 4% of households with no vehicleCDC/ATSDR
Other atlas sites nearby1 within 10 km, 1 within 25 km: Ashley Plaza Mall (7.2 km)computed
Overture Mapsplace Charles Towne Square (shopping_mall, confidence 0.55, from BrightQuery, Overture); building footprint 7,526 m², 7.808598518371582 mOverture (CDLA-Permissive 2.0)
Attention: Wikipedia page views16,987 since 2015; 1,657 in the last 12 months (+2% vs the prior 12); peak 2022-03 with 236Wikimedia
Tract change 2013–2023population -15% (6,137 → 5,224); median income +40% ($44,291 → $62,097); renters 57% → 65%; median home value +137% ($91,600 → $217,400)Census ACS 5-year
Natural hazard risk (FEMA National Risk Index, tract)relatively high overall (score 97.0); expected annual loss $10.6M; high: hurricane, earthquake; community resilience very highFEMA NRI
Tax-credit housing within 1 kmnoneHUD LIHTC
Retail trade in the county, 2012 to 20232,084 establishments (+7%); 29,490 jobs (+12%)Census CBP
Housing market in the countytypical home value $609,591 (+2% 1 yr, +39% 5 yr); typical rent $2,150/mo (+4% 1 yr), 2026-09Zillow Research
House price index, tract, 2025331 (2000 = 100); -3.1% 1 yr, +82% 5 yr, +176% 10 yrFHFA
Traffic on the busiest road within 600 m (2024)104,358 vehicles a day on INTERSTATE 26 (Interstate, 6 lanes); 8,901 trucks; 34 counted segmentsFHWA HPMS

Summary, model-written

Charles Towne Square opened in 1976 as an indoor mall developed by Melvin Simon & Associates, with original anchors Montgomery Ward, JCPenney and Edwards. Over time, anchor stores closed (Ward in 2001, Piccadilly Cafeterias in 2012) and the site was redeveloped into an office complex featuring a Verizon Wireless call center in the former Ward building and a new multi‑story office tower that now houses North Charleston City Hall.

Why. The redevelopment was driven by the loss of key anchor tenants and the mall’s declining retail viability, as evidenced by the 2000 Ward bankruptcy and subsequent store closures. The record also notes planning proposals to replace the Regal Cinemas with residential units, reflecting a shift toward non‑retail uses.

Where it stands. Today the site operates as an office complex, with the former Ward building occupied by a Verizon Wireless call center and a new office tower near Piccadilly housing North Charleston City Hall, indicating mixed public‑private control.

For a planner

  • Precedent: conversion of a failed mall to office/civic use, as seen with the Verizon call center and City Hall tower.
  • Policy tools: the site’s redevelopment strategy is already labeled “redevelop” in the record, suggesting prior entitlement or incentive use.
  • Open question: whether the proposed 300‑unit residential replacement for the Regal Cinemas will proceed and how it will affect existing office occupancy.
  • Open question: the status of the planned hotel and entertainment components listed in the new_use array.

For a developer

  • Site size: not specified in the record.
  • Control: mixed, with a city‑owned office tower (City Hall) and private office tenants such as Verizon.
  • Entitlement stage: office complex is operating; the residential proposal for the former cinema remains a planning note from April 2019.
  • Market signals: opp_reasons cite county population growth of 5.1% (2018‑23) and median rent of $1,506, while noting the retrofit is already built.

What we do not know yet

  • Exact parcel acreage and current ownership structure are not provided in the record.
  • Details on the hotel and entertainment components proposed in new_use are absent, leaving their status unknown.
  • Environmental constraints (floodplain, transit access, contamination) are not mentioned in the context layers.
  • The verification status is marked “draft,” indicating that some facts may be model‑extracted and unreviewed.
  • Outcome of the 2019 Regal Cinemas residential proposal is unknown beyond the planning note.

Generated by nvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b on NVIDIA API via Hermes CT from the fields, parcels, deals and context layers on this page, with no outside knowledge. It is regenerated when the record changes and has not been checked by a person. How it is made.

Similar sites

  • Brighton Mall, Brighton, MI · Malls · opened 1970; same strategy: redevelop
  • Buckingham Square, Aurora, CO · Malls · opened 1971; same strategy: redevelop
  • Chester Mall, Chester County, SC · Malls · opened 1973; same strategy: redevelop; also in SC
  • Conestoga Mall, Grand Island, NE · Malls · opened 1974; same strategy: redevelop

Elsewhere on the web

Retail history: Charles Towne Square on DeadMalls.com photos, field notes and visitor memories since 2000; matched by name and state only, check the city; nothing copied here

Pages with photos

Search images: Google · Bing · Commons · references: ULI case studies · Google Scholar

Multifamily screen

  • retrofit already built
  • county grew 5.1% 2018–23
  • median rent $1,506

Inputs: record fields (size, status) and county Census ACS 2018–2023 figures (growth, rent). How the points work. Not a recommendation.

History and original facts

Opened1976Wikidata
Original developerMelvin Simon & Associatesextracted, unreviewed
AnchorsService Merchandise, JCPenney, Montgomery Ward, Edward's
CountyCharleston County
Census division5 · South Atlantic
NotesWikipedia categories: Demolished shopping malls in the United States

Not yet recorded: acres, GLA, retrofit year. Know it? Tell us.

Background

Charles Towne Square was an indoor shopping mall located in North Charleston, South Carolina opened in 1976 by developer Melvin Simon & Associates. It was most noted for its large "town square" style clock and children's train ride during Christmas time. The mall's tenants included original anchors Montgomery Ward, JCPenney and Edward's, a local department store which would later be sold to Kuhn's-Big K and renamed "Big K-Edwards." Big K-Edwards closed and Wilson's Catalog Showrooms moved into the space. The Wilson's chain was later sold to Service Merchandise. In addition to the mall's anchors, the shopping complex also featured approximately 75 specialty stores and a General Cinemas. The mall opened with great fanfare in 1976 with a Charlestonian bi-centennial theme. Television celebrity Ed McMahon led the festivities, complete with American Revolutionary War-era costumes. Other special guests included World War II soldier Mark Clark, football player Rosey Grier, and Claude Akins.

Excerpt from Wikipedia (authors and history), CC BY-SA 4.0. May be older than the record above.

Timeline

  1. 1976 Opened (Wikidata)
  2. 1976 Opened
  3. 1997 Plans announced to raze mall
  4. 2000 Montgomery Ward bankruptcy
  5. 2001 Montgomery Ward store closed
  6. 2012 Piccadilly Cafeterias closed
  7. 2019 Regal Cinemas proposed for demolition
  8. 2020 Regal Cinemas demolition completed

Sources

  • Wikipedia: Charles Towne Square · supports: after notes, original developer, status, strategy
    11 quoted sentences
    Charles Towne Square was an indoor shopping mall located in North Charleston, South Carolina opened in 1976 by developer Melvin Simon & Associates.
    The former mall site has been redeveloped as an office complex, with a Verizon Wireless call center operating in the former Ward's building and a new multi-story office tower near Piccadilly which houses the new City Hall for the City of North Charleston.
    The former mall site has been redeveloped as an office complex, with a Verizon Wireless call center operating in the former Ward's building and a new multi-story office tower near Piccadilly which houses the new City Hall for the City of North Charleston.
    The former mall site has been redeveloped as an office complex

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