The cost of gentrification in Charleston

by Sheridan Eng

Charleston is a city of rich history dating back to the original thirteen colonies and full of culture. As tourism in the city becomes more popular, what will happen to its identity?

As Charleston’s neighborhoods change, families who have lived here for generations are being pushed out, forced to leave behind the homes where they raised children, built businesses, and became part of a tight-knit community.

But for many, this isn’t just about homes. It's about the survival of Charleston’s identity.

Charleston has become one of the fastest gentrifying cities in the country as policymakers have favored tourism, wealth from outsiders moving in and an increase in housing prices that has prevented many of the locals from being able to afford to stay.

It is leaving long-time residents nervous, wondering what will happen to their homes and communities. 

Gentrification is driving away local history

Gentrification is what happens when a less expensive neighborhood starts getting attention—usually from wealthy developers or local governments looking to renovate a rundown area. They move in, fix up homes, open trendy businesses and drive up property values.

But it becomes a mix of neighborhood improvement and community displacement as longtime residents, especially those with lower incomes, often can't afford the rising rents and living costs, so they end up getting pushed out.

In the South, this is typically displacing African American communities, who have been there for generations -- many since their descendants were brought here as slaves. 

View of North Charleston properties and interesecting highway

Dr. Von Bakanic, an associate professor of sociology at the College of Charleston, says it’s a demographic movement rather than a sociological one. 

“It has a sociological impact because it changes the population of the area," Bakanic said. "They find property that is convenient and they want the lifestyle offered by that particular area geographically, so private individuals buy distressed properties and then fix them up or in some cases tear them down and start over.”

Once a few properties are bought and made more desirable, higher housing costs follow, causing long-time remaining residents to have to move as well, making more room for further gentrification to occur. 

These increased costs have affected neighborhoods all over Charleston including James Island, West Ashley, North Charleston and more. Policymakers have made the progression of gentrification more rapid due to the heightened priority on tourism. 

“This raised the value of the property because they were fixing it up,” Bakanic said. “The trouble is that it affects how much tax you pay. There were families that had been in homes, sometimes for generations, and then all of a sudden they got this whopping tax bill that they didn't see coming." 

Gentrification is widespread

Sharon Sinclair lived in Folly Beach for 22 years before rising costs pushed her out. As the city made improvements and increased insurance costs and regulations, she could no longer stay.

"It was like a quiet little fishing village when I moved there [in 1996]," she said, noting that the local government seemed to care about residents until the area started growing and gaining regional and national attention.

"Well, that ruined it because the residents of Folly had kind of kept it a secret. But an article in 'Southern Living' blew that out of the water and then we got this influx of tourists which increased revenues to the city," Sinclair added. "And then the city gave permits to build condominiums. And then the condominiums got built which brought in investors to buy them for rental properties. And then they started buying houses for rental properties. So everything got really expensive."

“It’s like they didn’t want us there anymore,” Sinclair added, noting that insurance alone on her little house was nearly $25,000 a year and repair services started coming with contractor fees required by the city.

“I couldn’t even have a plumber come into the house without having to pay contractor fees,” she said. “They were just grabbing money everywhere they could. The city loved getting all that money.

African Americans impacted disproportionately

Joe Riley, former mayor of Charleston, made grants available in the 1970s to encourage fixing up distressed properties. At the time this was successful, but it resulted in displacing many African American families.

Dr. Bernard Powers, professor emeritus of history at the College of Charleston and founding director of the Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston, explained that the city’s history plays a crucial role in how gentrification has affected the Black community differently. 

“When I was here in the 1970s it was almost solemnly Black, and now it has shifted dramatically," Powers said.

The African American population primarily came to the Holy City via the slave trade, where even after emancipation, the local government prevented most from being educated or even learning to read and write.

"That legacy shaped the Black community following emancipation and for decades and decades afterward," Powers added.

Despite long roots of lineage in Charleston, and their crucial help in the state's profit from the cotton industry, Black communities have continuously faced obstacles that have hindered their ability to thrive.

“The relegation of the Black population to lesser skilled occupations, comparatively less historical access to education, all of those things manifest themselves in terms of income and in the lack of generational wealth that could be passed on from one generation to the next rising generations,” Powers pointed out. 

This translated to the commercial sector too. Businesses created by African Americans had a more difficult time sustaining themselves as they were often denied bank loans and financial support that would have made it easier to earn wealth and pass it down to the next generations. The result was a cycle in which the lack of opportunity to build lasting economic foundations made the population more vulnerable to displacement.

“They would have had a more difficult time sustaining themselves simply because of not only the lack of wealth but the comparative inability to secure loans from banks because of racial discrimination," Powers added, "which was rife here until the civil rights era.”