Hospitality company reveals design plans for new downtown Charleston park

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A Charleston hospitality company has revealed plans to build a park in 141 Meeting St., a spot many considered the last chance for a park in downtown Charleston.

Slated to open late in 2025, the park will encompass an entire city block between Meeting and King streets, according to a news release from property owner Beemok Hospitality Collection.  

The park, to be called American Gardens, with design inspired by other city parks around the world, will be open to the public most of the time, the news release stated, but closed on occasion for private events that will help defray costs.

BHC founder and philanthropist Ben Navarro learned of the property from a 2022 opinion piece by Post & Courier columnist Robert Behre, which expressed concerns about the future of the site.

Navarro saw the project as an important civic responsibility and bought the land a few months later to begin work on design plans for an urban park, the release said.

BHC has engaged landscape design firm Rees Roberts + Partners and its lead partner, David Kelly, to spearhead the park’s design. American Gardens is intended to be reminiscent of classic urban parks around the world, according to the New York firm.

The park’s major design feature will be an allée of crepe myrtles running the full length of the park between King and Meeting Streets, the release said. The allée will act as a connector between the two streets, leading visitors to American Gardens’ grand lawn, framed by live oak trees and a hedge-framed stage area for small concerts, book readings or movie nights. The grand lawn will be flanked by fountains surrounded by parterre gardens and seasonal plantings.

The design process has included input from various community leaders including the Charleston Library Society and the Gibbes Museum of Art, according to the release.

American Gardens also will also offer seasonal programming throughout the year, ranging from a pop-up holiday market to a community-wide Easter egg hunt. To offset operating costs, BHC will use the park for occasional private events throughout the year, the release said.  

The name American Gardens honors Charleston’s history as one of the country’s earliest cities, which is particularly timely as the United States prepares to commemorate its 250th anniversary in 2026.

“We are committed to creating intentional experiences that leave a positive, lasting impact on the Charleston community,” BHC President Casey Lavin said in the release. “American Gardens will be a gathering place for people of all ages and backgrounds, a beacon of hope, opportunity, unity and optimism.”  

Beemok Hospitality Collection, or BHC, has a portfolio of interwoven hotels, restaurants, entertainment venues and events throughout the Charleston area.