Waterfront view, tanning salon (because I really need that), DJ Booth, cabanas, rooftop lounge, music studio, soundproof band room, water basketball & volleyball, 24-hour cyber café, study lounges, AND a recycling center. What I have just described are NOT the latest amenities for a new housing development in Isle of Palms; this, ladies and gentlemen, is a brand new, swagtastical luxury apartment building for off-campus students, mainly at the College of Charleston.

I thought having my own room in my apartment on campus at the University of South Carolina officially put me at “boss status” as a student, but off campus student living in Charleston, SC has officially changed the game. Now don’t get it twisted, this is not funded by the college. According to the Post and Courier, this $35 million, Morrison drive apartment building is being built by Asset Campus Housing, a company that develops privately owned student housing.

At $900 per room, not per apartment, PER ROOM, a 4-bedroom apartment costs students $3600 per month! Remember, this building is only about a block from Bridgeview housing projects (aka Bayside Manor). The Post and Courier article indicates, “Prices may be higher depending on the view”.
Those of us from Charleston, especially those who grew up downtown or went to school in the city have seen our city change tremendously, like a f**ked up butterfly of some sort; hey, we all know our city is simultaneously beautiful and ugly. We’ve lived to see contaminated soil and housing projects turn into high end waterfront property, dilapidated failing schools turn into so-called “charter institutions”, and some of the most dangerous areas of Charleston now have joggers and golf carts buzzing the streets daily. Downtown Charleston has become a foreign place for natives who have lived here their entire lives.

The gentrification debate can be argued all day long. Many natives believe that the city is being taken from people of color, while some other natives believe that WE have our own selves to blame based on the way we have allowed violence to plague our communities. Black business owners in downtown Charleston have sold their businesses to investors without even batting an eyelash, so the blame game is definitely a two-way street.

The complaining phase is over now. $3600 apartments and housing projects now reside on the same boulevard. Nobody wants to hear the stories of how Joe Riley and “his boys” did this or how they did that. It’s already done! The question now is what will YOU do to make sure your history and your family’s history is not erased from the face of downtown Charleston. What will you do to make sure the FEW African American families, grandmothers, mothers who still own homes in downtown Charleston maintain their properties and are not taxed to the gods? While the college of Charleston kids tan in the warm, Charleston sunset atop their rooftop lounge overlooking the Ravenel bridge, what will you do to better your community?

By the way, Bridgeview aka (Bayside Manor), Romney street residents, please pay attention to these stories.