BAR rejects renovation of old Millennium Music site

A company with plans to renovate a high-profile building in downtown Charleston said it will make one more attempt to please the city's architectural review board, and if that fails it will lease the property as-is.

The Board of Architectural Review last week voted 6-0 to reject a design by Goff D'Antonio Associates, which called for constructing a multistory glass tower at the entrance to the former Millennium Music store at King and Calhoun streets.

The city's design staff had recommended approving the plan, which also called for renovating the existing building, and removing a large steel awning structure from the roof.

"We want to do what is right for the city, and we're really giving the architects some freedom," said Trevor Johrendt of Werner Real Estate Holdings in Roswell, Ga., the developer of the property. "We realize this is a very important corner, and we might need to redesign one part, but if it really gets out of hand then we'll just keep the building as it is."

The property has been vacant since the summer of 2008. Earlier plans for the building, when the real estate market was booming, had called for a 52-unit condo tower above stores.

Tim Keane, director of Charleston's Department of Planning, Preservation and Sustainability, said the latest, rejected proposal to renovate the building, including the modern design element that was proposed for the corner, seemed appropriate to the city staff.

"We thought it was very interesting and held a lot of potential," he said. "Obviously, the board disagreed."

Some on the appointed board said the glass tower looked like something that belonged in Tokyo, Keane said.

Goff D'Antonio Associates referred questions about the plan to Johrendt.

"We've been working closely with the city on what they would like to see there," Johrendt said. "We really don't have an opinion on what direction that corner takes. It just has to fit within the budget."

"I guarantee they would rather see that steel structure come down than not come down," he said. "We're ready to go, and we've got a lot of tenants who would like to be in a renovated building."

Keane said that whatever happens with the building would be a big deal.

"It's such a visible building, and the gateway to middle King Street," he said.

The BAR vote to reject the plan was initiated by local architect and board member Chris Schmitt, who was not immediately available for comment Monday.