Granite Countertops in West Ashley, SC

A West Ashley gym will power down for good next month, leaving customers crushed.

O2 Fitness at 1119 Wappoo Road sent an email to members at 2 p.m. April 18, stating, "our lease terminates at the end of May and we have been unable to find a path forward to maintain."

The final day is May 31 with the closure time scheduled for 7 p.m.

The gym anchors the Ashley Oaks Plaza, situated in the middle of a group of tenants that include West Ashley Hardware/TrueValue, Los Reyes Mexican Restaurant, Kings Sushi, Lavish Nail Salon, Ultratan and newly added Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids.

"As a local company born and raised in the Carolinas, with roots in Charleston going back 25 years, this is a disappointing situation," the email said.

The Raleigh-based fitness chain first opened the West Ashley location in January 2019.

The gym was one of three workout centers, including Daniel Island and Moncks Corner, to replace existing facilities O2 inherited after its purchase of the former East Shore Athletic Club's Charleston-area operations in 2013.

"These three upgrades, along with the addition of our beautiful James Island club late last year, help showcase our commitment to providing the Charleston-area with first-class fitness facilities,” O2 Fitness founder and CEO Michael Olander previously told The Post and Courier.

Memberships to the West Ashley location remain active at O2 Fitness on Folly Road, with no action required, the company said.

The chain operates 19 fitness centers, mostly in North Carolina.

CHARLESTON — Fencing and yellow caution tape already surround part of a West Ashley shopping center, where construction on the long-awaited redevelopment project along Sam Rittenberg Boulevard will finally begin after a ceremony planned by city officials and developers on May 7.

The overall proposal covers 35 acres that combines the larger Ashley Landing shopping center and a vacant lot across Sumar Street where a Piggly Wiggly once stood. Plans call for more than 6 acres of green space, a four- to five-story apartment complex with 285 units, 100 townhomes and 240,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space.

"We're addressing what people have been wanting there," said Councilman William Tinkler, who represents the district where the site is located. He called the investment completely unprecedented for West Ashley, home to more than 40 percent of the city's population.

Demolition of part of the existing shopping center will kick off the construction. This will make way for a new Publix. The grocery chain is currently located across the parking lot in the middle of the planned development.

Publix will remain open during construction, as will many retail and commercial spaces along the periphery of the shopping center.

The same can't be said for the Crunch Fitness or Charleston Stage's West Ashley Theatre Center, which are also slated for demolition.

The theater production company preforms at the city-owned Dock Street Theatre downtown, but rehearses and holds classes and programs at the West Ashley location.

The developer behind the shopping center's upgrade is renovating a vacant 10,000-square-foot space for Charleston Stage in the same development, according to Marybeth Clark, the company's artistic director.

"We're not going away," Clark said. But there will be a pause in their fall classes as they wait for the new location to be complete, she said. The new space will feature more studios, office space and theater seating than they have currently.

"Ultimately, we will have a beautiful new space in a beautiful new center," said Clark, who hopes to be in the new location by the start of next year. "Between now and then, it will be inconvenient."

West Ashley project a longtime coming

People visiting the shopping center should expect to be "inconvenienced for the next few years," Tinkler said. But once the dust of construction settles, he believes the "vibrant community" left behind will be worth the wait.

The city and county are both planning improvements to traffic around the site, which Tinkler said is one of the biggest complaints for residents who live nearby. He hopes the investment will encourage additional traffic mitigation from state authorities.

"This is revitalization," Tinkler said. "We're finally realizing plans that were envisioned 20 years ago."

Back then, his father sat on City Council, and every councilman since has pushed for redevelopment of the area, he said.

Past proposals ground to a halt as council failed to come to a consensus last year about what to do with the smaller former Piggly Wiggly site the city bought in 2017. When Mayor William Cogswell took office, he began courting developers with deeper pockets to tackle the larger redevelopment effort.

The overall plan will cost taxpayers an estimated $48 million, with another $300 million investment from Edens, a Columbia-based real estate company that owns properties in Mount Pleasant, Kiawah, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and California.

Edens purchased the Ashley Landing shopping center in October for more than $38 million, and in December paid the city $1.1 million for the 3-acre Piggly Wiggly parcel, according to county property records. That's nearly $2 million less than the city paid for the property in 2017.

The city also changed how it approves development along the busy commercial corridor in order to fast track the project. The property sits in a tax-increment financing district, or TIF district, which the city is relying on to fund its portion of the site's public infrastructure. That will include $10 million for affordable housing; $9.6 million for public streets and right of ways; $4.7 million for parks and green space; $1 million for a 3,000-square-foot community space; and $13 million for stormwater infrastructure.

A TIF essentially allows municipalities to borrow against future tax revenue generated from improvements to blighted properties and reinvest it back into the district. The West Ashley TIF was created eight years ago, and according to county tax records, still hasn't accrued any revenue. If the city doesn't issue any bonds within the next two years, then the TIF expires.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC/AP) - A West Ashley High School senior learned the private South Carolina Christian university was abruptly shutting down months before he expected to begin classes.

West Ashley Senior Jackson Welch was on a spring break trip with his father and grandfather, bonding over the passion that drew Jackson to Limestone University: golfing. While they were on the trip, they received a call from Jackson Welch’s mother about Limestone’s precarious future.

“It was kind of like a bucket list place to go and I didn’t even pretty much enjoy it for the rest of the day,” Jackson Welch said. “I was just trying to think about like, ‘What am I going to do now?’”

The 180-year-old university stunned its students, alumni and community when it announced earlier in April, without warning, that it was in such bad financial shape that without an immediate infusion of $6 million, it would have to close.

Just like that, Jackson Welch was back on the hunt for a college and one that would allow him to further his golfing career.

“I was kind of in a rush to just open my recruitment up and try to find somewhere to go,” he said.

They remained optimistic that the college would find funding to stay open.

“But the limbo couple of weeks. I kept getting texts from my son when they would get a new donation. He’s like, ‘Look, see there’s a new donation,’” Jackson Welch’s father, Justin Welch, said.

Limestone University officials said that after two weeks of furious fundraising and other actions, they collected just a little over $2 million. It wasn’t enough, and they said they had no choice but to close the Gaffney campus and online programs.

“We’ve always talked to them about looking at things like everything is meant for a reason,” Justin Welch said about his son’s news. “He’s 18. This is a tough pill to swallow. He wants to continue his golf career.”

But soon after, Spartanburg Methodist College accepted him.

“My mom wanted to do like a little signing for me, which I thought was really sweet,” he said.

The family hosted a family gathering on Sunday to celebrate the success and reflect.

“Like we say, everything happens for a reason,” Justin Welch said. “And what if this had been the end of his freshman year next year or two years in? Or what if he was a rising junior there going into senior year?”

Now he’ll get to continue his passion for golf, just on a new course.

“But I really just want to continue to play golf because that’s just like what I worked the past five or six years for,” Jackson Welch said.

The family said they are keeping all the students, staff and their families affected by the closure in their thoughts.

Jackson Welch will be starting the year with a friend. He is keeping his original planned roommate from Limestone. He also got accepted into the same golf program.

Limestone University held its final Commencement ceremony on Saturday. It was an emotional tribute to the Class of 2025. The University celebrated 446 graduates during the 2024-2025 academic year.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. The Associated Press contributed to this report. All rights reserved.

WEST ASHLEY, S.C. (WCIV) — In West Ashley, city leaders and developing company Edens, plan to break ground on the Ashley Landing Shopping Center revitalization project next week.

READ MORE| Charleston unveils $300M redevelopment plan for West Ashley's Sumar Street site

Construction fencing is now present around the old Big Lots building as the project prepares to go underway.

This development is years in the making, and was officially approved by the Charleston City Council in September 2024. Following approval, Edens obtained ownership of the approximately 35-acre parcel of land, included the lot on Sumar Street, where Piggly Wiggly once stood.

The development company now aims to build a new town center for the community to enjoy, with a variety of renderings public on its website.

Charleston City Councilmember for District 9, William Tinkler, says he thinks this is the largest investment in West Ashley's history, with the city pledging $45 million, and Edens contributing $300 million.

“It's really good that they're giving back to the community here in West Ashley," says Bubba Walkins, who grew up in the area.

READ MORE | Charleston City Council pushes forward with major redevelopment on Sumar Street

Tinkler says the public funds will be focused on infrastructure.

"The city's got some projects planned on Old Towne Road that are going to lead to some traffic infrastructure there that I think is going to benefit," he said.

Edens is required to conduct a traffic impact study for the project, and Charleston County will also be looking to make improvements on Sam Rittenberg Boulevard and Old Towne Road.

Nine acres of storm water retention will be built underneath the property to help with flooding in the area.

Tinkler says ensuring available affordable housing is also a focus.

"One of the benefits of this project is to be able to provide housing, and housing that those folks can afford." Tinkler says a certain portion of housing created will be workforce housing.

The public is invited to attend the ground-breaking on Wednesday, May 7, at 10 a.m.

WEST ASHLEY — A new restaurant is taking over the space where a local landmark seafood eatery operated for about 15 years.

Mazal, owned by Gal and Tal Alhadef, is targeting a July opening at 1901 Ashley River Road, previously occupied by The Crab Shack. The location is situated between Christophe’s Macaron et Chocolate and Ashley Cooper Real Estate inside a strip center near the intersection of Ashley River Road and Sam Rittenberg Boulevard.

Mazal will serve traditional Israeli cuisine cooked by Tal Alhadef, who has been a chef for over 20 years.

Both born in Israel, the brothers grew up in a family of chefs and bakers and once operated a restaurant together in their home country. Tourists flocked there for its Israeli street food, inspiring them to open a place dedicated to falafel, shawarma, pita and other casual classics in Charleston.

Dishes such as these may sound familiar, but don't mistake Mazal for a typical Middle Eastern restaurant, Gal said.

"It's not even close to what we have," he said. "We're here to show Charleston and the area what (Israeli food is)."

Consider the restaurant's shawarma, which will be made with turkey and lamb. Gal described it as "juicy juicy." Mazal's pita will be more similar to naan, and all meats will be ground in-house to make fresh kebabs.

"Everything homemade. This is the concept," Gal said.

Mazal will open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Patrons can order at the counter, and the food will come out fast, said Gal, who hopes to replicate the concept with more locations.