Charleston Launches Design Charrette for 3,500 Affordable Homes

City leaders and architects aim to develop innovative housing solutions in just 5 days

Mar. 17, 2026 at 2:39am

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Charleston, South Carolina is hosting a week-long design charrette to develop plans for adding 3,500 affordable homes to the city's peninsula by 2032. The initiative, known as Project 3500, brings together city officials, architects, and urban planners to rapidly generate housing concepts and strategies. Mayor William Cogswell expressed excitement about the momentum behind the effort, which is drawing support from various stakeholders including the private sector and federal housing agencies.

Why it matters

Charleston has struggled to keep up with rising housing costs and the growing affordability gap. This ambitious project aims to dramatically increase the supply of affordable homes in the city through an innovative, collaborative design process. The charrette approach allows the city to quickly generate and refine housing solutions tailored to Charleston's unique character and needs.

The details

The design charrette, dubbed '5,000 homes in 5 days,' will have the team working to develop attractive, classical and traditionally-inspired affordable housing designs that integrate with Charleston's historic architecture. The city has mapped existing public housing units to plan for resident relocations that keep people in their neighborhoods during redevelopment. Public feedback will be a key part of the process, with evening lectures and open houses scheduled throughout the week.

  • The design charrette is taking place from March 17-21, 2026.
  • The city aims to complete 3,500 new affordable homes by 2032.

The players

William Cogswell

The mayor of Charleston, who expressed excitement about the momentum behind the affordable housing initiative.

Josh Martin

A special projects advisor for the city, who described the charrette as '5,000 homes in 5 days.'

Charleston Housing Authority

A partner organization in the affordable housing design charrette.

West Edge Foundation

A partner organization in the affordable housing design charrette.

Ben Pentreath

An award-winning British architect who will speak at the charrette on Tuesday evening.

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What they’re saying

“I'm excited. Honestly, I feel like there's a lot of momentum behind this. A lot of people are leaning in. I mean, from the designers to city staff to residents to the private equity markets to HUD, there's been a very warm reception to this effort.”

— William Cogswell, Mayor

“Every resident deserves a beautiful residence, and it should all look as beautiful from one building to the next. We want to be unapologetically classical in design and traditional urbanism.”

— Josh Martin, Special Projects Advisor

What’s next

The design team will present their progress and discuss next steps on Friday, March 21 from 5-6:30 pm at Charleston City Hall.

The takeaway

Charleston is taking an innovative, collaborative, and community-driven approach to rapidly expand its supply of affordable housing. By engaging architects, planners, and the public, the city aims to develop attractive, contextually-appropriate housing solutions that can make a significant dent in the local affordability crisis.