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https://www.buyhomesincharleston.com/blog/charleston-in-the-news-january-2026-edition
Charleston in the News - January 2026 Edition
Posted By: Alan Donald In: CharlestonDate: Wed, Dec 31st 2025 6:37 pm
2026 begins with lots of positive, wide-ranging news for Charleston that relates to awards, designations and rankings, education, the environment and history, health care, industry, and (virtual) travel and transportation. Be sure to read to the end to learn of a great new virtual travel tool and follow the links where you see bold blue font for more information on the topics of most interest to you.
Let’s start with recent awards, designations and rankings! The Credit One Charleston Open (formerly the Family Circle Cup) just won a prestigious award for the fourth consecutive year, taking home the WTA 500 Tournament of the Year, which is voted on by the tennis players themselves. Summerville now claims the state’s 13th Cultural District. The four-block Summerville Cultural District centered along South Main Street and anchored by the Public Works Art Center is home to many artists and creatives, earning it this designation from the South Carolina Arts Commission. Finalists have been selected for Parade Magazine’s America’s Favorite Small Towns, with Mount Pleasant, Summerville and Beaufort making the cut for the Southeast region. Voters can help decide the national and state winners and, in turn, will be entered into a trip giveaway. The National Association of Realtors has placed Charleston at the top of its list of 10 home-buying hot spots for 2026. The New York Times’ list of The 50 Best Clothing Stores in America includes Charleston’s Ben Silver, recognizing it for “outfitting men and women of the boldly colorful species known as the Southern prep.”
In education news, Trident Technical College (TTC) has expanded its Boeing Workforce Training Partnership. TTC will now lead baseline training on the 787 Dreamliner for both onboarding new Boeing hires and recertifying current Boeing Production and Maintenance members at its SC Aeronautical Training Center.
On the environment and history fronts, SC’s Department of Natural Resources received a record-breaking 289 manatee sighting reports in 2025, almost double the usual amount. If you see a manatee (also known as a sea cow), please use this online form to help officials gather information. After a year of preparation, a 100-year-old, 500,000-pound oak tree has been moved 700 feet to a central point of the new Gather MTP entertainment and restaurant development in Midtown, Mount Pleasant using a very interesting approach. An abandoned Navy vessel - a 120-foot Navy torpedo retriever HAZAR - was recently repurposed by sinking it to the sea floor 32 miles off the Charleston coast in order to create SC’s newest artificial reef to support local aquatic life. Four Japanese WWII artifacts - “good luck flags” - are in the process of being returned to descendants of former Japanese servicemen by the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum. These flags served as traditional gifts, with messages inscribed by loved ones.
Health care services continue to expand in the Charleston area. MUSC Health’s new Kiawah Partners Pavilion opened last month on Johns Island, serving the Sea Island communities. The facility began accepting patients on Dec. 18 and will be open 24 hours a day with an emergency room, trauma and triage rooms, imaging and radiology services, on-site laboratory, helipad, medical offices and therapy treatment rooms for other patient services. MUSC Health is also in the process of buying a large area of Citadel Mall for $83.5 million. The purchase of 330,000 sqft at the West Ashley shopping center (and close to 2,300 parking spaces) includes the former J.C Penney space already occupied by MUSC Health and the site’s former Sears store, which will be renovated into a health care services hub. No current retailers will be displaced.
In industry news, Redwood Materials, a lithium-ion battery recycling company that recovers critical minerals, has begun operating from its new $3.5 billion facility on 600 acres of Camp Hall Commerce Park in Berkeley County — regarded as the largest economic development project in the history of South Carolina and what will become one of the world’s largest recovery, refining and manufacturing campuses. Over the next decade, Redwood will continue to grow in South Carolina, creating more than 1,500 jobs. Modus21, LLC, which provides commercial and defense technology consulting services, will invest $1.1 million to expand its North Charleston operations. The expansion supports 80 new jobs and the company’s Cloud Innovation Lab.
We end this blog with some travel and transportation news. Interested in traveling virtually along Charleston’s latitude and longitude lines? Well, now you can! The online tool LatLon Connect lets users explore cities around the globe that share the same latitude and longitude. For example, sticking with the default settings - places with 100,000+ people and a buffer zone of 6.21 miles - the most populated place is found directly south of Charleston. Give it a try to find it as well as to explore on your own and find out how it works. Finally, women and teens rejoice! Uber’s new Women Preferences pilot program is now available in Charleston, allowing women and teens to request female drivers when booking their rides.