07/13/2026
๐๐ง๐ค๐๐๐๐ฉ ๐๐ก๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐ผ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ง๐ค๐ซ๐๐ ๐๐ฎ ๐ฟ๐๐ฝ!
The HAF Board is excited that Project Oliver, the project to rehabilitate the Hotel Aiken, McGhee Block, and associated properties, was approved on July 7th. Overall, the project is a net benefit to downtown. It improves the historic integrity of downtown, and it promises to create a positive transformation for that block. Key project elements are:
* The Hotel Aiken, slated for demolition just four years ago, is preserved, including the interior common spaces. A new annex that complements the hotel with architectural features found in downtown will be built on the adjacent lot.
* The McGhee Block, former site of the Johnson Drugstore, is preserved, with the exception of a rear annex added after the period of significance.
* The Holley House motel will be replaced with a new building that has retail and restaurants on the first floor and living space above. The new building has architectural features found in downtown, and Bee Lane will become an active pedestrian experience.
* A parking garage will be constructed on Newberry St. While no one is a fan of parking garages, it will help increase parking capacity and achieve overall preservation goals downtown. The architect has gone to great lengths on the first floor to reflect architectural features found on the Warneke building and throughout Aiken and create an attractive pedestrian experience. The HAF Board encourages more of that on the upper levels.
* The Warneke building will be demolished. Adaptive reuse of the Warneke building isnโt feasible or appropriate because of contamination, and the site will provide a garage that supports a larger project whose goal is to preserve several historically significant properties downtown - the Hotel Aiken, the Beckman Building, the McGhee Block, and the Aiken Standard Building.
Below are a few photos and drawings made available to the public before the DRB meeting. You can see more at this link starting on page 736: https://edoc.cityofaikensc.gov/WebLink/ElectronicFile.aspx?docid=3012548&dbid=0&repo=City-of-Aiken-LF and at Oliver's project website https://www.oliverhospitality.com/aiken
