The Refinery brings live music, libations and community to Charleston’s upper peninsula
January 4, 2022
The new mixed-use development space will serve as a hub for Charleston’s creative industry, featuring offices, retail, food, beverage and live entertainment.
The Refinery, located at 1640 Meeting Street Road, is the newest urban development to open on Charleston’s upper peninsula, situated between North Charleston and downtown Charleston. The mixed-use destination was designed for a work and play lifestyle with office space, food and beverage, retail and special event venues, as well as an outdoor music amphitheater. The Refinery features 17 commercial spaces and is anchored by The Whale, an Asheville-based craft beer collective, Sweet Grass Vodka, a Charleston-based vodka distillery, and a restaurant space, which is still currently available for lease.
Current tenants also include Mountain Shore Properties, Green Rock, Hudson Cooper Design, Jane Pope Jewelry, Liollio Architecture, Metal and Petal, Nice Brands, Ohm Radio, The Flyway Companies, The Gaylord and Dorothy Donnelley Foundation, TSWII Capital Advisors and Rebecca Atwood Designs. One office space in the building remains available.
The Refinery is a project by The Flyway Companies and Mountain Shore Properties. The Flyway Companies is made up of four Charleston-based companies consisting of real estate, development, construction and property management and focuses on adaptive reuse projects across the Southeast with developments in Nashville, Savannah and the Lowcountry. Mountain Shore Properties is a development company based in Charleston and Fayetteville, WV, with clients and projects spanning more than 25 cities across nine states, including hotels, single-tenant and multi-tenant offices, industrial properties, mixed-use apartment/retail buildings and single-family homes.
The property sits on what used to be one of the region’s largest oil refineries and a landmark location in Charleston’s industrial district, which served as the inspiration behind the location’s name. Now part of the city’s revitalized Upper Peninsula District, The Refinery is adjacent to its sister property, 1600 Meeting, another popular office space restored in 2014 and home to artists, nonprofits and creatives, including Cortney Bishop Design and Queen + Knox by Mary Welch Fox of HGTV’s “Breaking Bland”. The combined campus, which encompasses The Refinery and 1600 Meeting Street buildings, features 36 commercial spaces.
“The Refinery offers something different for Charleston, catering to niche businesses and creatives in the area, while also honoring the history of the property and forming a new space for our community to come together,” said Lindsay Nevin, owner and CEO of The Flyway Companies. “Our goal was to build a centralized campus that would be an asset for the area, where people can come and work, then walk straight from the office to happy hour, dinner or a live show. We hope The Refinery becomes the Lowcountry’s go-to spot for working and entertaining, for residents and visitors alike.”
The Refinery’s outdoor amphitheater will begin scheduling concerts and events in 2022. The space can accommodate up to 1,500 guests and will host a variety of national, regional and local performing arts acts. The amphitheater greenspace will feature a covered stage, permanent restrooms and concessions in retrofitted shipping containers, and a unique greenroom for its artists, housed in a renovated railcar.
The Refinery will also start offering its outdoor rooftop as a private event space in 2022 for corporate events, parties, weddings and more. The rooftop can accommodate up to 150 people and features a 180-degree view of Charleston.
Construction on The Refinery began in 2019 and interior work will continue through 2022. All but one of the property’s office spaces have been leased and the restaurant space remains available.
The historic buildings of 1600 Meeting, located at 1630 Meeting Street Road, were initially constructed in 1926 by the Standard Oil Company, which ultimately became the Exxon Corporation. The buildings were sold by Exxon in the early 1960s and the industrial complex housed Nielsen Electronics Institute from 1965 to 1988. After Nielsen Electronics moved to North Charleston, the buildings sat vacant until 2011, when The Flyway Companies transformed the site into a collaborative creative space. The Refinery is an extension of this vision, bringing a new era of creativity to one of Charleston’s most unique historical sites.
About The Refinery
The Refinery is an urban development located on Charleston’s upper peninsula, situated between North Charleston and downtown Charleston. The mixed-use destination is designed for a work and play lifestyle and attracts locals and visitors alike with retail, hospitality, office space and special event venues, as well as an outdoor music amphitheater. The building features 17 commercial spaces and is anchored by The Whale, Sweet Grass Vodka and a restaurant space that is currently available. The amphitheater hosts local, regional and national performing arts acts year-round and comfortably holds 1,500 people. The Refinery’s private rooftop event space offers 180-degree views of downtown Charleston and accommodates approximately 150 guests. The Refinery is a project by The Flyway Companies and Mountain Shore Properties. The Flyway Companies is made up of four Charleston-based companies consisting of real estate, development, construction and property management and focuses on adaptive reuse projects across the Southeast with developments in Nashville, Savannah and the Lowcountry. For more information on The Refinery, visit therefinerysc.com or follow along on Facebook (The Refinery) and Instagram (@TheRefineryCHS).
