Charleston Day Acquires the Fielding Property

Charleston Day is thrilled to report that the School recently closed on the acquisition of the Fielding Home for Funerals property. Together with the acquisition of 7 Magazine Street earlier this year, the School significantly increased the footprint of the campus and solidified the “Forever Home” of CDS in downtown Charleston.

Charleston’s Day Downtown Campus

While the process to acquire the Fielding property began several months ago, the permanent location for our campus has been an open question for many years. CDS has been an integral part of Charleston for over 85 years, and the historic city is an invaluable extension of our campus.  The trade-off for our location, however, has been limited space. With the acquisitions of Fielding and Magazine Street, Charleston Day resolved the issue, creating the space needed to sustain CDS in its downtown location for the next 85 years and beyond.

 

Historic Neighborhood

Current Board Chair, Ross Hostetter, said the new property is a strategic fit with the long-term vision for CDS. “This acquisition will resolve the location question for CDS once and for all. It provides the footprint we need to accommodate the school’s facility needs and aspirations for the next 85 years and beyond and secures the future of our historic K-8 institution as an integral part of the Charleston community.”

Head of School, Judith Foley Arnstein is excited to begin work on the master campus plan. “As we move forward with planning for the Fielding property, we will continue to focus on being good neighbors and positive members of the greater Charleston community. We remain ever mindful of the history and character of our neighborhood and both the school’s and the Fielding family’s place in the history of our vibrant city.”

 

The History of the Fielding Property

The school purchased 7 Magazine Street last fall. The Magazine property provides a critical link between the existing Archdale Street campus and the Fielding property to the north. The primary building on the Fielding property is a three-story stucco house built in the late 1790’s. The Fielding Funeral business moved to 122 Logan Street in 1928 when Julius P.L. Fielding acquired the three-story Georgian-style structure. The original structure will remain on the property as it has valuable historical significance. Charleston Day is working together with the Fielding family to honor their legacy at this historic site.

With these acquisitions, Charleston Day now has the footprint to consider increased open and outdoor areas, enhanced athletic facilities, an assembly/performance hall, dedicated arts, music, and creative spaces, special purpose spaces for enhanced and new programming, larger and additional classrooms to support growth, and so much more that could not have been reasonably accomplished without the addition of this property. In addition, students will continue to access downtown locations as extensions of the classroom experience.

The vision statement of CDS is to partner with families to provide a superior academic, artistic, athletic, and ethical foundation, preparing each student for a lifetime of achievement. While much work remains, this acquisition significantly enhances our ability to more fully realize that vision uniquely in each of our students and in generations of students to follow.

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