The Historic Aiken Foundation Board on Project Oliver
July 13, 2026
The HAF Board is very much in favor of Project Oliver. This project will protect, preserve, and revitalize the Hotel Aiken, McGhee Block, Aiken Standard Building, and Beckman Building plus associated parcels.
First and foremost, historic buildings are preserved, and especially the Hotel Aiken, which was slated for demolition just four years ago. This alone, preserving these buildings and adaptively reusing them, is going to contribute greatly to retaining the historic integrity of our downtown. A structure at the rear of the McGhee Block will be demolished, but this is appropriate because it was added later, after the period of significance.
The new hotel annex and the Bee Lane building that will replace the Holley House motel both incorporate architectural features found elsewhere in Aiken. The hotel annex does an especially nice job of balancing the historic preservation requirement to be compatible with the hotel yet still distinct.
While no one is a fan of parking garages, the new city-owned garage will increase parking capacity and promote overall preservation goals. The architect has gone to great lengths on the first floor of the garage to reflect architectural features found on the Warneke building and throughout Aiken and create an attractive pedestrian experience. The HAF Board hopes to see more of that on the upper levels as well.
The Warneke building will be demolished. Adaptive reuse of the Warneke Building isn’t 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.
Overall, this 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.