Center Street Is Finished. What Folly Locals Get Back This Fall
October 22, 2026
October 22, 2026
"It's not glamorous. But we also know this project has been a long time coming, and Folly will be better for it." Drop-In owner Kristina Ogden told Folly Current that in August, while the island's main street was still a maze of fencing, rerouted sidewalks and missing parking.
On Oct. 1, the City of Folly Beach cut the ribbon at Center Street and East Cooper Avenue and officially reopened the street, Live 5 reported. Construction ran from May 2025 to July 2026, which means the work took up the island's busiest season and the businesses along Center Street absorbed most of the cost. The finished street and the new shoreline at its river end arrive at the start of the months when people who live on Folly have the island mostly to themselves.
Most of the project sits underground, out of sight. Folly Current's account lists what went in:
Parking changed too. The city's project page planned to remove four parallel spaces on Center Street to make room for green infrastructure and to add 39 parallel spaces within the project area. That page also describes pervious parking going in on both sides of Center Street between Indian and Hudson, and the engraved and plain bricks being reset on the west side between West Cooper and West Erie. Live 5's reopening coverage describes the new parallel spaces as sitting on the side streets next to Center Street. The 39 figure is the plan, so the count on the ground is best confirmed in person.
The city states its goals plainly: improve drainage and reduce flooding, increase the capacity and lifespan of the stormwater system, beautify Center Street, and build a model of resilient drainage for coastal communities. The project was paid for through the South Carolina Infrastructure Investment Program, which the SC Rural Infrastructure Authority administers using federal American Rescue Plan Act recovery funds.
This summer's numbers show where the cost landed. In Folly Current's August reporting, Mayor Chris Bizzell said the traffic counter on the bridge had logged more cars coming and going than at the same point the year before. He added that occupancy at Folly home rentals was slightly up for the year, according to AirDNA. He also said those figures did not mean business was up on Center Street, where the construction was concentrated. More visitors came to the island, and fewer of them came to the main street.
Business owners described the gap in specific terms to Folly Current:
"It's been our slowest Summer since being open on Folly, and it's not even close."
That was Perry Freeman of Coconut Joe's, on the corner of Center Street and West Ashley Avenue. At the other end of the street, Greg Marshall of The Washout said dust and noise near his open patio hit lunch harder than dinner, when crews were off. He also saw people walk on the far side of the street and pass the restaurant entirely. Cody Brooks, who owns Shoobie's Ice Cream and The Pineapple Hut, said the construction had a significant impact on his business, and like several neighbors he questioned the timing more than the project itself.
The effect reached beyond restaurants. Richard Brendel of Flipper Finders, the boat tour and kayak rental company near where you first come onto the island, said most of his summer business came through bookings made in advance online or by phone, with less walk-up traffic. He used the year to remodel the shop. Drop-In's Ogden said her summer held up but wondered how much more it could have grown without the detours.
Surfer Betty, a boutique trailer next to The Pineapple Hut between West Erie and West Cooper avenues, opened on Center Street this year, in the middle of the construction. Co-owner Melissa Anderson explained why that timing matters for a beach business: "This would be the time of year that we would be squirreling away money. And now we're having to be creative."
For businesses that count on summer to carry them through the slower, cooler months, a lost summer means the off-season has to do more work than usual.
The city treated the reopening as a business recovery effort and put money behind it. As Folly Current reported in September, the City of Folly Beach covered admission so that the Folly Association of Business's annual Mermaids & Mateys festival on Oct. 3 would be free for up to 6,000 people with reserved tickets. The same funding gave brick-and-mortar shops, restaurants and bars free vendor spaces on Center Street or an adjoining side street. "We wanted the business community to know that we see them as a vital part of our community," Bizzell told the paper. FAB Events Coordinator Kelly Travers called it a "one-time free event" meant to drive attendance and spending into island businesses.
Then it rained all day. According to Live 5, crowds came to Center Street anyway for more than 80 art, craft and fashion vendors, live music, a dunk tank, a kids' zone and costume contests. A rebuilt drainage street got its first big public day in the kind of weather it was designed for.
Free admission was the one-time part. The festival itself continues, and the Visit Folly event page says Mermaids & Mateys returns in October 2027.
The Center Street rebuild is one of two water projects on the same street. At Folly River Park, 58 Center St., the city scheduled its first model living shoreline for installation on Aug. 14, Live 5 reported. That afternoon, Count on 2 reported that the shoreline, installed with volunteers and local organizations, could now be seen at the park. The design took two years with Shoreline Restoration Group and Weston & Sampson.
"This is attacking the marshfront erosion issues we're seeing. We get a lot of a tidal erosion and boat wakes," Bizzell told the station. The installation uses oyster castles, manufactured wire reefs and bagged shell to catch baby oysters, or spat, from the water column, explained Kim Morganello, ecological design team leader for Weston & Sampson. The aim is for those oysters to settle and grow into a reef.
The shoreline is meant to change over time. Experts plan to monitor the site, and physical changes may take up to two years, but new oysters are expected on the materials by next summer.
It also matters for anyone who owns on the marsh. Bizzell described the site as the city's model for homeowners on the marshfront and said that as the project builds out, the city is looking at mini-grants or similar help so homeowners can put something comparable in front of their own homes. No program had been announced as of the August report, so it is an intention for now.
The finished street and the new shoreline both open onto the quiet months, which helps the businesses that lost their summer and gives locals more room on Center Street.
Parking costs less in this stretch of the year. The operator's ParkFollyBeach schedule lists October through February rates of $10 on weekdays and $15 on weekends and holidays at its flat-rate beach lots, and $2.50 an hour or $10 for the day at selected hourly lots. On-street parking on East and West Arctic stays at $3 an hour or $12 a day all year. Those are the posted rates, so check the page before heading out. General rules, including that cars must park parallel to the road unless diagonal parking is posted, are on the city's Parking & Maps page.
A few dates on the city's November calendar bring people back to the river end of the street:
The next construction project off the island is still at the paperwork stage. Charleston County Council approved the construction contract for Phase 1 of Rethink Folly on Aug. 27, according to the Charleston Moves project update. That phase covers Folly Road from Ellis Creek to Wilton Street. Live 5 described the plan as nearly two miles of work, with 7,000 feet of new path, wider sidewalks and bike lanes, and green paint at conflict points. No start date for crews has been announced.
For now, Center Street is clear of fencing and the bricks are back in place. The businesses that went through the summer of dust and detours are open on a street built to handle the next downpour.
If you own on Folly, or are thinking about the marshfront and what the city's living shoreline model could mean for a property there, Gus Bright is glad to talk it over with you at your own pace. Schedule a private consultation, and we'll start with a walk down the new Center Street.
With an intimate knowledge of the Charleston Low Country area, Gus Can help you find your personal version of Luxury Island Living.