Beemok unveils community park in downtown Charleston

Beemok Hospitality Collection, a hospitality group that manages multiple hotels, restaurants and venues, has added a community park to its repertoire. 

BHC’s American Gardens spans one city block between King and Meeting streets, according to a news release.  

“Creating American Gardens has been a wonderful adventure for my wife and me, and I’m proud to say that we’ve been deeply involved in working with our team on everything from providing the original design inspiration to making all of the details come to life,” Ben Navarro, founder of BHC, said in the release. “Our hope is that this new park will bring together the citizens of Charleston and become a place to celebrate all that we have in common as members of one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” 

Designed by landscape architecture firm RRP, American Gardens will features 68 crape myrtles and 100 magnolia trees and is framed by eight live oak trees and two four-tiered fountains. 

The space will be used to host live music and be available to book for private events. Navarro said the garden was inspired by his father and serves as a symbol to “the American Dream.” 

“Back in the fall of 2022, a commentary that ran in the local paper sparked an idea: what if Beemok were to step up and purchase the one-acre property next to the Gibbes Museum and turn it into a truly unique green space in the middle of downtown? I had recently lost my father, and the thought of honoring him by dedicating this space to him, made sense to me,” Navarro said in the release. “Frank Navarro had grown up as the son of a single mom in a poor suburb of New York City, never even knowing anyone who had gone to college. In what other country would it be possible for the next generation to produce a successful businessman who would have the means to create such a place? So, we decided to dedicate the new park to that often over-looked but powerful force unique to our country: the American Dream. This park honors that dream which my father so believed in; and despite all of our challenges as a nation, it stands as a testament to the fact that we live in the greatest country on earth.” 

BHC said the community space, located at 174 King St., will open Nov. 15. with a flag raising ceremony at noon with live music from Edwin McCain, complimentary King of Pops treats and tours of the park. The event will end at 3 p.m. with the park remaining open until 8 p.m. 

After opening, American Gardens will host a decorated 30-foot Fraser fir for the holiday season with other family-friendly holiday events, according to the release.