Lancaster’s historic Ellen Dean Hotel will be redeveloped. See what’s coming
One of Lancaster’s historic landmarks could get new life, pending nearly $1 million in state redevelopment funding.
The former Ellen Dean Hotel is set to become a mix of apartments and retail space. The $11.5 million project should break ground this summer and open in fall 2027, according to the city.
The city doesn’t own the property on North White Street, but is assisting with a state earmark request.
Lancaster City Council will vote Tuesday on whether to apply for $991,000 in state funding for structural support, partial demolition, environmental work and engineering for the property. Last summer, the city voted to certify the site as an abandoned building to allow for state redevelopment tax credits.
A company called Ellen Dean LLC owns six parcels in the White, Meeting and Dunlap streets area where the former hotel stands.
The company bought the main hotel site for $90,000 in 2018, according to county land records.
Ellen Dean Hotel a Lancaster landmark
Built in 1941, the Ellen Dean is a two-story, L-shaped building that once was a thriving part of the city’s cultural scene.
Herald archives show numerous social events and civic group luncheons hosted there. Its Rainbow Room hosted special events and added to the city’s nightlife, according to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.
The Ellen Dean made the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.
Initially the Ellen Dean Motor Hotel, the property grew out of the motor travel era as a place for travelers to stay. It started as a rectangle and doubled in size with a 1946 expansion, giving the building its L-shape.
The hotel was temporarily shut down in 1970 after several years of decline. It opened to short-term housing afterward, but hasn’t been used in at least a decade.
The building’s roof collapsed five years ago. The site is “in a partial state of collapse,” according to the city.
More than half of the earmarked state money — $550,000 — would go to stabilizing the structure and demolishing part of it.
The redeveloped property will have 18 apartments on the top level and 6,200 square feet of retail or office space on the bottom. There will be seven one-bedroom units averaging 750 square feet, eight two-bedroom units at 975 square feet and three three-bedroom units at 1,575 square feet.