A 15-bedroom mansion and an 11-room inn at 20 S. Battery St. are being offered together for $16.5 million, The Post and Courier reports. Across from White Point Garden, the property combines a private residence with lodging operations, making the sale more than a straightforward house listing.
The lodging use is part of the sale
The Battery Carriage House Inn occupies the attached carriage house. Coverage of the listing describes it as an 11-room, licensed inn with grandfathered status; some rooms in the main house are also rented to guests, according to Yahoo. Those descriptions concern the property’s reported current operation; they do not independently establish which approvals apply.
The City of Charleston’s short-term-rental FAQ says a currently operating legal bed and breakfast may continue as a non-conforming use and may transfer to a new owner if the owner files a Change of Ownership application with the Zoning Division. The FAQ does not determine whether 20 S. Battery qualifies, identify its permits, or say how the city would classify this particular inn.
A house with a preservation history
The mansion was built in 1843 by Samuel N. Stevens, according to The Post and Courier. After Colonel Richard Lathers acquired it in 1870, architect John Henry Devereux redesigned it in the Second Empire style, adding a floor and a ballroom. The same newspaper reports that a 1920 meeting at the house helped lead to the founding of the Preservation Society of Charleston.
Asking price and sale price are different measures
A separate Charleston peninsula property at 51 East Bay St. sold for $21.5 million on Oct. 31, 2025, The Post and Courier reported. That completed sale offers a point of comparison, but it is not directly equivalent to the $16.5 million asking price for 20 S. Battery; the latter’s eventual sale price, if sold, remains unknown.
