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April 8, 2025 – Generations of Charleston residents remember the Stone & Thomas building as more than a department store—it was a downtown anchor, a place to meet for lunch, and a symbol of the city’s retail heyday. Now, nearly three decades after the store closed its doors, the iconic structure at 300 Capitol Street may be on the verge of a new chapter.
Property owner Bill Ellis announced that an out-of-state company is currently under contract to purchase the building. The buyer operates AI technical colleges and intends to restore the historic property, potentially leveraging a $7.5 million federal historic tax credit. “It’s an iconic store and it’s an iconic building,” Ellis said. “They’re in their contract to buy this building for is to restore it.”
The tax credit, part of the federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives program, covers 20% of qualified rehabilitation costs for income-producing historic properties. The Stone & Thomas building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, would qualify for the full credit if the project meets preservation standards.
While the sale has not been finalized, Ellis is realistic about the building’s future use. “The economics wouldn’t work to turn it back into retail,” he said, pointing to the decades-long decline of downtown Charleston’s shopping district. Major retailers that once lined Capitol Street have either closed or relocated, and the rise of e-commerce and suburban malls has made a large department-store format untenable.
Instead, the proposed AI technical college aligns with a growing trend: adaptive reuse of historic commercial buildings for educational institutions. According to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, converting vacant department stores into schools and training centers has gained traction in cities like Pittsburgh, St. Louis, and Detroit. These projects not only preserve architectural heritage but also bring new foot traffic, jobs, and student populations into struggling downtowns.
Charleston-based economic development consultant Maria Keating sees potential benefits. “A technical college focused on AI would attract a younger demographic and potentially spur complementary businesses like coffee shops, co-working spaces, and housing,” she said. “It’s a smart use of a landmark that has sat empty for too long.”
The building’s future remains uncertain until the contract closes, but Ellis expressed cautious optimism. “I’m just hoping somebody can utilize it,” he said, echoing the sentiment of many residents who remember the store’s heyday. Preservationists are also watching closely. “The key is to ensure that any renovation respects the building’s historic character,” said local historian Robert Fields. “If done right, this could be a model for other West Virginia communities.”
The Stone & Thomas building opened in 1907 as a department store and expanded over the decades. It closed in the late 1990s, a casualty of shifting retail patterns. Since then, it has been used sporadically for storage and community events, but never returned to full commercial use.
If the AI technical college plan moves forward, it would mark one of the largest adaptive reuse projects in the capital city in recent years. The $7.5 million tax credit would cover a significant portion of the estimated $37.5 million rehabilitation cost, making the project financially viable.
For now, both the owner and potential buyer remain tight-lipped about the timeline. But for Charleston residents who grew up shopping at Stone & Thomas, the possibility of seeing the building alive again—even as a school—is a welcome sign of downtown’s slow but steady revival.
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