A developer has been granted a permit to tear down the former Sears building at Charleston Town Center Mall. It’s been a long-running dispute between a hotel developer, the city of Charleston, and the owner of the Charleston Town Center, but a demolition permit was granted recently to Mayur Patel to allow him to tear down the building. There had been disagreement over whether Patel’s plans for a hotel would connect the hotel to the mall or allow it to stand alone. Plans now are for a standalone hotel with no access to the mall.