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Council approves $674,000 contract to gut Charleston Public Safety Center after timeline questions
Summary
The Charleston City Council approved a $674,000 selective interior demolition contract with Swope Construction for the Public Safety Center; council members pressed the city manager on whether the bid covers all demolition work and on the project timeline before voting to adopt Resolution 26‑047.
Charleston City Council on its regular meeting approved Resolution 26‑047, authorizing a $674,000 contract with Swope Construction for selective interior demolition of the Charleston Public Safety Center.
Council member Jenkins said the contract is the next step to prepare the building for the police department and that the finance committee recommended approval. Councilwoman Snodgrass asked city staff for specifics before the vote, seeking to confirm whether the contract price covered “everything that needs to be done” in the demolition phase and asking about a timeline for completing the work.
The City Manager replied, “This should take care of everything that needs to be done as part of the design plans for the internal demolition, including the removal of the remaining furniture that was conveyed with the property.” He said the demolition specifications were prepared by Silling Architectural and were included with the bid documents. On schedule, he estimated the demolition portion at roughly 120 days from notice to proceed before liquidated damages would apply and said the larger renovation is likely to be a 12‑ to 18‑month construction phase once bids for build‑out are solicited.
Snodgrass pressed whether full design drawings were completed and whether additional approvals would be required later; the City Manager said schematic design work is underway with Silling and that some structural or hidden conditions behind walls will be clearer after demolition, meaning the bid‑ready construction documents for the full renovation will follow completion of the demo.
The council voted to adopt Resolution 26‑047. The measure also authorizes donation of remaining cubicles and office furniture to local nonprofits after demolition. According to the committee report read to council, the $674,000 figure was determined through a competitive bid process.
Next steps outlined by staff include issuing the demolition notice to proceed, completing the selective interior gutting, and then finalizing bid‑ready drawings for the full renovation and construction contracting.
