City spending six figures for largely unused office space

The noise has gotten so bad at a floor of city-rented downtown space that employees are wearing noise-canceling-headphones designed for use on airport runways. And it still isn’t enough.

Even worse, the space has been so cold at times that staff members needed blankets or coats to keep warm.

“Do not hesitate to step outside and take a walk when the noise becomes overwhelming,” City of Charleston Chief of Staff Elizabeth Dieck wrote in an October 2025 email obtained by the Charleston City Paper. It was addressed to city staffers working in the loud office space under renovation.

“We are lucky to work in such a beautiful city — use it to reset when needed.”

Since July, the city of Charleston has been paying $50,000 a month to rent more than 19,000 square feet of third-floor office space at 200 Meeting St., according to a finalized May 5, 2025, lease agreement obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. As of this week on any given day, only about 15 people work in the rented offices. The other 60 or so people have found space elsewhere.

Forced to move

The city of Charleston was forced to rent the space last year for seven front-facing departments after it had to move them out of its space at 75 Calhoun Street. Why? Because the city had to let the Charleston County School District have all of the city’s office space there to get the district to agree to approve a new tax-increment finance district deal to redevelop Union Pier.

So the city had to shift employees, finding lots of space at the cold Meeting Street building. The cost? More than $600,000 a year for three years. Charleston City Council members unanimously voted in April 2025 to rent the nearly 20,000 square feet of office space on the third floor, starting at $33 per square foot and increasing 3% each year. By the third year, the space would cost $35.01 per square foot, or $53,976.67 per month.

Construction issues

But ongoing construction at the space has been a nightmare, driving the majority of staffers out of the office and leaving their desks — and some entire suites — mostly vacant.

“This office has no business being open,” said one staff member familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified. (The staff member will be referred to as Rita to ensure anonymity.)
At best, an estimated 80% of staffers are not in the space. That’s the equivalent of about $40,000 per month potentially going to waste.

The city’s spokesman, Deja Knight McMillan, did not answer direct questions about how much the city currently pays for the space, instead referring to the Freedom of Information Act request regarding the lease contract.

‘A courtesy’

McMillan said staff members at 200 Meeting St. were offered alternative working spaces if the construction was too large of a disruption.

“As a courtesy during construction, the city offered employees flexibility to work from alternate office locations,” she wrote the City Paper in an email. “A limited number have chosen to do so. The building remains operational, and other tenants continue normal staffing levels.”

Rita confirmed that employees were given the option to work in alternative locations, but they were “strongly encouraged” to stay put. She did not offer further details on what that meant.
Some staffers took the deal anyway, with some offices operating out of the Entrepreneurial Resource Center on Hanover Street. Others, specifically the Office of Cultural Affairs, works from office space on Cannon Street. Human Resources has reportedly moved to the Gaillard Center.

Only two departments, the Liveability Division and Tourism Division, are reportedly fully operating in the office space. The Economic and Neighborhood Services, Process and Service Improvement Division and Office of Internal Auditing are apparently scattered around the city in different city office spaces.

The City Paper contacted three members of city council to discuss the space. None said they had heard anything notable about the space at 200 Meeting St., including Mike Seekings, whose district includes the building.

Smelly, cold and loud

Rita said employees at the Meeting Street space had no idea how bad things were going to be when they first moved in.

“When we initially came over, there was no construction happening on the third floor other than the little bit they did for the offices we were moving into,” Rita said. “It wasn’t until late September that the construction started full blast. Now it’s to the point that we get an email every Monday detailing what construction activities are going on and how loud it is anticipated to be. It’s never accurate.”

Since construction started, employees complained about foul smells, low temperatures and, of course, the noise.

“We are in the process of tackling air quality and temperature issues,” Dieck wrote in the October email. “An HVAC technician was in the building yesterday and reset thermostats that were stuck at 65°. We know that working in coats and under blankets is not acceptable, so this remains a top priority.”

Six months later, HVAC issues are still ongoing, according to a second email obtained by the City Paper. Rita said that until late February, employees used space heaters, blankets and electric seat warmers to stay comfortable. In February, employees received an email alerting them that “brown/black debris has been falling from the vents.” It was reportedly duct liner.

A Feb. 6 email to employees includes a schedule for construction projects, planned power outages and more. At the top of the page, however, is a reminder that all dates are subject to change, “… so don’t write any dates down in permanent marker,” with a laughing emoji.

Employees also were advised they would be provided with battery-powered lighting to navigate the parking garage during the power outages.

According to Rita, there is no clear timeline on when the construction will be finished.
“They keep saying three months, then it’s three more months,” she said. “We’ve had fire alarms go off on three different occasions, and we had to evacuate due to the construction.”

Front-facing departments

A former city employee told the Charleston City Paper that he first realized there was a problem when he couldn’t get through to the city’s Human Resources department. Phone calls went unanswered for weeks.

Rita said conditions make it difficult to work with the public, even for those that are still at the physical location.

“You can’t get into the office without calling us first,” she said. “We will come out and meet you to bring you in. But you are discouraged from coming to the office. This is not how it used to be. … We should have never been moved to this building” Rita described previous years working for the city as fun, if not routine. But now, it’s just chaotic.