North Charleston SBDC office in search of new location
June 23, 2014
N. CHARLESTON – The North Charleston office of the SC Small Business Development Centers is looking for some help in locating a new home for the second time in the past three years.
The lease agreement at the current office located in the First Federal Corporate Center at 2430 Mall Dr. will end at the end of the year. First Federal and its properties were purchased by SCBT in early 2013, and the new owner has decided it would like to try to do something else with the space that was leased to the SBDC at a community service rate.
The SBDC has been located on Mall Drive since January of 2012 when it had to move from its previous location for a similar reason.
Nationally, the SBDC operates as an economic development organization under the overview of the Small Business Administration and helps entrepreneurs and small businesses free of charge with business planning, operations management and capital formation, among other things. The Charleston offices saw 462 clients in 2013 and helped businesses add 207 jobs to the area and raise $1.9 million in capital.
The North Charleston office has been particularly active in helping clients become eligible for government procurement contracts. In 2013, the clients of the office’s government procurement specialists garnered $617.6 million in contract awards.
Ideally, Charleston area director Tom Lauria would like to maintain an office in the North area in order to stay close to the defense industry contractors who make use of the SBDC’s clients for sub-contracting needs. Also, the Charleston area has some office space donated by the Citadel’s School of Business Administration, and it has been a benefit of geographical convenience to the SBDC’s clientele to have the two locations spread apart.
The state SBDC operates with 17 locations, most of which are operated under a partnership with a local college, university or government agency which provides office space free of charge. The North Charleston office is one of the few offices within the network that has had to carve a substantial rent expense from its budget. Short of getting space donated, the Charleston SBDC looks for an organization that is willing to provide a discount on the normal rent.
Lauria said the Charleston SBDC is looking for a 1,000-square foot space that can hold three or four offices and a reception area.
Anyone interested in providing a new home for the SBDC can contact Lauria at (843) 740-6160.
Seventeen South Carolina Small Business Development Centers across the state offer individual, confidential business consulting at no cost. Centers conduct affordable education workshops and provide referrals to useful business resources. Visit www.SCSBDC.com.
