$1.1M Contract Awarded to Local Minority-Owned Firm

Columbia Housing Awards $1.1M Contract to Minority-Owned Firm to Renovate Central Office

Columbia, SC........ Columbia Housing's Central Office Building at 1917 Harden Street is preparing for a facelift and will use Columbia-based company G & C General Contractors, owned by Pervis Gibson to complete the work. G & C General Contracting is a minority-owned firm.

"The Central Office Building was built in 1986 but had never been renovated," says SVP of Development Cindi Herrera. "These improvements are long overdue. We are excited that a local minority-owned firm has been selected for the work," concludes Herrera.

Below is a summary of the findings of the assessment of the Central Office Building that resulted in prioritizing the renovations of this building.

• Working space is not conducive for residents to share private information with employees.
• The space for the IT server does not comply with IT security requirements. The IT server stores resident private information; the upgrades will provide better security and safety of that information. 
• The building does not comply with public accessibility standards to accommodate residents, visitors, and employees. 
• The roof has exceeded its useful life and regularly leaks.
• HVAC systems are inadequate and not in compliance with codes.

"This building is where our 16,000+ residents come for services and our 100+ staff works to deliver those services," says CEO Ivory Mathews.  "It is important that the building reflect the dignity and utility that our residents and staff deserve. This gives us an opportunity to improve our service delivery, bring the building up to code, and provide decent accommodations to both residents and staff. Right now many employees who directly serve residents do so in open cubicles with no privacy. We can now move employees into more secure office spaces to better serve our residents." concludes Mathews.  

The funds to pay for the renovations will come from Administrative Reserves-monies earned monthly by Columbia Housing for its administration of the Housing Choice Voucher Program. Those funds are slated for physical improvements to administrative office spaces and are not eligible for residential public housing usage. The renovation is slated to begin May 1, 2021.

Columbia Housing Administrative Office Plans Below

Follow Us At

Please visit our website at ColumbiaHousingsc.org for more information about Columbia Housing!