Contact Information, Office Hours
Functions, Department Responsibilities
FAQ's , Common Terms, History, Interesting Facts

Functions

Planning, Design and Construction of County Buildings

The Capital Projects Department plans, designs, constructs, renovates and estimates the costs of building or remodeling County facilities. An in-house design staff is used for small to medium-sized projects. Departmental staff also function as the "owner's representative" and as the contact point during major renovation projects, design and construction of new facilities.

One of the Department's goals is to plan functional and user-friendly facilities that enable individual departments to provide more efficient services. Good examples of the achievement of this goal are the Service Centers , designed as one-stop locations for obtaining County services.

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This Department Does

	Plan, design and oversee construction of new County buildings
	Provide technical advice on construction
	Provide technical expertise for inspectors, when requested
	Perform contract administration services for department-related projects
	Perform value engineering on projects
	Ensure that necessary permits are obtained by the contractor and the County
	Monitor quality control to ensure contract compliance
	Review work activities to ensure code compliance and promote safety

This Department Does Not

	Act as general contractor in the construction or renovation of County buildings
	Perform routine maintenance of County buildings (See Facilities Management)
	Build roads, except those related to the construction of new facilities (See Public Works)

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common Terms

Construction Change Order Percentage-- The number of changes and adjustments to project costs resulting from changes in specifications made after a contract is awarded.

IFB Package (Invitation for Bid Package) -- An informational package provided to prospective bidding firms. It includes a project's purpose, design type and other requirements.

Value Engineering-- The study of a building's design, construction and long-term maintenance costs used to ascertain the building's final design features and determine the optimal means of construction.

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History

Created on July 1, 1988, as a division of Building Inspections, Capital Projects was designated as a separate, stand-alone department in 1990 after Hurricane Hugo but the departments were merged again in 1991, as the Divisions of Building Services.

In 1997, the two divisions regained independent departmental status. The Capital Projects Department is within the directorate of the Chief Deputy Administrator.

Interesting Facts

	Capital Projects' percentage of change orders is significantly lower than the national average for private sector construction, resulting in savings to local taxpayers.
	Value engineering during the design phase of the Main Library resulted in construction cost savings of 7 percent on the project. To date, over $2.5 million has been saved on value engineering of the Historic Courthouse.
	Two structures this Department planned, designed and constructed have received awards:

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Contact Information

Capital Projects Department
Lonnie Hamilton, III Public Services Building
4045 Bridge View Drive
North Charleston, SC 294051
(843) 202-6900
(843) 202-6919 (Fax)

Office Hours

Monday-Friday
8 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

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