BEST ADVICE Tim Myers president, 1st Choice
PAGE 4 VOLUME 27 NUMBER 17 ■ CHARLESTONBUSINESS.COM
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Condo collapse refocuses attention on private inspections By Jenny Peterson
Taking her shot
CEO Lou Kennedy mandates vaccines for Nephron employees. Page 10
Goodwill hunting
Palmetto Goodwill looks to replace its longtime CEO who recently stepped down. Page 11
Lowe and behold
Citadel engineering cadets receive on-site training at The Cooper. Page 6
W
Contributing Writer
ith the collapse of the condominium complex in Florida that killed nearly 100 in June, renewed interest has emerged in building codes and inspections, especially in coastal towns. A sobering fact is that while there are many regulations on both state and local levels
regarding structural integrity when any building or major structure is first built, there aren’t required inspections in the ensuing years for private projects — unlike bridges, which go through regular inspections. “(State projects) go through a cycle where the state investigates, looks at them and makes sure there’s nothing showing deterioration, but the problem is that most of our building stock is private buildings, so everything
NURSES IN CRISIS With pandemic uncertainty adding stress to a struggling job sector, fewer people see nursing as a viable career choice. Page 16
Culture care
Patrick Lencioni stresses the importance of healthy office culture. Page 9
INSIDE
Upfront................................. 2 SC Biz News Briefs................. 3 Best Advice........................... 4 In Focus: Health Care......................... 15 List: Retirement Communities...................... 18 At Work............................... 19 Hot Properties...................... 21 Viewpoint............................23
Dr. Stephanie Whitener waits for the all-clear to walk into the COVID-19 unit at MUSC’s main hospital. The pandemic has put stress on doctors and nurses across S.C. (Photo/MUSC)
Stellar invention
College of Charleston astronomy and physics professor invents cervical cancer detector. Page 14
is left up to the owner of the building,” said Tim Mays, civil engineering professor at The Citadel School of Engineering. It’s typically the responsibility of building owners to ask qualified engineers to do structural evaluations — either preventatively, or after noticing structural damage. However, some municipalities, including the city of See INSPECTION, Page 12
Billionaire to buy Belmond Charleston Place By Alexandria Ng
C
ang@scbiznews.com
harleston billionaire businessman and philanthropist Benjamin Navarro is adding the luxury downtown hotel Charleston Place to his long list of assets. Beemok Capital, the family office of Navarro, has confirmed that it will be acquiring the hotel from Belmond, an international hospitality and leisure brand with a presence in 22 countries. The transaction is expected to be completed later in the year upon approval and clearance from relevant local authorities, Belmond representatives said in a statement. Terms of the agreement have not yet been disclosed. Belmond and Beemok Capital did not want to discuss other terms of the sale or answer questions about any possible changes to the signature property until the deal officially closes. Charleston Place, located at 205 Meeting St. in the heart of historic downtown, is a 433-room property with 40,000 square feet of event space, a rooftop infinity pool and private two-story lounge. Starting rates for a deluxe See HOTEL, Page 7