CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The City of Charleston is working with leaders at the Dockside Condominiums in Downtown Charleston to address structural issues within the building.

“I’ve lived here three years and I love it and I’m not moving. We’ll do what we have to do and that’s what we’re doing,” said Veronica Sarmanian, a Dockside resident.

Sarmanian said she is confident in the safety of the building, despite the structural deficiencies outlined in a letter from the City of Charleston.

The letter sent to the Dockside Association Board of Directors on February 15th required them to correct a number of problems. One of the main concerns is whether the building is fit to withstand an emergency.

According to the letter, the board hired an engineering consultant who determined last May, that dozens of columns need shoring. It also said only limited shoring was installed, despite directions form the engineers. The discovery of asbestos delayed the work.

Another letter from the city sent on March 3^rd, showed the Dockside Association said they are now moving forward with the shoring of 78 column areas, after the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control gave approval to reduce the number of columns requiring asbestos abatement.

“We have very competent people working on this and our board is a very competent number of professional people,” Sarmanian told News 2.

Anne Summer, the President of the Dockside Board of Directors, released the following statement to News 2:

“The safety of Dockside residents, staff, and visitors including first responders is our top priority. Since May 2022, when we proactively started this process by hiring a structural engineer to evaluate our building, we have been engaging with the City of Charleston, S.C. DHEC, engineering firms, and contractors. We are thankful for the positive working relationship with the City and are in the process of resolving our building needs quickly and safely within the timeline outlined by the City.

We have hired Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates– a globally recognized engineering firm which will provide us expertise on structural fire safety.  One of their safety professionals chaired the committee that investigated the 2007 Charleston Sofa Super Store fire. We are committed to providing a safe home for our residents and guests.”

Dockside leaders have until March 27 to submit a report to Charleston officials on the structural integrity of the building during a fire or other emergency.