College of Charleston sues residence hall developer claiming construction deficiencies

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The College of Charleston filed a lawsuit on Tuesday claiming that there are building code violations at Marcia Kelly McAlister Residence Hall.

It’s located on St. Phillip Street in downtown Charleston. The college is suing McAlister Development Company, Holder Construction Group and subcontractors.

In the lawsuit, the college claims that there was negligence when the the McAlister Hall was built.

The college says the defendants failed to properly install cladding and other elements of the building to prevent leaks and to provide a weather resistance barrier.

The lawsuit states there are numerous construction deficiencies, building code violations and numerous instances of water intrusion in the hall.

According to CofC's website, it was built in 2002. It houses about 535 students and has 127 suites with activity room, study rooms, student lounges, laundry, a security office and a restaurant.

In the lawsuit, the college says McAlister Development based in Charleston County, contracted with Holder Construction Group, LLC based in Georgia, as the general contractor for the residence hall.

The college says in the future it will be forced to spend significant amount of money to repair damage and will have to pay to investigate the full extent of the problems.

The lawsuit goes on to say the college will also have to pay for design remediation plans and will suffer from loss of use of the hall as repairs are made.

The College of Charleston released the following statement:

"While the McAlister Residence Hall continues to be safe and livable for our students, the College will have to make significant investment in numerous remedial fixes for this building and is seeking redress for the major capital expenditure it will have to incur to redesign and install new mechanical systems and provide comprehensive repairs to its envelope in 2021."

We also reached out to the defendants for a comment on this matter.

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