Gaillard residents vent over construction fallout

Angry residents living near the Gaillard Auditorium demolition in downtown Charleston lashed out at the project’s leaders this afternoon, saying it’s led to intolerable noise, the violent shaking of their homes and a horrible street mess.

But one of the biggest complaints - and one that officials admitted they erred on - is the large clouds of particle dust that has been let go, coating cars, homes and backyards for blocks around.

“We can’t open our windows,” said Bill Milner, who lives just across from the Gaillard property, on Wall Street. “It’s just plain nasty,” he said of the goop that got thicker after today’s light rain.

Some said they were misled by the construction timetable they were given, mainly on the number of Saturdays they were told work would be necessary. Others said the vibrations affecting their homes begins early in the day, even before they’ve had a chance to prepare for it.

The $142 million Gaillard Center renovation will turn the 1968-era auditorium and exhibition space into a modern and more acoustically sound building to better support the Spoleto Festival USA and the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, among other presentations. City offices are also being incorporated into the new design.

Reach Schuyler Kropf at 937-5551.