The South Carolina Department of Social Services requested committee review of a proposed 22‑month lease for 24,683 square feet at 1628 Browning Road in Columbia to serve as temporary office space while the agency relocates to the new Richland County Family Services Center.

The Department of Administration said the site was the least expensive of two responses to its solicitation; the initial rental rate is $15.85 per square foot with a 3% increase thereafter and total rent over the initial term estimated at $727,120. The department said rent and operating expenses will be paid from state appropriations, federal funds and Medicaid, and that funding will be sufficient for the lease term.

During the committee discussion, members raised broader questions about long‑term space planning for DSS and the Department of Environmental Services (DES), referencing prior committee conversations about the Otterra (Oterra) complex and moving agencies off the Bull Street corridor. Ashley Lancaster, Department of Administration, said the department had conducted a second solicitation for DES and DSS sites, had received several responses, and that proposers could include build‑to‑suit offers; she said a proposer ‘‘could propose a build to suit that would be leased back to the state’’ and that constructing a state‑owned building would require General Assembly appropriation.

Committee direction and outcome: The committee approved the short‑term lease during the meeting. Committee members asked that Administration continue work on long‑term options, including whether build‑to‑suit proposals should be pursued or if the state should consider capital construction with legislative appropriation.

What the transcript shows: The item was presented as a short‑term relocation need driven by staff safety concerns at the current location; the Department of Administration affirmed that comparable commercial rates in the area were higher than the selected offer.