By Emily Williams
April 26, 2022

With its outer shell nearly complete, the International African American Museum is expected to be finished later this year, but the actual opening could get pushed to the beginning of 2023.

Officials said this week that no decision has been made but that it might avoid scheduling its long-awaited debut in late 2022 to account for the holiday season.

The museum said in a written statement that it has “not ruled out a January 2023 opening date in order to avoid conflicts with schedules of those we hope may be in attendance, recognizing the general nature of a busy end of year schedule.”

Either way, it said, the museum will be ready by the fourth quarter.

The city has been managing the contract for site work and construction of the “shell” of the Concord Street structure. Charleston City Council approved the contracts in July 2019, and work at the waterfront site started shortly afterward.

This week, new spending adjustments were up for review to account for unexpected construction expenses and changes that the museum requested.

Edmund Most, deputy capital projects director for the city, said the supply-chain disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have been the biggest factor behind the higher costs.

Other increases were associated with changes the museum has made to landscaping, the security system and the kitchen, according to City Council’s April 26 meeting agenda, which included a review of the contract revisions.

The cost adjustments total about $2 million.

The IAAM is responsible for providing the funds needed for its changes, and it said it has “raised sufficient revenue” to pay for them.

Project organizers raised more than $100 million before work began. It has continued to seek out grants and donations to offset cost increases and to build an operating fund and an endowment.

Most recently, a combined $2 million in gifts and commitments were announced from two foundations and North Charleston chemical maker Ingevity Corp.

The IAAM’s opening date has been pushed forward by more than a year since the groundbreaking in October 2019, when late 2021 was the projected completion date. It was moved to late 2022 last fall.

The museum said it does “not anticipate any further delays” to its opening that would push the opening past the beginning of 2023.

Since the outer shell of the building is nearly finished, the city’s role in the construction phase is winding down while work on the interior sections ramps up, Most said. The museum began installing exhibits early last month. It’s been a “good handover,” Most said.

The project itself had been in the works for about two decades. The effort has over the years gained financial support from organizations around the world and has been both championed and scrutinized by Charleston locals calling for accurate representation of an often untold history.

The museum site, south of the South Carolina Aquarium, was once part of Gadsden’s Wharf, a major port of entry for enslaved people into the United States. In addition to the museum and its exhibits, the outdoor grounds are being made into gardens that will memorialize the history at the site.

Sources: Post and Courier