Charles S. Coleman Jr. has been building Columbia since graduating from Wofford College in 1965, the year he also married. He went to work immediately for his father and Coleman Construction Company. Charles S. Coleman Sr. founded the company in 1950.A registered engineer and already experienced in construction, Coleman Sr. built houses near Quinine Hill on property owned by Senator James Hammond. Hammond lived on Mill Pond, what is now a subdivision behind the Kroger grocery on Forest Drive.

Coleman Jr. matriculated through local public schools, to include Hand Junior High and Dreher High. He has two younger brothers, Tommy and Jake, and a younger sister, Sissy, now Mrs. Freeman.

An English major in college, Coleman took post-graduate courses in mathematics and engineering to pull himself up to his father's speed. Before taking over Coleman Construction in 1986, Coleman worked a six -year stint with Columbia's Harry Mashburn at Mashburn Construction. With Mashburn he managed projects in Columbia and Charleston.

The larger Charleston jobs included Citadel Plaza, Ashley Plaza, Corporate Square I and II, and the Carroll Building downtown. Coleman Jr. brought his commercial construction experience into Coleman Construction, a known and respected homebuilding company. Coleman has spent the last 20 years working both residential and commercial markets. 

The biggest difference in construction over those 20 years has to be the costs. Overall inflation has held pretty much in check, but construction inflation has floated along a bit faster. Today, a good price expectation for a custom-built home, one designed by an architect and built by a local builder, is no less than $130 a square foot.

Coleman is under way building a Blythewood house designed by Allan Marshall for about $130 a square foot. It's not hard, of course, to run costs up past $200 a square foot, all depending on details, fixtures, finishes, equipment, structural materials, and the like. Still, the fact that Coleman and Marshall can deliver a custom job for $130 a square foot is one good recommendation.

Coleman Construction's quality work has precipitated an unusual run of repeat customers. The firm has been in business 56 years and has built houses for the same people over and over. One loyal customer is Carol Jones, whose family runs Hampton Automotive. Jones has hired Coleman Construction for five houses in the Lake Murray area.

The best way to hire Coleman Construction is to negotiate a contract instead of inviting a low-ball bid. The bid process forces Coleman to lean on sub-contractors and suppliers with whom he has little familiarity. They may come to the table with the absolute lowest numbers, but then the construction can suffer as Coleman learns who is going to show up when and with what class crews.

A negotiated contract, on the other hand, allows Coleman to employ his own in-house crews, craftsmen of long-standing associations with Coleman Construction Company. Coleman knows what to expect from his tile men, bricklayers, carpenters, and others, and he can pass on the confidence to the customer.

Coleman built the restaurant interior at Rising High. The architect was Michael Kohn, and the customer was Kirkman Finlay III. Custom commercial interiors, what the building industry calls upfit or buildout, is a large part of the Coleman portfolio.

Coleman runs a family firm, and he makes a good living, but he never approaches any exposure or unsure situation that could alter the standing of the family name.

Charlie Coleman