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Charleston Digital Corridor expands with two new tech companies

Submitted by: John Warner on Apr 20, 2002 at 5:00 am Tagged with: General Archives Source:

Swamp Fox

Charleston Digital Corridor expands with two new tech companies
Charleston Regional Business Journal, April 2002
By Kelly Love Johnson, Managing Editor

In late March, the Charleston Digital Corridor, a marketing effort by the City
of Charleston to attract, nurture and promote knowledge-based enterprise in
targeted areas of the city, announced the addition of two new members.

Sans Locus, a net-based marketing and business solutions provider, has located
in the Corridor's University District at 418 King Street and SunCom, member of
the AT&T Wireless Network, has located in the Cainhoy District at the corporate
center on Daniel Island.

SunCom, owned by Triton PCS Holdings Inc., was launched in 1997 and opened its
regional headquarters here more than two years ago in Parkshore Centre west of
the Ashley. The company quickly outgrew the office space and began shopping
around for new headquarters. Though they considered other states, SunCom serves
an area from northern Virginia to Atlanta, so Charleston's location was key in
keeping the company here.

From its staff of 135 serving the Carolinas just a few years ago, SunCom's
$13.5 million, 100,000-square-foot Daniel Island regional headquarters will be
staffed by approximately 600 employees in areas including administration,
customer service, engineering, sales and marketing.

Web and Internet services firm Sans Locus (Latin for ''without location''),
formed earlier this year by former Opus Media employees Joe Bryan and Jamie
Posnanski, currently has a staff of six, including two senior designers and two
lead developers. Sans Locus offers advanced web design, development and
software applications to automate and streamline marketing, business and
operational procedures. The company's client list includes Kiawah Island,
Dolphin Builders, Skirt! Magazine, Cisco Systems and Cingular Wireless.

''Ernest Andrade and the Charleston Digital Corridor were instrumental in our
decision to locate downtown—not only in helping us find the appropriate office
space, but in countless other ways,'' says Posnanski. ''From providing assistance
in acquiring a business license, to guiding us to a fantastic local funding
source, right down to finding affordable parking options, the corridor creates
a nurturing environment for businesses wishing to locate in downtown
Charleston. I can't tell you how beneficial it is to have an advocate within
the system who is always available to help.''

According to Ernest Andrade, director of the Charleston Digital Corridor, Sans
Locus will assist the corridor with the development of its marketing campaign,
which ''will allow us to communicate our message with a new audience including
venture capital firms, law firms and growing companies.

''The corridor is making Charleston's most compelling business locations a value
proposition,'' continues Andrade. ''From a vibrant urban environment in downtown
Charleston to the campus-like setting on Daniel Island, we have it all.
Underutilized or unused loft spaces in the district offer companies 18th
century architecture with access to 21st century technology. True value is and
should not be measured solely on a cost per square foot basis.''