SouthCon Building Group Wins National EIC Award from ABC for Boone Hall Gin House Renovation and Addition
SouthCon Building Group, a full-service general contractor based in Mount Pleasant, received a National Excellence in Construction (EIC) Award for a local historic preservation project during the Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Convention 2025 in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 26. SouthCon was National Runner-Up in the Historical Restoration (Up to $15 million) category, bringing home ABC’s Pyramid Award for its exceptional performance on the 1850s Gin House Renovation and Addition project at Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens in Mount Pleasant.
SouthCon Building Group President and CEO Chris Spach noted, “The purpose of this complicated interior and exterior restoration project was to create a multi-purpose event space set against a timeless backdrop. Having our work recognized with distinction at the national level is a great honor. SouthCon appreciates the dedication of the design team, our subcontractors, suppliers, and service providers who helped make this a truly outstanding project for our client, Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens.”
SouthCon became eligible to compete in ABC’s National EIC Awards competition last fall after winning the coveted first-place Eagle Award for this project at the ABC Carolinas chapter level. For SouthCon, being singled out as ABC Carolinas’ “2024 Project of the Year” was an unexpected bonus.
National ABC EIC Award winners were selected from hundreds of entries submitted from across the country. They were judged on complexity, attractiveness, unique challenges overcome, completion time, workmanship, innovation, safety and cost. A panel of industry experts served as the competition’s judges. This year’s judges included representatives from the Design-Build Institute of America, Engineering News-Record, Construction Owners Association of America, the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Building Sciences, the Smithsonian Institution and other select construction-related organizations nationwide.
About the Project
Boone Hall’s Gin House Renovation and Addition was a technically complex project that created a multipurpose event space, gift shop and museum at the heart of America’s most photographed plantation. Built more than 170 years ago to house the plantation’s original cotton gin, the two-story “Gin House” had been “shuttered” for 15 years when SouthCon began renovation/restoration activities. As SouthCon tackled numerous anticipated challenges, the team encountered an array of unforeseen conditions. One major unexpected challenge was creating a seamless tie-in from the Gin House to the new construction portion due to a severely bulging north wall.
In February 2024, SouthCon was part of a team that received two Carolopolis Awards from the Preservation Society of Charleston for this project – one for Exterior renovations, the other for Interior renovations. The award-winning project team included Goff D’Antonio Associates, architect; EM Structural Engineers; DWG Consulting Engineers (MEP); and SouthCon Building Group, general contractor. Boone Hall’s Gin House was the only project to win in more than one category.
About SouthCon Building Group — SouthCon Building Group serves commercial, industrial, retail and institutional clients throughout the Carolinas and Georgia from its headquarters in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. SouthCon Building Group was founded in 2008 by President and CEO Chris Spach, LEED AP.
To learn more, visit www.southconbuilding.com.
