Ground broken for $142M Charleston arts center

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) _ Work is under way in earnest on a $142 million makeover of the Gaillard Municipal Auditorium in Charleston to create a world class performing arts center. Mayor Joe Riley got things going Tuesday when he took the controls of an excavator and knocked down a portion of the portico outside the building that serves as a major venue for the internationally known Spoleto Festival USA. The public-private plan calls for reducing the number of auditorium seats from 2,700 to 1,800. The new Gaillard Center will also have a convention hall, banquet rooms and city offices. The project is scheduled to be completed in December 2014.