OFFICE FOR COASTAL MANAGEMENT

coast.noaa.gov

NOAA Office for Coastal Management

Directions

Office for Coastal Management, Charleston
2234 South Hobson Avenue
Charleston, South Carolina 29405-2413
Phone: (843) 740-1200
Fax: (843) 740-1224

Note
GPS: Use "North Charleston" as the city.

Visitor Requirements

Visitors, guests, and new hires must register at the Visitor Center on Chaffee Street (see directions and maps below). The following information is required:

  • Valid driver's license or government-issued picture ID.
  • Visitors from the following locations must have a second form of identification (passport, birth certificate, government-issued picture ID) in addition to a driver's license: Alaska, Minnesota, American Samoa , Montana, Arizona, New Jersey, Kentucky, New York, Louisiana, Northern Mariana Islands, Maine, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, and Washington.
  • Proof of insurance and registration for vehicle.
  • For rental cars, the rental car agreement and current registration.
  • Any person intending to visit the NOAA Office for Coastal Management in Charleston who is not a U.S. citizen, as well as U.S. citizens born outside the U.S., must notify the office at least 60 days before their visit. Our office is located within a Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, which must obtain visitor approval from the Department of Homeland Security.
  • Visitors entering the federal complex by taxi will be required to go through the commercial vehicle inspection station, which is at the corner of Bainbridge Avenue and Viaduct Road, before entering the Visitor Center (see federal complex map below).

Directions from Points North

  1. Take I-26 east (toward Charleston) to exit 216B, the Cosgrove Avenue exit.
  2. Follow Cosgrove Avenue north for approximately 1 mile until you reach Spruill Avenue at the third traffic light.
  3. Turn right onto Spruill Avenue and drive for approximately 1 mile until you reach Viaduct Road at the third traffic light (a convenience store will be at this intersection on the right).
  4. Turn left onto Viaduct Road.
  5. Cross the bridge and then bear right on the curved exit. The commercial vehicle entrance (for taxis) is on the right before the stop sign.
  6. Turn left at the stop sign onto Bainbridge Avenue.
  7. Follow Bainbridge Avenue until the road turns left onto Chaffee Street (just before the barriers). The Visitor Center will be immediately on the right.
  8. Stop at the Visitor Center to obtain a temporary vehicle and visitor’s badge. Turn right out of the Visitor Center onto Chaffee Street (stay in the left lane) and stop at the security checkpoint.
  9. Drive down Chaffee Street until it ends, and turn right onto South Hobson Avenue.
  10. Drive on South Hobson Avenue a short distance (less than 100 yards) until you reach the NOAA Office for Coastal Management, 2234 South Hobson Avenue, the first building on the left.
  11. Parking is in front and to the left of the facility. Enter the building through the front double doors on South Hobson Avenue. Press the buzzer for access.

Directions from Points South (Downtown Charleston)

  1. Head northwest on Meeting St., take a slight right onto Spruill Ave and drive for approximately 1 mile until you reach Viaduct Road (a convenience store will be at this intersection on the left).
  2. Turn right onto Viaduct Road.
  3. Cross the bridge and then bear right on the curved exit. The commercial vehicle entrance (for taxis) is on the right before the stop sign.
  4. Turn left at the stop sign onto Bainbridge Avenue.
  5. Follow Bainbridge Avenue until the road turns left onto Chaffee Street (just before the barriers). The Visitor Center will be immediately on the right.
  6. Stop at the Visitor Center to obtain a temporary vehicle and visitor’s badge. Turn right out of the Visitor Center onto Chaffee Street (stay in the left lane) and stop at the security checkpoint.
  7. Drive down Chaffee Street until it ends, and turn right onto South Hobson Avenue.
  8. Drive on South Hobson Avenue a short distance (less than 100 yards) until you reach the NOAA Office for Coastal Management, 2234 South Hobson Avenue, the first building on the left.
  9. Parking is in front and to the left of the facility. Enter the building through the front double doors on South Hobson Avenue. Press the buzzer for access.

Office for Coastal Management, Silver Spring
1305 East West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910-9997
Phone: (301) 713-3156
Fax: (301) 713-4012

Visitor Requirements

Access to the NOAA Silver Spring Metro Center (SSMC) Complex is limited to NOAA employees and contractors with current badges.

Visitors that do not have a Common Access Card (CAC) badge, and foreign national visitors or guests:
Visitors may be admitted during business hours after signing in with the security officer at the desk. The visitor must provide a valid photo identification and destination. Valid identification can be a driver's license, employer identification, or other picture identification. The visitor will be issued a one-day visitor badge. All visitors must sign-in with the security officer at the desk upon arrival and return the visitor badge to the security desk when departing the building for the day. The visitor must wear the visitor badge on an outer garment, above the waist, at all times while in NOAA facilities.

NOAA offices that sponsor conferences, meetings, working groups, or other events can help speed the visitor access process by providing the Office of Security at NOAA with as much advance notice as possible (at least two weeks before the event date). The Foreign National Visitor/Guest Coversheet Report Form must be faxed by sponsor to the Office of Security two weeks before scheduled visit for processing.

  • Email must be sent to the Office of Security (visitoraccess.security@noaa.gov) with the following information:

    In the subject of the email: Notification of Visitor
    Name of visitor(s)
    Location of visit (building number)
    Date(s) of visit
    Time of visit
    Unclassified purpose of visit
    Name and telephone number of sponsor(s) or person(s) to be visited
    Office of sponsor(s) or person(s) to be visited (that individual must come down to the guard desk and sign the visitor in each day)

  • On the day of the visit, the visitor enters through the lobby entrance of the building and goes directly to the building security desk.
  • Visitor lets the guard know that he or she is here to attend a meeting or visit an employee.
  • The guard will contact the sponsor or person to be visited and ask this individual to come down to accept the visitor. This must be done each day.
  • Any person intending to visit the NOAA Office for Coastal Management who is not a U.S. citizen must notify the office at least 60 days before their visit.
  • Visitor must show a valid state-issued driver’s license or identification card, or passport.
  • Foreign nationals are required to bring with them two forms of identification.
  • Visitor is required to sign in at the building security desk.
  • Visitor is issued a time-expiring NOAA visitor badge valid for one day only. Visitor badges must be worn on the outer garment and above the waist at all times while in NOAA facilities.

Acceptable Forms of Identification

The REAL ID Act requires that federal agencies accept only state-issued drivers’ licenses and identification cards that are compliant with the act as authorized forms of credentialing in order for the visitor to enter federal facilities. Drivers’ licenses from the following states and territories that are not compliant with the REAL ID Act include Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Washington*, Minnesota*, and New York*.

*Minnesota, New York, and Washington offer an enhanced driver’s license that is REAL ID Act-compliant.

These alternate forms of identification are included:

  • U.S. passport
  • U.S. passport card
  • U.S. Department of Defense CAC
  • U.S. federal agency HSPD-12-compliant identification cards
  • U.S. veterans identification
  • U.S. military dependent identification card
  • U.S. trusted traveler card – Global Entry, SENTRI, OR NEXUS
  • U.S. transportation workers identification credential (TWIC)
  • State issued REAL ID-compliant driver’s licenses and identification cards

Directions By Metro

  1. Take the metro red line train toward Glenmont and stop at the Silver Spring station.
  2. To walk to NOAA, exit the station to the left; go left on Colesville Road, then left on East West Highway.

Directions By Car

To get to the heart of downtown Silver Spring, there are two options:

  1. Take the Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) to exit 31B/Georgia Avenue South or 30B/Colesville Road South.
  2. Follow 16th Street North from the District of Columbia and take a right on Colesville Road.

Directions From Reagan National Airport

  1. Take I-395 North to Washington
  2. Take 12th Street Exit and turn right on 16th Street
  3. Turn Right on Colesville Road (Route 29 North)
  4. The hotel is located on the corner of Colesville Road and Spring Street (on the right)

Directions From Baltimore International Airport

  1. Take I-195 West to I-95 South
  2. Take I-495 West To Silver Spring
  3. Exit at 30B (Colesville Road/Route 29 South)
  4. Go two miles from the exit
  5. The hotel is located on the corner of Colesville Road and Spring Street (on the left)

Parking

Downtown Silver Spring offers more than 10,000 public parking spaces. Look for the parking symbols on the adjacent map.

 

Charleston Federal Complex Map

 

Silver Spring Federal Complex Map

 

Silver Spring Parking and Metro