A company that analyzes audio and video for government clients said Friday it is moving its headquarters to Charleston, into a converted video store that the city hopes will become a launching pad for technology startups.

Wave Sciences Corp. is one of the first tenants of the Flagship, a city-run “co-working business environment” at 475-A East Bay St., at the corner of East Bay and Calhoun streets. The building opened to entrepreneurs June 1 and is managed by the Charleston Digital Corridor, the city’s initiative to attract and grow technology companies, according to Wave Sciences.

Wave Sciences specializes in audio, video and computer forensics and signal processing for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance work, the company said. President J. Keith McElveen said he considered Atlanta, Raleigh and other South Carolina communities before choosing Charleston.

“There is an energy in Charleston similar to what I saw at Raleigh’s Research Triangle Park several years back,” McElveen said in the company’s announcement. “There is a definite feeling that this place is going somewhere.”

He cited the region’s growing cluster of security companies, its lifestyle, airline service at Charleston International Airport and proximity to his federal government customers, the company said. McElveen relocated from Hartsville, The Post and Courier reported.

From video store to office

In a release Tuesday, the city called the Flagship Charleston’s “premier co-working business environment,” saying it had quickly become home to four companies. The building is a former Hollywood Video store.

“The space is certainly different than anything we have in Charleston and should achieve its goal of attracting significant technology companies to the City,” building owner John Rivers said after touring it, according to the city.

Over eight weeks, the 5,400-square-foot space was converted into a series of small glass-walled office stations, The Post and Courier reported. It also has on-site parking, high-speed internet connections, conference rooms and common areas.

Rents are $400 to $800 a month, and the space is managed by a nonprofit arm of the Digital Corridor, the newspaper reported. Leases generally run about a year. The project was announced in January.

“The setting is very cool,” Mayor Joe Riley said, according to The Post and Courier. He called the Flagship part of the city’s commitment to help incubate and grow “new economy” businesses.

Who moved in

The first tenants include FirstString Research, a Medical University of South Carolina spinoff developing therapies to reduce scarring and help tissue heal, the newspaper reported. President and CEO Gautam S. Ghatnekar said the location was the draw because his company uses a lab at MUSC.

“I can hop in the car and be there in five minutes,” Ghatnekar told The Post and Courier.

PalmettoTech LLC, a software developer started by former Blackbaud Inc. employee Jeff Montgomery, moved in from an office in West Ashley that sat between a massage therapist and a real estate firm, according to the newspaper. Montgomery said he wanted to be near other business owners facing similar challenges.

“It’s more expensive than what we were paying but it’s well worth it,” Montgomery said, according to The Post and Courier.

Picking tenants

Ernest Andrade, the city’s business development director and head of the Digital Corridor, came up with the Flagship idea, The Post and Courier reported. He said he is looking for promising young startups in fields such as biotech and software, and that the building is not meant to be a long-term home.

Andrade said he hopes the Flagship will build a “sense of loyalty” among small firms that pass through and later expand and create jobs, according to the newspaper. He also said it will showcase the region’s technology talent to visiting venture capitalists.

“The city has stepped up its game,” Andrade said, according to The Post and Courier.

“We envisioned companies like Wave Sciences Corporation utilizing the Flagship,” Andrade said in the Wave Sciences announcement.

A bigger city office

The Flagship also houses the city’s Office of Business Development, which Andrade leads, the city said Tuesday. The office is applying the Digital Corridor’s approach to other parts of the economy. Kimberly Taylor is returning to the Digital Corridor as program manager, and Kendra Keller is joining as business development project coordinator, the city said.

“With a ramped up staff, the Office of Business Development, led by Ernest Andrade, enables us to expand upon the Digital Corridor’s proven business development model by applying it to other sectors of our economy,” Riley said in the city’s announcement.

Andrade launched the Digital Corridor in 2001 while working in the city’s economic development office, The Post and Courier has reported. Riley welcomed Wave Sciences on Friday.

“The city of Charleston is making all the necessary program and infrastructure investments to support knowledge-based companies and the location of Keith’s company to our beautiful city validates our commitment,” Riley said in the company’s announcement.