GSP UPDATES

November 2022 Newsletter

KC developer purchases 310 acres in Spartanburg to build industrial park

Located at 2116 US HWY 221 / Chesnee HWY
Home to Spartan Enterprise Park
Consists of 5 industrial buildings, from 287K up to 1.5M square feet

(Source: Upstate Business Journal)

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8 Spartanburg County projects seeking tax breaks could bring 900 jobs, $775M investment

(Source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal)

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130 acres in Woodruff sold to developer Forestar Group for development of 608 single-family homes

(Source: WSPA)

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Spartanburg County Trails: Council backs $1.8M request to finish 2 projects, start third

(Source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal)

Laura Ringo (PAL) asked the council to provide $300K from the county’s trails fund to complete a section that connects the Drayton and Beaumont mill villages
Spartanburg County Council approved a request for up to $1.8M to complete 2 trail projects

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BMW makes SC record $1.7B investment to build all-electric cars in Spartanburg, SC

(Source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal)

BMW Group announces a $1.7B capital investment to build all-electric vehicles at the Spartanburg plant
Includes $1B to prep for production of electric vehicles
$700M to build a 1M-square-foot high-voltage battery assembly plant
300 new jobs
Located in Woodruff
Largest capital investment in SC history

More BMW stats:

BMW Spartanburg has produced 6M vehicles since 1994
Its invested $12B / generated 11K jobs
Can manufacture 450K vehicles a year in Spartanburg
Plans to reach 400K electric vehicle sales worldwide next year
Partnered with Envision AESC to build the new battery cell assembly plant
BMW plant is supported by 300+ US suppliers, including 40+ in SC

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Visual Comfort establishing Spartanburg County operations with $62M investment

(Source: OneSpartanburg)

$62M investment / 125 new jobs over five years
Located at Smith Farms Industrial Park in Greer
Operations begin Jan 2023
The Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved a $300K Set-Aside grant to help w/ building improvement costs

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SC Ports drives economic growth in the Upstate

(Source: OneSpartanburg)

Inland Port Greer (IPG) opened in 2013 w/ BMW as the launch customer
In 2022, IPG handled more than 150K rail lifts (150K containers were moved on or off trains)
“Inland Port Greer extends the Port of Charleston’s reach 212 miles inland with Norfolk Southern’s daily, overnight rail service, enabling imports and exports to quickly flow between Charleston and the Upstate.”
“Before this facility opened, one truck driver could go to Charleston and back in a day. Now that same truck driver can come here five to 10 times a day to load and unload containers,” – Inland Port Greer Terminal Manager Will Angelich
Phase 1 of expansion = building an additional rail processing track and two rail storage tracks
Phase 2 of expansion = expanding the container yard by 15 acres to the east and the west to handle 50% more cargo
Also includes doubling the size of the existing chassis yard capacity and building new facilities for heavy lift maintenance & terminal operations
Completion is planned for Winter 2024
SC Ports is also building the Navy Base Intermodal Facility in N Charleston

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Greenville dining group celebrates 17 years by next restaurant

(Source: GSA Business Report)

Rick Erwin Dining Group celebrated the opening of its 8th restaurant, The Vista
Located at 2017 Augusta St

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Winar Connection establishing operations in Spartanburg County

(Source: OneSpartanburg)

Winar Connection manufactures custom cable products
Will establish operations in Spartanburg County
$5M investment will create 50 new jobs

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Maersk Begins New Cargo Connection from GSP to Seoul, South Korea

(Source: OneSpartanburg)

Twice weekly flights using Boeing 767 freighter aircraft
GSP will be the first SC airport to offer scheduled cargo service to Asia
In 2021, air cargo volume increased by 48% to 98,000 tons
GSP ranked #21 in the US based on international trade volume
In 2023, the airport plans to start a cargo apron expansion that will double aircraft parking capacity from 3 Boeing 747s to 6

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Lean Kitchen now open in Spartanburg

(Source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal)

Lean Kitchen is a meal service franchise with locations in Greenville and Anderson and Spartanburg
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Sully’s Steamers, a local bagel shop franchise, plans to open in Spartanburg

(Source: Spartanburg Herald-Journal)

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Failed Panthers HQ bankruptcy nears end as Rock Hill seeks ownership of site

(Source: Post & Courier)

Rock Hill is seeking to win approval from a federal bankruptcy judge next month to take ownership of the 240-acre site off I-77 in a deal made with the team’s owner
“The pending bankruptcy plan is less generous to York County, which has instead chosen to file a lawsuit to win back the $21 million invested, as well as $60 million in damages. That litigation remains ongoing.”

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“Pay in Laurens is rising faster than anywhere in the Upstate…” (Post & Courier). See also, “Bolstered by the regional powerhouse that is the Upstate’s automotive sector, around 50 percent of Laurens County’s manufacturing production is related to this industry.” (Greenville Business Magazine)

For the past 10 years SC has set records for exports – $41.5 billion last year. Two big exports – tires and passenger motor vehicles. (Midlands Biz, H/T GVL Today)

Teamwork in the Upstate…”The basis of Union County’s approach to workforce development comes down to three important things: location, location, location. Positioned to not only recruit workers from five nearby counties in the Upstate, Union also attracts talent from the Columbia area, as well as Charlotte. Working together with neighboring counties such as Spartanburg and Greenville to share resources and training opportunities has allowed Union to align training programs with real work opportunities and establish a pipeline of skilled workers for local industries.” (Greenville Business Magazine)

Real Estate

“Over the last 12 months in downtown Greenville and downtown Spartanburg, vacancy rates increased and asking rents also increased, which may seem counterintuitive. A deeper dive reveals many of the new mixed-use projects in the CBD take a long time to develop and the retail spaces typically lease up after the major anchor (hotel, apartments, office) is open.” (Upstate Business Journal)

Industrial sites continue to be built (and filled) in Charleston – bringing the total to 57.2 million square feet of warehouse space. (Post & Courier)

Food & Entertainment

Spartanburg was named one of the 25 coolest towns in American. (Matador Network, H/T GVL Today)

Parks & Rec

$27 million has been secured to help clear Camp Croft of leftover munitions. (GoUpstate)

Travel

Charleston added more than 900 hotel rooms in 2019 and set a record for the number of stays. (Post & Courier)

January 2020 Newsletter

Real Estate

Where did “Sparkle City” originate? (Kidding Around Spartanburg, H/T GVL Today)

A Spartanburg developer has plans for 196-unit manufactured home park on a 48.5-acre site at Carolina and Wimberly drives, south of the city. (GoUpstate)

Economy

BMW had a record production year. “This confirms the South Carolina plant will remain the largest plant by volume in the BMW Group’s global production network.” – (BMW Group)

GVL lands at #34 in Inc’s article titled “The 50 Best U.S. Cities for Starting a Business in 2020” (Inc.com)

GVL County had a good year too with “$401.8 million in capital investment announced, with 2,178 new jobs with average salaries of just above $48,000.” – (Upstate Business Journal)

Logistics

Charleston set an all-time cargo record in 2019, helped by bigger cranes, a refurbished container terminal and ships passing through the Panama Canal. (Post & Courier)

However, the Panama Canal traffic may be impacted by drought conditions in the country…

“The Panama Canal, and Central America more broadly, is experiencing one of the worst droughts in its recorded history. With less water, the canal is forced to place restrictions on the amount of cargo ships can carry, meaning carriers have to limit the shippers they can serve on routes that rely on this waterway.” – (Supply Chain Dive)

What are the alternatives? Quoting Supply Chain Dive again, “The canal has had reduced operations in the past, Slangerup said. This led to shippers looking for other routes from Asia to the U.S. East Coast, like through the Suez Canal or through West Coast ports and across rail and truck networks.”

Entertainment

Greenville’s first open-air food hall is just weeks away from opening. The space will house 13 restaurants. (Greenville Journal)

See photos on the official website.

Education

See pictures of the dedication of the new Spartanburg High School (GoUpstate)

Parks & Rec

The city of Greer is buying a Country Club with plans to make it a public course. (Greenville Journal)

Art

The Heirloom Companies is the family-owned company behind the award-winning Brown Street sign. See pictures (Greenville Journal) Watch a video of them making the vines (Greenville Journal). Every part of the sign has meaning.

“The ivy curling around the stanchions represents both the tragic decline of Greenville’s industry and the opportunity for new life to sprout and grow.” – Greenville Journal

Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!

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