GSP UPDATES

The Business of Upstate, South Carolina

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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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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June 2019 Newsletter

Spartanburg

Just when I thought things might be slowing down around town…

The old Snyder Electric property downtown sold for $6M (the land sits in an Opportunity Zone).  Maybe the Grain District’s time has come? (SHJ)

A plan for townhomes at Drayton Mills is approved (118 town homes on 20 acres). (SHJ)

Bon Haven apartment project gets approval.  (GoUpstate)

Spartanburg plans road improvements with new funds.  (GoUpstate)

Toray Industries has developed new carbon fiber materials that are expected to slash production costs for aircraft parts by up to half…and they have a plant right here in our backyard.  (Nikkei) H/T WSJ


Greenville

Carl Sobocinski (Soby’s, The Lazy Goat, Passerelle Bistro, Papi’s Tacos, and more) plans to sell many of his restaurants to employees. (Forbes) H/T Greenville Business Magazine

Top 21 Commercial Real Estate projects in Greenville (Upstate Business Journal)

GVL is working on a long term plan for its development – GVL2040 (City of Greenville)  CZB will be the consultant. (CZB)  H/T  GVL Today


The State

Mixed signals from SC Ports – TEUs are down for the second month (still the best May ever) but the the number of rail moves at Inland Port Greer continues to rise.  (Greenville Business Mag)

What’s behind the numbers?  Nothing, literally.  Turns out empty containers accounted for nearly 23% of all containers loaded.  “That’s 501,010 cargo boxes filled with nothing but air over the last 11 months — a 36.1% increase over the number of empties crossing the terminals during the same period a year earlier…Empties have helped the port set monthly cargo volume records eight times this fiscal year.”  (Post and Courier)

And on a related note…The State Ports Authority seeks an exemption from proposed tariffs on Chinese-made goods, as the import tax would cost it an extra $36 million for 12 cranes it is buying. (Post and Courier) 

I found this interesting…China has reduced imports of plastic waste (old water bottles, etc.) but is increasing imports of plastic pellets.  Orangeburg, SC is home to a Chinese recycling firm, Ecomelida, that turns plastic waste into pellets.  (Greenville Business Mag)

A Charleston cab company disrupts the distruptors.  What’s old is new again.  (Post and Courier)


The Bigger Picture

Where an entire day’s worth of food comes from. Something we give little thought to, but we should think more about.  (Grub Street)

A.I. turns brain signals into speech.  This has huge implications for those who are unable to speak, but may be able to communicate with others in the future. (WSJ)

Mobile, AL figured out a way to reduce its number of blighted homes by 45%, from 1,625 properties to 891. (Fast Company)

My Blog

What Will We Leave Behind?  Thoughts on a trail expansion in
Spartanburg.  (jpfaris.com)