NEWSMAKERS December 25, 2017 | www.CharlestonBusiness.com | Vol. 23, No. 27
THE YEAR IN NEWS
A look back through the events of 2017 in the Charleston area.
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T
2017: NEVER A DULL MOMENT
he year 2017 has been a bit of a wild ride, and that has made it seem to blow past us faster than ever. In this never-a-dullmoment year, the Grady Johnson region’s business President and Group Publisher climate provided our team of writers, page designers, photographers and editors with a rich palette of stories to choose from to put together this issue of Newsmakers. The goal of Newsmakers is to provide you with a quick and pleasant
review of the year in business that is representative of the breadth and depth of what it means to work and live in Charleston. Not all the stories are about the big headliners like Volvo, Mercedes and Boeing. Charleston still provides opportunities for a rich mix of entrepreneurs whose businesses run the gamut from quirky to cool. Our 2017 reporting occurred against the backdrop of a region experiencing extraordinary good fortune while grappling with the challenges that come with growth. Education, workforce, housing, transportation, equality — they are big problems to solve, and the region doesn’t have the luxury of calling a time-out to fix them. This issue of Newsmakers will hopeful-
ly give you a sense of how the region is responding while riding an economy that is running wide open. On each page of the 2017 edition of Newsmakers, you will find two stories from the Charleston Regional Business Journal’s print and digital products. We’ve included a larger story with art and graphics that tackles a big issue or event, then we include a secondary story called Other Newsmakers to give you a second view into the news that shaped our community. You can start in the front. You can start in the back. You can dive into the middle. Each page is self-contained and gives you a little more insight into what makes the region one of the most exciting places to be in business.
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t is our pleasure to introduce Newsmakers 2017, a collection of the Lowcountry’s most impactful individuals and headlines of the past year. For over 25 years, Choate has lived, worked and played in the great state of South Carolina. From the Charleston Trade Center Industrial Park in Summerville to the new South
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n our business, we strive to provide the financial security and solutions our members need to focus on other aspects of their lives. South Carolina Federal Credit Union has been a loyal, local partner in this region for over 80 years, providing one-of-a-kind service to 165,000 members. Connect with South Carolina Federal
Carolina Ports Authority headquarters in Mount Pleasant, Choate has offered the best of both worlds: an experienced
local staff, advanced technology and resources of a top Southeast general contractor. Named by ENR Southeast Magazine as 2017 General Contractor of the Year, Choate is proud to be considered the gold standard in construction services across the tri-county region and honored to call Charleston our home.
Credit Union for products, services and financial literacy through family relationships, employers, geographic areas, or member associations. At $1.6 billion strong, our member-owned coopera-
tive proudly operates 20 offices in four major markets: Charleston, Columbia, Georgetown and Florence-Darlington. It is our privilege to be the trusted financial institution to many readers and introduce this list of 2017 Newsmakers — you have certainly embodied and made the most of our tagline, less time banking, more time living!
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The sun sets over “The Bend,” a new outdoor venue in North Charleston offering 17 acres to showcase local and traveling music acts, cultural events and art installations. (Photo/Andrew Sprague)
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NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 1.9.17 Issue
January 9 -
22, 2017 • www.charle
stonbusines
s.com Volume 23, No.
Boeing S.C. ready to paint Dreamliners
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Voluntary layoffs
Boeing plants in S.C. Washington anticipateand labor cuts. Page 6
New deadlin
e
Infrastructure Bank gives Charleston board County more time for I-526 funding. Page 5
Merrill indicted
The Charleston Republican faces 30 ethics and misconduct charges. Page 7
INSIDE Upfront ................... .......... 2 In Focus: 2017: The Year Ahead Lists: Financial ............ 11 Brokerage Firms ........... 17 At Work ................... ....... 19 People in the News Business Digest ......... 19 Hot Properties .............. 19 ................. Viewpoint................... 22 ..... 23
WHAT’S AHEAD? Next up for
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market in 2018. Robinson-Berry said that the facility has the capacity to paint other jets beyond 787s in the future but noted that no specific plans have been vetted to do so. All planes produced in North Charleston are painted on-site, officials said. Painting takes somewhere from one to two weeks, depending on the intricacies of the livery, each airline’s specific design, often seen on the plane’s tail. Each jet takes an estimated 80 gallons to paint, though that amount can vary widely. Planes go through an intensive inspection process by both Boeing and the customer before they are rolled out for delivery. “We can really manage quality and customer satisfaction from the onset, all the way through the process,” Robinson-Berry said. CRBJ
“We are a one-stop shop now, from beginning to end.” Joan Robinson-Berry Vice president and general manager of Boeing S.C.
otherNEWSMAKERS President Barack Obama and Congress approved in late 2016 the Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, authorizing the Charleston Harbor deepening project to move toward construction. State officials expect dredging to begin in early 2018 to achieve a 52-foot depth. S.C. State Ports Authority CEO Jim Newsome said the passage of the bill “marks one of the most significant milestones in the history of the Port of Charleston.”
4 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
The Charleston Harbor deepening project gained final approval with the passage of a federal bill. The multiyear project will deepen the harbor to 52 feet, up from 45 feet. The depth enables large cargo ships to access the port any time, regardless of tides. (Photo/Provided)
2015
By Liz Segrist
lsegrist@scb iznews.com
ith the opening of a paint hangar, the entire Dreamliner production process — from assembly to ing to delivery paint— can now South Carolina’s N occur at Boeing The 360,000-sq orth Charleston campus. along Internation uare-foot paint facility sits dark blue doors al Boulevard. Its massive, white painting roll back to reveal two starkbays. Dreamliners will now roll assembly building out of the final and into the then back out paint hangar, to the flight tomers will pick up their line, where cusjets. The 787s no longer be flown to paint will the country and then back suppliers around to airlines. again for delivery Bringing painting Charleston campus capabilities to the North saves several production days in schedule and a huge amount the money, said Michelle Bernson, of senior director Boeing S.C.’s of pre-flight, “It’s a huge improveme paint and delivery. nt for us to be have that on-site able to back and forth and not have people traveling flights on the and not have those two extra airplane. It was very expensive,” See PAINT FACILITY,
Page 8
Boeing S.C. workers gather outside ity, which brings the new paint facilthe entire 787 production the North Charleston campus. (Photo/Emily process to Matesi)
Williams
the new year
Daniel Island economist Stephen outlines what Slifer businesses can expect in the coming year. Page 11
ith the opening of a paint hangar, the entire Dreamliner production process — from assembly to painting to delivery — now occurs at Boeing South Carolina’s North Charleston campus. The 360,000-square-foot paint facility sits along International Boulevard. Its massive, dark blue doors roll back to reveal two stark-white painting bays. The 787s no longer fly to paint suppliers around the country and then back again for delivery to airlines. Dreamliners now roll out of the final assembly building and into the paint hangar, then back out to the flight line, where customers pick up their jets. Bringing painting capabilities to the North Charleston campus saves several days in the production schedule and a huge amount of money, said Michelle Bernson, Boeing South Carolina’s director of delivery center, flight line and paint operations. “It’s a huge improvement for us to be able to have that on-site and not have people traveling back and forth and not have those two extra flights on the airplane. It was very expensive,” Bernson said, declining to share cost specifics. “It is now all under our control to manage the schedule and paint process.” The on-site paint facility also allows for more time to try creative designs or fix a mistake, said Joan Robinson-Berry, vice president and general manager of Boeing S.C. “We are a one-stop shop now, from beginning to end,” Robinson-Berry said. The paint bays are large enough to hold a 787-10 Dreamliner, the largest 787 derivative. The first-ever 787-10, built in North Charleston, will enter the
Best Edito Best Overa• rial ll • Design Best Print Scoop
Jim Martin, owner of Compost in my Shoe, said a comprehen sive plan for he hopes 2017 small farming. brings business owners Read what other and leaders Lowcountry think about the changing political and their challenges landscape and hopes for a new year. PAGE 11 Photo/Libby
By Liz Segrist
1 • $2.00
Boeing S.C. ready to paint Dreamliners
Going deep
President Barack signs final law Obama on deepening project.harbor Page 3
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NEWS MAKERS 2017
The Best of Upfront
The Best of Upfront
Dig into some of the most interesting and (somewhat) relevant factoids from the Upfront feature in the pages of the Charleston Regional Business Journal in 2017.
152 years ago at Charleston City Hall
1865 Photo/George N. Bernard/Library of Congress
The Library of Congress collects old photos — and Charleston, being a very old city, finds itself well-represented. Even though photographic arts were in their infancy in the late 1800s, the images are crisp and clear. Many of the photographs, negatives and plates survived to be preserved and digitized, including Civil War-era photographs like the one at left, from the Four Corners of Law. Both photos were shot at the corner of Broad and Meeting streets looking toward Charleston City Hall, but they were taken more than a century and a half apart. The Library of Congress said the photo taken in April 1865 by George N. Barnard, who died in 1902, includes members of the Federal Navy standing outside and on the steps of Charleston City Hall. We took the other photo in 2017, at nearly the same spot, but mostly saw just traffic, lawyers and others who had business with the city.
2017 Photo/Andy Owens
This many South Carolinians love football Attendance numbers prove the point that South Carolina likes nothing more than tailgating and grinding out points on the gridiron each Saturday in the fall. The statisticians at the NCAA are still crunching the numbers for the 2016 football season, but here’s a look back at 2015’s attendance numbers at Palmetto State colleges and universities with football programs. If you guessed that Clemson University and the University of South Carolina have some of the most “dedicated” fans, you would be correct. The two schools ranked 14 and 16, respectively, nationwide for most attendance. Michigan ranked No. 1, with Ohio State not far behind at No. 2.
588,266
472,934
Since spring blasted the Lowcountry with pollen and put a hint of heat in the air, we know you’re anticipating the coming months with visions of sand-filled flip-flops and sun protection slathered on overexposed skin. So just how hot could it get? In 2012, the state record for heat was set at 113 degrees Fahrenheit. That temp was measured at the University of South Carolina, according to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. The temperature reached 107 (again in Columbia) in 2016, according to data from the National Weather Service. Guinness World Records lists the highest temperature ever recorded on earth as 134 degrees in July 1913 in Death Valley, Calif. To steal a line from Paris Hilton, that’s hot.
Lowcountry heat records
Attendance Average attendance 84,038 78,822
78,147
64,070
61,729 42,043
The hottest it’s ever gotten in the Lowcountry counties and in a few other areas of the state.
113º 200012 in 2012
33,975
26,921
19,048
107º in 19544
15,629 10,678
8,818
7,007
6,795
107º in 1925
105ºº 0007 in 2007
105º in 20077
105º in 1952
4,487
Source: NCAA’s 2015 National College Football Attendance
F Un urm ive an rsi ty Ch So arles uth to ern n Pre s Co byte lle ria ge n
Wo Co ffor lle d ge
C Ca oast rol al ina
el ad Cit Th e
Un Sou iver th sity Ca roli of na So uth C Sta aro te lina
Cle
ms
on
3,810
Richland
Colleton
Dorchester
Berkeley
Greenville
Charleston
Source: S.C. Department of Natural Resources
Newsmakers | Charleston Regional Business Journal
5
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 1.23.17 Issue
January 23 -
February 5,
Mercedes-Benz buys propert
Van maker expands y Streit manufactur to ing site. Page 9
2017 • www.charle
stonbusines
Legislators try again to find
Best Edito Best Overa• rial ll • Design Best Print Scoop
s.com
By Chuck Crumbo
Volume 23, No.
2015
money for state roads 2 • $2.00
ccrumbo@scbiznews.co House Majority m Hill, said duringLeader Gary Simrill, R-Rock inding a funding a recent legislative no home run, event hosted no touchdown preview the lina’s crumbling fix for South Caroby the S.C. Press ,” Simrill said 2016 legislative Columbia. Association of structure confrontstransportation infrasession. in In 2017, legislators Although the the S.C. Legislature again as politicians Legislature passed will have to whether reconvened decide Assembly this a short- known to increase the motor in the General term fix in 2016, a larger month. plan that could fuel user fee, the S.C. Departmen as the gas tax, Unsafe roads help They t of Transporta will also have and if so, by how much. $1.5 billion fatalities in 2016,were to blame for 1,000 tion meet annual funding to look at what traffic up 30% from shortfall remainsa cuts or funding measures other tax the year prior, elusive. would be included in the law. “We got part of the way down the field but
F
See ROADS,
Photo/Ashley
Pedal power
Days numbered for submarine at Patriots Point
Heffernan
Gotcha Bike to launch a bicycle share program in Charleston this spring. Page 11
Assessing health
Report looks at disparities, access to health care across region. Page 14
Plans for port
HQ Buyer to build hotel on site as ports authority heads to Mount Pleasant. Page 8
INSIDE Upfront ................... In Focus: Health .......... 2 Lists: Hospitals Care ... 13 Bonus Lists: ............. 21 Urgent Centers ................... Care At Work ................... ....... 23 ....... 25 People in the News Business Digest ......... 25 Hot Properties .............. 25 ................. Viewpoint................... 30 ..... 31
one final dive Visitors will soon need scuba gear to explore the If a Miami-base USS Clamagore. d company meets decommissioned its fundraising submarine at Patriots goal, the Point Florida coast to become an artificial will be sunk off the reef. Page 5
T
By Liz Segrist
lsegrist@scb iznews.com
housands of tons of crushed, and white rock gray stretching out litter the landscape, for acres alongside Cooper River the in end of the decade,North Charleston. By the the rocks will foundation for become the est container the Port of Charleston’s newterminal. Site preparation Hugh K. Leatherma is well underway at the n Sr. Terminal. of crushed rock The piles nal. A few egrets cover one part of the termiwade in partially pools on the filled tidal other portion property. The Arthur Ravenel of the muddy be seen in the Jr. Bridge can distance, ships into Charleston beckoning containerHarbor. In a few years, the land activity as truck will be a flurry of crane operators drivers drop off shipments, and longshoremswing containers onto ships en load and from across unload cargo the country world. and around the The first phase of the Authority’s newest terminal,S.C. State Ports late 2019 or early 2020, will set to open in phases. The timeline dependsbe built in three and market demand. The on port growth Leatherman terSee LEATHERMA
Roper 1st in for procedu state re
By Ashley Heffernan
T
he only Guppy III submarine in the United States open for museum tours may become an artificial reef off the Florida coast. For now, the USS Clamagore, a more-than-320-foot submarine that was decommissioned in 1975 after 30 years of service during the Cold War, is rusting in Charleston Harbor at Patriots Point. The price of admission at Patriots Point includes a tour of the submarine, but Executive Director Mac Burdette estimates that only 25% of visitors do so. Instead, most visitors go to the sub’s much larger neighbors, the USS Yorktown aircraft carrier and USS Laffey destroyer. Patriots Point doesn’t have the estimated $6 million it would take to renovate and restore the Clamagore, and, if it did, the return would likely not be worth
N, Page 10
A device implanted skin blocks appetite under the signals. Page 13
the investment, Burdette said. “If we had $6 million sitting in an account somewhere that wasn’t obligated, I can tell you right now, I would be recommending to the board that we spend that money on the Yorktown because that’s what sells the tickets here,” he said. Despite the $100,000 a year Patriots Point spends on maintenance, the Clamagore continues to deteriorate as it sits in salt water. If a large hurricane hit Charleston, Burdette has said, the sub could turn over, its tanks could rupture and the vessel could sink, which could flood the harbor with asbestos, oil and other hazardous materials. The Patriots Point Development Authority board voted in 2016 to give Artificial Reefs International – USS Clamagore, a subsidiary of Miami-based CRB Geological and Environmental
Services Inc., exclusive rights to convert the Clamagore into an artificial reef. On Jan. 10, the company secured 25% of the $4 million needed to make that happen. The board of county commissioners in Palm Beach County, Fla., unanimously voted to pay $1 million toward the submarine’s being cleaned, towed and sunk in 90 to 100 feet of water off of Jupiter or Juno beaches. The contract will be voided if Artificial Reefs doesn’t raise the remaining $3 million from private sources within a year. Palm Beach County hopes that the Clamagore will attract more scuba divers to the area, boosting the local economy, said Robert Robbins, director of Palm Beach County’s environmental resources management. Cleaning the ship and passing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency inspections will be required before the
The 320-foot USS Clamagore submarine is one of three vessels at Patriots Point in Mount Pleasant. The sub was decommissioned in 1975 after 30 years of service. (Photos/ Ashley Heffernan)
otherNEWSMAKERS Charleston-based Gotcha Bike launched a bicycle share program in downtown Charleston in the spring after Charleston City Council voted to allow the operation on the peninsula. The Holy Spokes bike share enables residents and tourists to rent bikes from stations throughout the city. “We believe in providing Charleston with a safe, healthy and sustainable mode of transportation,” said Sean Flood, CEO of parent company The Gotcha Group.
6 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
Gotcha Bike rents bicycles at stations around the Charleston peninsula for its bike share program. (Photo/ Provided)
vessel can become an artificial reef. The sinking of such a vessel can be emotional for veterans who lived and served on the ships. The USS Clamagore Preservation and Memorial Association, a Tennessee-based nonprofit, has been trying for years to have the submarine relocated to the Knoxville area to become the central attraction of a military history museum, but that plan lacks funds. If the vessel doesn’t become an artificial reef, Burdette said the last resort will be to send the Clamagore to a scrap yard to be cut into razor blades. CRBJ
Page 6
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Global port termi nal rises from edges of the Cooper River
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NEWS MAKERS 2017
The Best of Upfront
Are your employees celling out?
I
f companies want to really crack down on productivity transgressions, they might try blocking access to email. OK, that’s not realistic, but data from staffing firm OfficeTeam found that checking personal email ranks as one of the largest time sucks for employees. ... Not to mention how much time checking work email actually takes ... ahem. OfficeTeam found that even blocking sites that managers think distract employees won’t work,
because workers carry the internet in their pocket. If you’re a corporate overlord or a minion, OfficeTeam analyzed what you think about digital distractions.
56
Minutes employees spend using personal mobile devices on non-work stuff each day.
39
Minutes managers incorrectly think employees spend on non-work stuff each day.
58%
Employees who use mobile devices to circumvent a company’s site-blocking efforts.
Living with the parentals
S
lightly over 33% of young adults in South Carolina lived with their parents in 2015, an increase of more than 30% from 10 years ago, data from the U.S. Census Bureau show. That makes the Palmetto State’s millennials somewhat more independent than the national average. An April Census Bureau report looking at the living arrangements of young adults ages 18 to 34 during the post-recession years found that nationally, 34.1% live with parents and 51% live independently. The report found the fewest young adults living at home in North Dakota with 14.1%, and the highest in New Jersey with nearly 47%.
Biggest time wasters for employees?
63.1%
Digital activity Percentage used 30%
Personal email
28%
Social networks Sports sites
9%
Mobile games
6%
Online shopping
5%
of young adult children living at home are employed, but only
16.5%
Percentage of companies that attempt to block selected digital activities
48+39+ 52 30+ 61 70 27+23+ 73 77 48%
Nothing
39%
30%
Social networks Entertainment
27%
23%
of young adults living with their parents make less than $30,000 a year.
have a college degree, and
Among the youngest millennials
are enrolled in school.
make less than that amount
34.4%
Entertainment sites 3%
84.8%
54.9%
94.9%
50.8%
more men than women live with their parents as young adults.
23.4%
65.4%
84.8 94.9
of young adults living with their parents are between the ages of 20 and 24. White
Hispanic
16% Black
Online shopping Sports sites
Source: OfficeTeam, Robert Half International Inc.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Changing Economics and Demographics of Young Adulthood: 1975–2016
Newsmakers | Charleston Regional Business Journal
7
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 2.6.17 Issue
February 6 -
19, 2017 • www.charle
stonbusines
s.com
Lawmakers push Tales of 2 cities
Mayors in Charleston, North Charleston offer State of the City addresses.
Pages 3, 10
By Liz Segrist
for federal mon ey to deepen harb or Volume 23, No.
4 • $2.00
lsegrist@scb iznews.com Several lawmakers, port leaders iticians spoke and polhe federal of government federal money the importance of securing week, regardless of the tides. authorization has for Knudt Flor, for Charleston given event in Mount the project during a recent president and to be deepened Manufactu CEO of BMW to 52 feet, but Harbor been allocated Pleasant. Funding had ect awaits federal not er needs ring Co., said the car by Jan. 31. the projfunds as the manufacturaccess to those Port CEO tration settles new adminisJim Newsome bigger into 45-foot-deep has said the product can be sent overseas ships so more “We’ve gotten office. harbor needs at a faster rate. to ‘yes,’ but The BMW yet,” said U.S. plant in Spartanbur we’re not done 52 feet so the larger ships to be deepened to Sen. Lindsey the company’s being deployed shipping alliances g is now Graham, R-S.C. largest in the by producing can access the port terminals a record 400,000 world, Flor said, 24 hours a day, harbor and cars last year seven days a and
T
See HARBOR
Developer: Pacific Box and Crate fits into ‘urban fabric of the city’
r
la
Show in the sky
Henry McMaster becomes S.C. governor as Nikki Haley heads to United Nations. Page 4
‘House in a
Box’
As inventory gets tight, Carolina One markets option to be a builder. Page 12
INSIDE Upfront ................... .......... 2 In Focus: Architecture , Engineering and Construction ................. 11 Lists: General Contractors ................... 29 At Work ................... ....... 33 People in the News Business Digest ......... 33 Hot Properties .............. 33 ................. Viewpoint................... 38 ..... 39
A partial solar
B
Expect astronomy buffs and tourists on Charleston to descend in late solar eclipse. Hotels August for a rare total are already booking weekend many for that months in advance, rates could be in excess of 90%. and occupancy Page 6
eclipse occurred
on Jan. 4, 2011,
in Catalonia,
DEEPENING,
Spain. (Photo/Provide
d)
➤
By Liz Segrist
lsegrist@scb iznews.com
oeing S.C. workers who 787 Dreamliner help build will soon decides in North Charleston whether to International join Association of Machinists the Aerospace Workers. and The IAM filed al Labor Relationsa petition with the NationBoard on Jan. a secret-ballo 20 to hold t unionizatio n election at South Carolina. Boeing scheduled for The election has since been Feb. 15. About tion employees 2,850 producare Mike Evans, eligible to vote. union, said the lead S.C. organizer for the from Boeing IAM now has enough support workers to have is the second an election attempt election. This fewer than two by the IAM years. in The union canceled its first election, uled for April sched2015, a few days before slated to occur. it was hired a law firm The IAM said that Boeing to spread anti-union es, as well as worked to intimidate messagworkers to See UNION ELECTION,
CHARLESTON UNDER CONSTRUCTION
By Liz Segrist
Page 5
Boeing S.C. to vote on unionizing
Upper Peninsu
Pacific Box & Crate development gears for more tenants. up Page 11
New governo
Page 8
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Who is building Projects, companies what in the Charleston area? , prices, projected timelines, photos and stories. Page 11
Pacific Box and Crate project details Total project footprint: 130,000 square feet of office space across three buildings, which sit on 10 acres at 1505 King Street Extension in Charleston. The original structure is around 80,000 square feet; the rest is new construction. Typical office leases: Five- to seven-year leases for around $20-$25 per square foot On-site parking spaces: 340 spots, unassigned Projected completion date: May 2017 Overall investment: $35 million Site name: The Raven Cliff Co. named it for the first known user of the property, Pacific Guano Co. in 1869, and the most recent owner, Dixie Box & Crating Co. It was last used by the Lifetime television show Army Wives.
The developers built onto the original 80,000-squarefoot warehouse and added buildings to create the Pacifix Box and Crate project. (Rendering/Provided)
T
he Raven Cliff Co. — founder and CEO Stephen Zoukis and COO Michael Wooddy — continues to invest in the Upper Peninsula with the opening of its newest venture, the Pacific Box and Crate development. “This is the next up-and-coming area of Charleston for the next 50 years,” Zoukis said. The real estate firm The second-story “yoga began buying parcels in cube” sits above Bad Wolf Coffee. (Photo/Liz Segrist) the area several years ago with the goal of renovating old warehouses into commercial spaces to help meet the huge demand Upper Penin Charleston for more office space. insula neighborhoods,” Zoukis said. They first put funding into buildWooddy said they did not envision ing Half Mile North, an office and a one-company tech campus with the restaurant hub between Morrison Pacific project; rather, they wanted Drive and upper Meeting Street. multiple companies and other eleThe duo has since moved its focus ments on-site for employees and the deeper into the Upper Peninsula area public to use. with the new Pacific Box and Crate People can go to the Pacific site project along King Street Extension. to grab a coffee, eat dinner, visit the The developers anticipate more brewery or take a yoga class. A grassy offices, apartments and restaurants area sits in the middle of the developmoving nearby as rental rates rise ment, and a food hall offers rotating downtown. restaurant concepts. “We expect great things of this “We wanted to have it fit into the part of the Upper Peninsula. ... We urban fabric of the city,” Wooddy said. think this will become a signifiBoomTown, a Charleston-based cant employment center due to the tech firm that creates software for advantages of proximity to down- real estate professionals, was the first town as well as other emerging and largest tenant at the Pacific Box
and Crate site. It relocated from its office off Rutledge Avenue into a 60,000-square-foot space in Pacific Box to accommodate its growing workforce. The tech firm has a large common area at its entrance, filled with couches, a flat-screen TV and a pingpong table. The open workspaces have pops of BoomTown orange throughout, and dogs amble among the desks. Employees work in the kitchen and bar areas, or at their desks. “It’s always exciting when the first group of tenants gets on the site because it really changes things so much with the life and energy they bring to it,” Wooddy said. The project is now fully leased. CRBJ
otherNEWSMAKERS Gov. Henry McMaster was sworn in as the state’s 117th governor in late January. McMaster, elected lieutenant governor in 2014, succeeded Gov. Nikki Haley, who resigned after being confirmed as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. McMaster is serving the remainder of Haley’s unexpired term, which will end Jan. 9, 2019. McMaster has spent most of his life in public office, holding the positions of U.S. district attorney, S.C. attorney general and lieutenant governor.
8 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
McMaster
Tenants • BoomTown • PhishLabs • Edmund’s Oast Brewing Co. • The Workshop (a food hall with rotating concepts, and permanent spots Bad Wolf Coffee and Slice Co.) • The Harbor Entrepreneur Center • Twelve South • CrowdReach • Reverb yoga studio • The Middleton Group Project team • Developer: Raven Cliff Co. • Architects: LS3P and The Middleton Group • Mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer: DWG • Civil engineers: Seamon Whiteside • Landscape architect: Remark Studios • Land planner: DesignWorks • Geotech engineer: Terracon • Environmental consultant: SCS Engineers • Signage: Limelight Source: Raven Cliff Co.
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 2.20.17 Issue
February 20
- March 5, 2017
Airport taking
off
More than 3.7 million passengers last year push Charleston Internationa l expansion plans. Page 5
• www.charle
stonbusines
s.com
State plans to bet ter By Liz Segrist
Volume 23, No.
support tech sec tor 5 • $2.00
lsegrist@scb keting and recruitmen iznews.com megamanufacturers, t tactics used to secure he state Commerce ing to change like Boeing Cars, to attract and Volvo that,” said Nina Departmen stealing a page more Magnesson, from its manufactu t is corporate headquarte technology companies, works as a catalyst who recruitment for citizenship ring ists to innovation rs and venture playbook and social innovation in South capital- Boomtown initiatives at Charleston the state and to foster more Commerce Carolina, according . -based better support tech sector. to the tion Plan. Department’s new S.C. the state Ideas include The state can Innova- tech telling stories replicate the of the state’s sector during “I still don’t aggressive martrade think people they think of think ‘tech’ when country and recognizing shows across the Charleston, tech exits and and we’re really softtry-
T
See INNOVATION
, Page 12
Passenger growth pushes airport to expand plans
Saltwater bank
Port using Daniel land as mitigation Island for economic developmen t projects. Page 3
Medicare savings
Roper, MUSC participate in cost-cutting program that could pay them back. Page 6
INSIDE Upfront ................... In Focus: Trends .......... 2 Energy ...................in Lists: Recycling ........ 15 Companies ................... . 20 At Work ................... ....... 25 People in the News Business Digest ......... 25 Hot Properties .............. 25 ................. Viewpoint................... 32 ..... 31
RESTORING POWER Three valuable Storehouse Row Navy base in properties on North must also renovate Charleston are for sale, the former but the the deteriorati which could ng Power House buyer cost more than building, $15 million to restore. Page 10
M
By Ashley Hefferna n aheffernan@ scbiznews.com
ore than 4,200 employees from current Boeing around the are alumni world nautical University’ of Embry-Riddle s various campuses,Aerothe university and has opened a new than 10 miles from the Boeing campus less hopes of adding S.C. facility in to The university, that number. traditional and which teaches about 30,000 3,000-square-foot,online students, opened a residential campus three-classroom, nonNorth Charleston at 7301 Rivers Ave. in in early February. are expected Classes to begin at the March 20. new campus on In the early 1990s, Embry-Rid campus on Joint Base Charlestondle opened a pus now has about 250 students . That cammostly to active and caters nel, said Neil and retired military personKeifer, director campus. of the newest The North Charleston campus to give more access and options is designed ian population to the civil, ers and Trident including Boeing S.C. workTechnical College who want to students pursue a four-year degree after See EMBRY-RIDD
Alternative
fuel Berkeley and Dorchester counties get first of many propane-powered school buses. Page 15
By Liz Segrist
Historical growth
Passenger numbers at Charleston International Airport are rising so quickly that the recent renovations and expansion are already insufficient to handle projected passenger counts. Airport officials say they will have to invest more to account for the growth. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
C
harleston International Airport’s $200 million terminal expansion and makeover is already insufficient to handle the volume of travelers expected in the coming years. Future upgrades, more parking and additional square footage are part of a new five-year strategic plan designed to address the uptick in travelers. “While we enjoy success today, we have to be cognizant of the fact that growth and change is likely to continue in the future,” said Hernan Pena, Charleston County Aviation Authority’s engineering vice president. “We are already at 2025 projections for passenger traffic, so passengers keep coming and the demand for airport services will continue to increase.” More than 3.7 million people traveled in and out of the airport in 2016,
up 8.4% from the prior year. The authority expects more than 4 million travelers in 2017; around 3.3 million people had flown in and out of the airport as of October. Passenger volumes have surpassed estimations that were used to design the terminal improvements, which include an expansion of the security checkpoint and the addition of five more gates and new restaurants and shops. Airport officials have said the Charleston region’s continued increase in population, as well as growth in the manufacturing, health care, tourism and tech industries, are indicators that more travelers will flock to the airport in the coming years. The addition of more nonstop flights to U.S. cities also attracts travelers from the region and around the state. “Nothing could have prepared us for
the great growth we have seen in recent years,” Pena said. “The way we did things 20, 10 and even five years ago is not good enough.” Airport officials want to expand capacity and services to handle more passengers, which means more space for airlines’ ticketing and check-in counters and more on-site parking options, including a new parking deck. The construction of a Concourse C is also a possibility in the future. Airport officials said they want to enhance the passenger experience. “Recent aviation studies have shown that by 2020, 86% of passengers will be interested in the passenger experience over price and product. … We really have to invest in developing the strategies that allow us to become the best passenger-experience airport in the United States,” Pena said. CRBJ
otherNEWSMAKERS Some students in the Berkeley County and Dorchester 2 school districts will need to pay extra attention at the bus stop so that they hear the districts’ new, uber-quiet, propane-powered buses. The S.C. Department of Education purchased the 26 buses — 16 for Berkeley County School District and 10 for Dorchester School District 2 — to replace aging and expensive dieselpowered buses. The department ordered an additional 133 propane-powered buses for other districts across the state.
10 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
The S.C. Department of Education bought 26 new propane-powered school buses for Berkeley County School District and Dorchester School District 2. Buses cost $91,325 and include a Ford 6.8L V-10 engine and a Roush CleanTech propane fuel system. (Photo/Ashley Heffernan)
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Aerospace colle ge opens 2nd camp us in Lowcountry
Jasper plan
Sgt. Jasper constructio n technique could be model for future high-rise projects. Page 8
The first airport opened in Charleston. Two years later, 70 passengers flew in and out of it. About 150,000 people lived in the tri-county region at the time.
The existing terminal footprint opened. The airport averaged around 900,000 passengers a year at that time, according to a 1983 Palmetto Aviation newsletter kept by the S.C. State Library.
The $200 million terminal overhaul project wrapped up on the existing footprint, and the airport set a record of more than 3.7 million passengers. Around 750,000 people live in the tricounty region. Charleston International Airport now flies nonstop to 21 airports in 17 U.S. cities. Several more nonstop, seasonal flights will launch in 2018.
CHS passenger growth 2010 - 2,021,328 2011 - 2,520,799 2012 - 2,592,763 2013 - 2,923,621 2014 - 3,131,072 2015 - 3,418,089 2016 - 3,704,270 Source: Charleston County Aviation Authority
LE, Page 13
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NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 3.6.17 Issue
March 6 - 19,
2017 • www.charle
State to review 99-year lease
Bennett Hospitality, Patriots Point waiting for approval. Page 5
Boeing shows off 787-10 as Trump pushes U.S. jobs
stonbusines
s.com
Growing market for grocery stores
Store developmen population growth t follows across Lowcountry. Page 15
5 • $2.00
By Ashley Hefferna
n aheffernan@ including retired scbiznews.com ingston, a Medal Marine Maj. Gen. James Liv- his replacemen bout a third of the foundation been called the of Honor recipient who t. tasked with has “face board “They did a raising more The resignation of the museum.” national search, than $100 million to build s came around nately, it was and, unfortutime that CEO the National of Honor Museum done in a way the same Bob Wilburn Medal CEO at Patriots left and a new animosity on the board,” that created a lot of was chosen. stepped down. Point has Wilburn said. The firm landed Wilburn said Seven members on Mark Updegrove he and the of the museum ly agreed board mutual- was director of the LBJ tion’s board , who founda- California-it was time for new of directors resigned Presidential leadership, so in Austin, Texas, since Library based in February, 2009. He of the National Finseth, Peeps executive search firm Meng, Medal of Honor became CEO & Associates Museum on was hired to find
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45 and 10 See MEDAL
Boeing has busy
week as Presiden
t Donald Trump
visits 787-10 home
base
Mount Pleasan moratorium t
Town council votes to halt approvals of apartment buildings. Page 7
INSIDE Upfront ................... ............. 2 In Focus: Commercia Estate ................... l Real List: Homebuilde ............ 15 Special Section: rs........... 24 County Growth Berkeley Report ..... 27 At Work ................... .......... 39 People in the Photo/Kim McManus News Business Digest ............ 39 Hot Properties ................. 39 .................... 23 Viewpoint................... ........ 45
Trump speaks
at Boeing 787-10
INSIDE: rollout p. 10 | Boeing employess
vote ‘no’ to union
p. 12
Berkeley County Growth Report
By Liz Segrist
Growth continues regional economy. to drive Page 27
President Donald Trump speaks to thousands of Boeing S.C. workers during the 787-10 Dreamliner rollout. (Photos/Kim McManus)
B
oeing’s North Charleston campus is the only site in the world building the company’s newest jet, the 787-10 Dreamliner, throwing off many who doubted the company’s ability to build planes in South Carolina when it announced in 2009 that it was coming to the Lowcountry. “This area here seven years ago was swampland,” Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg said to thousands of Boeing S.C. workers during the jet’s unveiling. “Today, after $2 billion worth of investment and partnership in the community, this is a modern aerospace facility building the highest-technology airplanes in the world and adding thou-
sands and thousands of jobs over that time period.” The debut of the newest and longest Dreamliner in February brought President Donald Trump for an hourlong visit to the Lowcountry and served as a platform for him to tout his goals of creating more U.S. jobs and becoming less reliant on global trade and exports. The crowd chanted “USA! USA!” when he took the stage at the airplane hangar in North Charleston. “We’re here today to celebrate American engineering and American manufacturing. We’re also here today to celebrate jobs,” Trump said. “This plane, as you know, was built right here in
otherNEWSMAKERS
12 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
The National Medal of Honor Museum site will include a grass-topped pavilion (foreground), the main museum (center) and a chapel (left of the museum building). (Rendering/Safdie Architects for the National Medal of Honor Museum)
the great state of South Carolina. Our goal as a nation must be to rely less on imports and more on products made here in the USA.” Trump spoke of decreasing imports while standing in front of the first 78710 — the most outsourced plane Boeing produces. Production of the 787-10 depends on companies manufacturing pieces in a massive supply chain that flows through South Korea, France, Japan, Italy, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and Sweden, as well as companies in Washington state, Utah, California, South Carolina, Kansas and Oklahoma. Parts of the 787-10 — such as sec-
Best Edito Best Overa• rial ll • Design Best Print Scoop
7 Medal of Hono 2015 r Museum boar d members abru ptly resign Volume 23, No.
Air Force One
Didn’t get to see the president’s 747? Now’s your second chance. Page 4
tions of the fuselage, passenger entry doors and landing gear — arrive daily at the Boeing S.C. site. Workers then perform the fabrication, production and assembly work to produce the plane. Trump said he wants to make it easier for companies to make goods in the United States and keep manufacturing operations stateside, rather than relying on setting up facilities overseas. “We want to make it much easier ... to manufacture in our country, and much harder to leave. I don’t want companies leaving our country, making their product, selling it back,. ... We’re not letting that happen anymore folks, believe me,” Trump said to loud cheers. CRBJ
Seven board members of the National Medal of Honor Museum Foundation stepped down over disagreements about strategy and the process of hiring a new CEO to replace Bob Wilburn. Former director of the LBJ Presidential Library Mark Updegrove took the position of CEO in March, but unexpectedly resigned in December citing personal health and family reasons. A search for another new CEO is underway, board Chairman Bill Phillips said. The foundation is aiming to raise $110 million for construction of the museum in the shadow of the USS Yorktown, which Phillips said is scheduled to break ground next year.
OF HONOR, Page
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NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 3.20.17 Issue
March 20 - April
2, 2017 • www.charle
stonbusines
s.com
Best Edito Best Overa• rial ll • Design Best Print Scoop
Kids in low-inco me neighborhoo ds learn to code Volume 23, No.
Breaking ground on Dillon port
Officials begin site work on new inland terminal. Page 3
7 • $2.00
2015
By Liz Segrist
lsegrist@scb and general iznews.com computer knowledge disadvantaged to kids in ome Charleston neighborhoods ing and wealthy The program in ing up without children who are growholds weekly Charleston. unfair to have neighborhood, it just seemed any neighborho their homes computers or internet in munity centers in low-incom classes at com- et od or any pockin our neighborho are now learning neighborhoods e, for free. ods that might not mostly black from all to code from the great resourcesthat isn’t benefiting be benefiting the boom CodeOn, which that we have, Carolyn stands for mate, tourism in Charleston’s business Neighborho cli- tor of Finch, founder and executive ” said sector, tech industry ods, introduces Coding in Our ulation. Charleston Women direccoding concepts and popIn Tech. CodeOn was “Charleston is such an up-and-com group, which born last spring out of that has garnered hundreds of
S
See CODING,
Kids in low-income neighborhoods learn to code
SERVE
delivers vehicles, parts for automakers. Page 17
Forecast for growth
Charleston Metro expects regional Chamber trend to continue. Page 5
INSIDE Upfront ................... .......... 2 In Focus: Automotive Manufacturing .............. 13 Lists: SIOR Members .... 19 Area Attractions. ........... 20 At Work ................... ....... 25 People in the News Business Digest ......... 25 Hot Properties .............. 25 ................. Viewpoint................... 30 ..... 31
Certified to
Heffernan
4
How far does
your paychec Analysis outlines k go? buying power Page 2 in S.C. counties.
By Liz Segrist
By Ashley Hefferna
n aheffernan@ scbiznews.com large paper and ny with Charlestonpackaging compaties recently 4,000 acres sold ment in Summervil of the Nexton developWestRock — le. prior to a 2015 which was MeadWestv aco merger with the residential RockTenn — sold portion of Nexton month to North America Sekisui earlier this the U.S. operations House LLC, of Japan-base builder Sekisui d homeHouse Ltd., and San based Newland Diegoprice was nearlyCommunities. The purchase $80.8 million, to property according records filed with the Berkeley County Register of Deeds. “The land developme nt business is ness where you a busidevelop and the whole purpose. sell land. That’s WestRock Land That’s the revenue stream,” Ken Seeger said. and Development President “We have been opment land selling develin years. ... This earnest for the last four or was five as the markets the right time for this project are MeadWestvaco very strong.” purchased the Nexton site,
A
S.C. lawmakers consider a bill requiring all alcohol servers and bartenders in the state to take a course to identify underage and intoxicated patrons. Page 10
Photo/Ashley
See NEXTON,
5 8
10
1
9
7
6 3
2
How it works
Norai, a CodeOn student working in the Eastside site, has steadily progressed through her coding courses. Site leader Kate Wilson sits beside her. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
S
ome Charleston children who are growing up without computers or internet in their homes are now learning to code for free. CodeOn, which is short for Coding in Our Neighborhoods, introduces coding concepts and general computer knowledge to kids in disadvantaged neighborhoods in Charleston. The program holds weekly classes at community centers in low-income, mostly black neighborhoods that might not be benefiting from the boom in Charleston’s business climate, tourism sector, tech industry and population. “Charleston is such an up-andcoming and wealthy neighborhood, it just seemed unfair to have any neighborhood or any pocket in our neighborhoods that isn’t benefiting from all the great resources that we have,” said Carolyn Finch, founder and executive director of Charleston Women In Tech. CodeOn was born in spring 2016
out of that group. Finch said she hopes the program encourages kids to pursue careers in technology, helping to tackle the sector’s diversity issues. “We want to start to chip away at that hurdle of ‘I don’t look like a 25-year-old white male who is coding apps,’ ” Finch said. In Charleston’s Eastside neighborhood, classes are taught in the Eastside Community Development Corp., a one-room community center at America and Amherst streets. Inside, students excitedly sign in for class on a Tuesday evening and clamber into their seats. Younger kids play games on tablets; older students slowly work their way through coding classes to learn HTML or app development. “There you go. We need to do that one more time. You got it! Yes! It just takes practice,” volunteer Anissa Williams says to her student. Williams, an engineering manager at
Benefitfocus, said she wanted to volunteer because CodeOn reminded her of a similar program in Chicago in which inner-city kids learned to code and took internships at tech companies. “It gives me goosebumps just describing it. ... Retention rates changed. Crime rates changed. Some of these kids went on to college, some stayed in high school that wouldn’t have — and all they did was teach them to code and give them opportunities,” Williams said. Kate Wilson, the Eastside program site leader, said she wants every student to eventually learn HTML and build their own website; but mostly, she said, she wants them to enjoy the process. “We are trying to make the connection of, ‘That thing that you love on your phone — the Snapchat and Facebook and all of the apps — with these skills, you can make something like that,’ ” said Wilson, a software developer at Benefitfocus. CRBJ
otherNEWSMAKERS WestRock, a large paper and packaging company with Charleston ties, sold 4,000 acres of the Nexton development in Summerville. North America Sekisui House LLC, the U.S. operations of Japan-based homebuilder Sekisui House Ltd., and San Diego-based Newland Communities bought the site for $80.8 million, according to property records filed with the Berkeley County Register of Deeds. MeadWestvaco, now WestRock, purchased the Nexton site in 2008.
14 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
The Brighton Park Village neighborhood is under construction at Nexton. Once Nexton is complete, Newland Communities officials say it could include 6,500 residential units. (Photo/Ashley Heffernan)
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WestRock sells residential part of Nexton proje ct
Automotive expansion
Mercedes-Benz Vans growing in North Charleston. Page 13
Shipping autos by the number s Port of Charleston
Tech companies and colleges in the Lowcountry donated all equipment for CodeOn. The program’s 25 volunteers work at area tech companies. The coding program is open to boys and girls ages 4 through 17.
Existing CodeOn sites • Eastside Community Development Corp. 60 America St., Charleston Tuesday nights • Rosemont Community Center 1810 Doscher Ave., Charleston Wednesday nights Fundraising, growth plans The CodeOn program has no annual budget. Everything is based on volunteers and donations. The executive director said the goal is to have a fundraising campaign to hire staff and expand to other locations in 2018. She envisions eventually taking the program statewide and possibly franchising the model for nationwide use.
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NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 4.17.17 Issue
April 17 - 30,
2017 • www.charle
Forty Under
40 Profiles of 40 vibrant business leaders a mark across making the region. Page 23
Building a home away from home
787-10 Dreamliner takes first flight
stonbusines
s.com
TAKING TO THE SKIES
Volume 23, No.
9 • $2.00
Thousands gather to watch the 787-10 Dreamliner take its first flight in North Charleston. Page 10
Fisher House giving veterans’ families a free place to stay. Page 11
Blue Acorn
sold Private equity firm buys Charlestonbased e-commerce company. Page 5 CSU preside nt stepping down
Jairy Hunter staying but not as president. on Page 3
INSIDE
Photo/Kim McManus
Berkeley County on-the-job cons students getting Port suspends truction training consulting contract amid
W
By Ashley Hefferna n aheffernan@
investigation
Hughes met with Mac Martin, president of who was Martin
scbiznews.com
hen Contract the Engineering. Upfront ................... “He Construction By Liz Segrist ............ 2 dent Greg Hughes Presi- decidedcommitted to continue In Focus: Architecture lsegrist@scb was 14 years to take the constructioto train me, so I he got , iznews.com Engineering Martin Engineerin a summer job working old, put me on the jobsites,” n route, and Construction for night, g in White Rock, Hughes said. and he .C. State Ports ................... 11 ous tasks on I would go “Then at doing variLists: Architecture construction in the office, teach me to members are Authority board sites. and he would “My mother estimate.” Special Section: Firms 54 would drive recent decision divided on their Forty Hughes said drop me off Under 40 ................... he still and come pick me to work and skills to couldn’t drive,” from his accountinguses some of the math ness with Richard Quinn suspend busime up because At Work ................... ....... 23 he said. & I much of a Columbia......... 57 People in the Hughes continued his constructio classes, but he’s based based political Associates, News firm entangled n career working consulting ing and training Business Digest ........... 57 each summer with an ongoing from Martin. on the mentor- gation through high for the company Hot Properties ................ 57 investiinto a state Hughes wants attending the school and ................... 62 while his Richland In an unusual legislator. Viewpoint................... where he earnedUniversity of South Carolina, company to train County-based turn for the high school ....... 63 a bachelor’s degree which typically ilar way students board, ing. While considering
S
in accountan accounting job offer,
so that he’ll have a skilled in a simworkforce See CONSTRUCTI
ON JOBS, Page
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without much votes unanimously and turned heated deliberation, discussions last month as members
CHARLESTON UNDER CONSTRUCTION
By Liz Segrist
See PORT, Page
Who is building Projects, companies what in the Charleston area? , prices, projected timelines, photos and stories. Page 11
“Mike and I just enjoyed the whole day. We had a great plan. We had a great team. We had a great jet. We went out and flew it. We did exactly what we wanted to do, and it performed exactly like we thought it would, and that’s about as perfect as it gets for a test pilot.” — Tim Berg Boeing’s chief Dreamliner pilot, who tested the first 787-10 with Mike Bryan
Thousands of Boeing S.C. workers watched as the 787-10 Dreamliner took its first flight in North Charleston. (Photos/Kim McManus)
B
oeing built a new jet from start to finish and flew it for the first time from its North Charleston campus — a first for the aerospace giant and a first for South Carolina. The 787-10 Dreamliner, the newest and longest of the three Dreamliner models, took flight March 31 from a runway outside of Charleston International Airport. All other Boeing jets take their first flights from Boeing’s Seattle operations. The successful first test flight of the new 787-10 Dreamliner in South Carolina was a huge step for the aerospace company and its Lowcountry footprint, said Ken Sanger, Boeing’s vice president of 787 airplane development. Several thousand Boeing S.C. employees gathered to watch the jet take off. A nearby VIP tent was filled
with Boeing executives, customers and suppliers, as well as S.C. politicians and business leaders. Pilots Tim Berg and Mike Bryan, both captains for Boeing Test and Evaluation, flew around the Lowcountry, along the S.C. coastline and quickly across the North Carolina border during the nearly five-hour flight. “We had a great flight today,” Berg said. “This is a really great airplane, and it really shows the dedication of the teams and all of the people who worked on this program.” The pilots prepared for several weeks ahead of the first flight with Boeing’s flight teams and a 50-page checklist. Berg said he was most nervous about the weather cooperating and waking up to his alarm on flight day. The skies were clear however, and
otherNEWSMAKERS Employment of construction laborers is projected to grow 13% from 2014 to 2024, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Contract Construction has partnered with Berkeley County School District to offer on-the-job training to high school students. Twenty-five juniors and seniors from Timberland High School in St. Stephen went on a field trip to the company’s jobsites in the Lowcountry. President Greg Hughes said he hopes some of them will be his future employees.
16 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
the pilots took the plane to 20,000 feet during its initial flight. They performed in-air tests on flight controls, systems and handling qualities before landing the jet in North Charleston. A crowd cheered as they taxied into Boeing S.C.’s delivery center. “Mike and I just enjoyed the whole day,” Berg said. “We had a great plan. We had a great team. We had a great jet. We went out and flew it. We did exactly what we wanted to do, and it performed exactly like we thought it would, and that’s about as perfect as it gets for a test pilot.” Final assembly on the 787-10 began in December. President Donald Trump visited Boeing S.C.’s campus two months later to push pro-U.S. manufacturing stances at the aircraft’s debut. The 787-10 model, which is made of Contract Construction President Greg Hughes points out various components of the renovation project to students.
Timberland High School students tour the old Berkeley High School building that is being renovated to become the Berkeley Education Center. (Photos/Ashley Heffernan)
parts from global suppliers, is assembled from start to finish in North Charleston. Its 787-8 and 787-9 family members are assembled in both North Charleston and Everett, Wash. All aft- and midbody Dreamliner parts are made in North Charleston. The 787-10 will undergo comprehensive flight testing at Boeing Field in Seattle before customer deliveries in the first half of 2018. The company now has 171 orders for the jet from customers around the world. The 787-10 is 18 feet longer than the 787-9. “I was lucky enough to come in in 2011 — the first time an eight-seven ever came in here and they were pouring concrete and it was just being built — and now we’ve come this far with this beautiful flying machine,” Berg said. CRBJ
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NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 5.1.17 Issue
May 1 - 14,
2017 • www.charle
Volvo carves man ufac stonbusines
s.com
By Liz Segrist
turing site from Berkeley County woods Volume 23, No.
lsegrist@scb pine trees, dotted iznews.com and the occasionalwith churches, homes ess than two Construction restaurant, the pany’s years crews still need com- asphalt North American after Volvo Cars’ seemed massive manufacturing to pour for the makers jumped CEO Lex Kersse- woods. to appear out of nowherecampus a vehicle test employee parking lots, track and a into a bulldozer in the yard the automaker’ marshaling designed to at The body shop, store finished much of the s groundbreaking event, vehicles. car manufactur assembly buildings’ paint shop and final Around 800 constructio in Berkeley County ing campus n workers, managers and engineers exteriors ed. The steel is complete. are on outline of an are complet- Bulldozers In an area of office the county lined and a storage and forklifts site each day. area for partially building around the with tall vehicles work noisily campus. finished now stands ready.
L
FORTIFYING the See VOLVO,
Volvo carves manufacturing site from Berkeley County woods
Honoring Hollings
Former vice president honors U.S. Sen. Ernest “Fritz” Hollings at unveiling. Page statue 2
Entrepreneursh
Charleston-North Charleston top metro in S.C. for starting business. Page a 10
ip
INSIDE Upfront ................... Special Section: .......... 2 Small Business Resource Guide ............. 15 In Focus: Information Technology................... . 25 Lists: Law Firms ........... 30 At Work ................... ....... 33 People in the News Business Digest ......... 33 Hot Properties .............. 33 ................. Viewpoint................... 38 ..... 39
By Liz Segrist
L
C
SMALL BUS
“This is how we can show this market that we’re serious about it and turn things around,” Fjording said. “This used to be our largest market. We want it to be first or second market again.” The automaker plans to employ 4,000 people on the site in the coming years to produce a second vehicle there. Fjording, who most recently led the launch of three Volvo plants in China, is charged with getting the U.S. operation off the ground. She said the complex project involves much more than the campus buildout. Work also includes equipment installation, establishment of a logistical footprint, vetting and securing of suppliers, hiring and training of thousands of production workers, IT setup for the site and the launch of a new vehicle model, as well as connecting with the local community. “It really is a huge undertaking to build a full industrial footprint from scratch,” she said. The Sweden-based, Chinese-owned automaker also wants to establish a purchasing and manufacturing organization at the Berkeley County site. Such an operation would support the launch and build of the S60, as well as production of the newest version of the XC90. “We always assumed when we started to build this (site) that, in due time, there should be a second car. ... If we go to a third car, it needs even further expansion,” Kerssemakers said. “But we have the space, so never say ‘never.’ ” Company officials have also discussed the possibility of relocating the company’s U.S. headquarters from New Jersey to South Carolina. Fjording said that is dependent on executives having nonstop flights to central Europe and central California to easily access manufacturing and research-and-development facilities.
scbiznews.com
See TIPPING,
INESS
Page 6
➤
grow a business?
Construction progress on Volvo’s office building (from left), a storage area for half-finished vehicles, the paint shop and body shop as of April. (Photos/Liz Segrist)
Volvo Cars in Berkeley County
1,600
2.3 million
60,000
acres on the site in Berkeley County
square feet of buildings
cars to be produced initially
35,000
of the 60,000 will be exported via the Port of Charleston
CRBJ
otherNEWSMAKERS Ernest “Fritz” Hollings — who served as a U.S. senator, S.C. governor and lieutenant governor — was honored with a statue in the garden of the J. Waties Waring Judicial center in downtown Charleston. Joe Biden, who served with Hollings in the U.S. Senate before becoming vice president, attended the unveiling, along with Hollings, who turned 95 in January. Hollings signed legislation in the 1960s to create what became the state’s technical college system. He is also credited with the establishment of the state’s educational television network. (Photo/Ashley Heffernan)
18 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
By Ashley Hefferna n aheffernan@
GUIDE
you start a business, Page 15
Katarina Fjording, Volvo Cars executive, about progress talks at the company’s Berkeley County manufacturing site. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
harleston now has a no-tipping rant, but its restauowner doesn’t concept expect the Lowcountry. to pioneer a movement in the “I think we’re uniquely positioned do such a thing,” said to Lawrence Mitchell, co-owner of Gaulart & Maliclet also known as French Cafe, Fast Mitchell said & French. employees of Broad St. in the cafe, at 98 downtown Charleston, longer accepting are no expected them tips — and he said they never previously. The now adopted eatery also all-inclusive menu prices. has “People tip because it’s States, but they customary in the just or a couple dollars leave change at the register here and there Our system on the table. has tips,” he said. never been to rely on those “We’ve always staff a living, paid our waitfair it’s busy or it’s wage; regardless of whether slow, they’re thing.” getting the same Receipts given to credit card longer have customers the option to leave a tip, and no new
RESOURCE Who can help
➤
French eatery in Charleston cuts out tipping
FUTURE
Bigger ships and heavier cranes require a major renovation to strengthen the Wando Welch Terminal in Mount Pleasant. Page 14
Photo/Kim McManus
ess than two years after Volvo Cars’ North American CEO Lex Kerssemakers jumped into a bulldozer at the automaker’s groundbreaking event, much of the car manufacturing campus in Berkeley County is complete. In an area of the county lined with tall pine trees, dotted with churches, homes and the occasional restaurant, the company’s massive manufacturing campus seemed to appear out of nowhere in the woods. The body shop, paint shop and final assembly buildings’ exteriors are completed. The steel outline of an office building and a storage area for partially finished vehicles now stands ready. Employee parking lots, a vehicle test track and a marshaling yard designed to store finished vehicles are underway. Around 800 construction workers, managers and engineers are on site each day. Bulldozers and forklifts work noisily around the campus. Much more work remains, however, before the first-ever S60 sedan rolls off the line in 2018, followed by the XC90 in 2021, said Katarina Fjording, purchasing and manufacturing vice president for Volvo Car U.S. Operations. The buildings — while standing and weather-tight — are not finished inside. Equipment and process installations are ongoing. The buildings await machinery, robots, assembly lines and the thousands of workers that will build Volvo vehicles for the North American markets, as well as for overseas customers. Fjording said she hopes to have the first vehicle body of the S60 completed by the end of the year. Full vehicle production will begin in 2018. When operations ramp up, 2,000 people will work at the site to build the S60, which the company hopes will enamor the U.S. market again.
Page 12
10 • $2.00
2,000
jobs created initially
n progress ce building orage area d vehicles, p and body as of April. Liz Segrist)
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 5.29.17 Issue
May 29 - June
11, 2017 • www.char
Palmetto Brewery decides to stay; buys downtown site
Stopped at the border
Auto parts company under investigation in import case. Page 11
Fueling roads
Lawmakers pass roads bill that could raise $600 million a year Page 7
Wage gap in
Palmetto State’s S.C. income disparity between genders narrows to 19th in U.S. Page 2
lestonbusiness.com
Venture capital scarce for comp anies By Liz Segrist
More than advice
lsegrist@scb
Volume 23,
No. 12 • $2.00
surging beyond startup
offer enough iznews.com early and later-stage for startups, funding arly stage technology spurring entreprene Salzhauer hopes urs companies have in other tech hubs, few venture to fill that including Siliconto pitch for young tech capital funding Boston and New companies in funding gap Valley, She South Carolina. options in York. the Southeast. recently launched Although more “We call it a Good Growth angel groups which is in the capital in recent years Capital, hauer, an entreprene desert,” said Amy process of raising to provide early have launched for investment Salz- lars, stage and despite Boston-based Ignitionur and former CEO s. The Charleston $20 million SCRA’s SC Launch seed dol- ital firm’s of making venture capVentures. fund managers $250,000 South Carolina program expect to close has long struggled startups, budding investments in S.C.-based their financing round on companies often to when trying The firm plans soon. fall short to secure follow-on to invest in companies investments. See INVESTORS, Page 10
E
Check out insight, photos and advice from local business leaders. Pages 4, 12, 30
CALLIN
G ON CHARLEST ON The Cosco Developmen t is the largest ship to ever call on the Port of Charleston. Officials said many more like it are headed for Charleston Harbor.
Page 6.
INSIDE
Upfront ................... SC Biz News Briefs ............. 2 ................ 3 Best Advice ................... ....... 4 In Focus: Human List: Office SupplyResources 15 Equipment Dealersand ............. 19 Bonus List: Employee Brokers ................... Benefit At Work ................... ........... 21 ...........23 Peer to Peer ................... .....26 Hot Properties .....................28 Viewpoint ................... ........29 Day in the Life .................... 30 Photo/Ryan Wilcox
Defining culture
City halts new developments on James Island
N
By Liz Segrist
lsegrist@scb iznews.com
ew developme areas on Jamesnts in commercial Island have stopped for been Charleston City the next six months. Council responded izens’ outcries to citabout overdevelop struggling ment and infrastructure approving the by unanimous moratorium ly in May. The ordinance prevents accepting or processing any the city from from developers new application s four residential who want to build more than cial structure units per acre or a commerlarger than in non-residen 1,500 square feet tial Island are inside areas. Only parts of the city of Charleston James “James Island . pers are runningis so hot right now and temKathleen Wilson so high,” Councilwo man said. More than 1,600 residents signed in favor of a a petition two-year moratorium apartment projects to stop new on James high-density developments Island. They said more residents continue to bring ture remains to the island while infrastrucunchanged, causing major congestion on traffic Folly Road and way, among Maybank Highother roads. See JAMES ISLAND,
HR professional s say it takes more than gimmicks to meaningfull y engage today’s workers. Page 14
By Liz Segrist
Palmetto Brewing Co. has purchased its site at 289 Huger St. in downtown Charleston. The brewery’s owners plan to expand into the Coastal Coffee Roasters site and tear down the Brooks Signs building. (photos/Andrew Sprague)
P
almetto Brewing Co. has canceled its plans to relocate to North Charleston, opting instead to stay at its longtime brewing site at 289 Huger St. in downtown Charleston. The brewery would have been part of The Beach Co.’s redevelopment of the Garco site, a planned mixed-use project with residences and commercial spaces in Park Circle. The owners instead decided to buy the property they have leased for more than 24 years for $2.9 million, when that became an option. “This is our original location; we have been brewing here since 1993. ... It was an opportunity we didn’t want
to pass up,” said Kate Fischer, Palmetto Brewing’s casing room manager. White Point Partners — a Charlotte development firm listed as Huger Street Holdings LLC on Charleston County land records — bought Palmetto’s downtown space and those of its neighbors, Charleston Coffee Roasters and Brooks Signs, for $7.8 million in 2015, county records show. The firm planned to demolish the buildings and build 200 apartments there, prompting the businesses to look elsewhere for space. The brewery also needed room to expand. Palmetto Brewing Co. bought a 5.83acre site on the former Garco factory site between Chateau and Virginia ave-
nues in North Charleston in response. White Point Partners then notified the brewery in February of a chance to buy its downtown site. Palmetto Brewing decided to buy the property instead of relocating. An expansion and renovation of the site is underway next to White Point Partners’ 190-unit apartment project at 287 Huger St. The owners of Palmetto still own the land at the Garco site; they have not yet made plans for it. “When it came down to it, all signs pointed to staking our claim in the place Palmetto has called home since 1993,” Palmetto Brewery owner Larry Lipov said in a statement. “There’s a lot of history and
otherNEWSMAKERS All JDM Motors LLC, an auto parts seller in North Charleston, is under investigation as to whether it attempted to smuggle a restricted vehicle from Japan into the United States through the Port of Charleston, according to federal court documents. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers found a bubble-wrapped 1996 Nissan Skyline inside a shipping container. The vehicle is banned in the U.S. for its failure to meet safety and environmental standards.
20 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
The court documents said the packaging of the Nissan Skyline made it appear the company was attempting to smuggle goods into the country. (Photo/Provided by federal court documents)
great memories for us in this space, so we took the leap. We still own the space in North Charleston, but for now it’s all about making our Huger Street home the best it can be, so we can keep making great beer that people enjoy. It feels great to own where you came from.” In November, Catawba Brewing Co., of Morganton, N.C., moved to buy Palmetto Brewing Co. for an undisclosed amount. The sale is set to close by the end of the year. The new ownership said it plans to invest in renovating the existing space and hiring more people. CRBJ
Staff writer Patrick Hoff contributed to this story.
Page 8
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 6.12.17 Issue
June 12 - 25,
2017 • www.char
Spoleto turns
41
The 17-day arts festival ran through early June to local and global audiences. Page 6
Charleston Under Construction
Manufacturing growth continues in S.C.
Check out the projects dotting the regional landscape. Page 19
Helping startups
Charleston company to give early stage works startups a boost. Page 7
S.C. ASSO PRESS CIAT ION awa
By Liz Segrist
lsegrist@scb iznews.com
Volume 23,
No. 13 • $2.00
historic homes in Charleston
ton single. The floor from two centuries was falling in, crumbling hen Joe Lobert of use and much of the neglect, and renovators. wood was rotting. his renovation first walked into “It was very The home project at 63 dilapidated leaned heavily cliffe Rad- embodying to one side, neglected. It was probably and had been full run of the St., rats, bats and fleas the “Charleston had in old home. house I have the second-wo slant” often homes on the ever worked Termites feasted rst on, peninsula. Parts found who has been interior walls floors and siding on the old pine renovating homes” said Lobert, of the sula were walls, of the two-story for 15 years. on the peninThe 1840s-era charred from a fire. “It would be Charles- age home easier to knock through its scars, showed the structure’s it down, but from a preservatio secrets and demands n perspective , for See LUXURY SIMPLIFIED, Page 10
W
MANUFACT URING Construction to star
BOOM
t soon to deepen harbor
D
Tech in real estate
Mobile devices, websites reshaping how property moves in the market. Page 9
INSIDE
Upfront ................... SC Biz News Briefs ............... 2 ..................3 Best Advice ................... .........4 Special Section: Growth Report Manufacturing .....................14 In Focus: Architecture , Engineering and Construction ........................19 List: Engineering Companies36 At Work ................... Scout Boats in ............ 39 Peer to Peer ................... Summerville plans to invest ...... 42 more than 300 Hot Properties new hires. Manufacturer $11 million and double its workforce ...................... Viewpoint ................... 44 with expanding operations, s find South Carolina ......... 45 ripe for opening though workforce Day in the Life and challenges continue ...................... 46 Photo/Ryan Wilcox to be a growing Page 14 pain.
By Liz Segrist
lsegrist@scb iznews.com
redges are set to begin the process of deepening Charleston Harbor this fall, after spending proposal President Donald Trump’s allocated $17.5 federal funding million in to The money for the Charleston project. ate the deepest the project, which will crethe end of the harbor on the East Coast decade, by Corps of Engineers’ comes from the fiscal year 2017 Army plan, which work outlines the projects across country that will receive the the agency’s funding. The Army Corps also named the Charleston dredging plan budgeting. Each one of six “new starts” when ect must secure stage of the deepening projmoney can be this designation before any allocated, said the S.C. State Barbara Melvin, Ports Authority’s president of senior vice operations “While the money and terminals. it is also extremely is extremely important, important that that designation so that the federal we receive flow to us. dollars can The Army Corps in our ability was confident to move this said Melvin, project forward,” who also oversees the deepening See PORT DEEPENING,
Profiles in Busines
By Liz Segrist
Scout Boats CEO Steve Potts plans to build a 120,000-square-foot expansion near the company’s existing facilities to launch a new line of watercraft. The expansion on U.S. Highway 78 in Summerville will result in up to 320 new jobs for the region. (Photos/Ryan Wilcox)
S
merce Secretary Bobby Hitt said. Former Gov. Nikki Haley heavily recruited manufacturers during her tenure. The state Commerce Department planned recruiting trips around the world to market South Carolina as a place to put down manufacturing roots, and amenities like lucrative incentives packages, available land and proximity to the Port of Charleston helped sweeten the deal. Companies like Boeing, Mercedes-Benz Vans, Volvo Cars and Scout Boats, among many others, have since invested in Lowcountry manufacturing operations. The manufacturing sector “has grown up bigger, faster and more complex than we thought. ... The reason the world comes to our door now is that those men and women in the plants and their capabilities are producing those complex consumer products, like a BMW. It the best advertising we’ve ever had,” Hitt said. CRBJ
otherNEWSMAKERS When Joe Lobert first walked into 63 Radcliffe St., rats, bats and fleas had full run of the home. Termites feasted on the old pine walls, floors and siding of the two-story Charleston single. Charleston firm Luxury Simplified Construction oversaw the renovation work. Workers restored the exterior to its original look, using as much of the same materials from centuries ago as possible. “It’s not a cookie-cutter home. ...You put the puzzle of an old house back together, and at the end, you’ve got this beautiful product,” Lobert said.
22 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
s
Showcasing local companies operating in the Charleston area. Inside
cout Boats CEO Steve Potts remembers building his company’s first boat model in his garage nearly 30 years ago. Today, Scout Boats employs 350 people in a 220,000-square-foot facility in Summerville. Its boats are sold globally. Scout is now preparing to build its largest boat to date, a 53-foot yacht, requiring an $11 million investment and 320 new hires. “We started out as a small boat builder,” Potts said. “We have grown very steadily ever since.” The state began making a broader shift away from textiles toward global manufacturing a few decades ago, with the opening of Michelin in the 1970s, followed by BMW in the 1990s, both in the Upstate. “We started moving from a sort-of generic manufacturing state to a brand manufacturing state, and that has intensified over the years,” S.C. Com-
Renovations on a home at 63 Radcliffe St. in downtown Charleston involved fully gutting the interior for an open floor plan. Workers also restored the exterior to its original, 1840s-era look by removing one piece of wood at a time and treating it for damage caused by termites or age. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
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lestonbusiness.com
Renovators piece together
Page 8
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 6.26.17 Issue
June 26 - July
Hospitality workforce shortage threatens viability of tourism
9, 2017 • www.charl
S.C. ASSO PRESS CIAT awar ION
estonbusin
Charleston turns toward By Liz Segrist
lsegrist@scb
ess.com
Upper Peninsula as space
Volume 23,
No. 14 • $2.00
Waiting to be seated
Rail on rubber
Bus rapid transit proposal moves forward as alternative way to travel to work. Page 16
China plant in
A fiberglass maker S.C. locate in Richland plans to County with $11 million investment. Page 3
A hospitality workforce shortage puts reputation as a Charleston’s food and beverage destination at risk. Page 10
INSIDE Upfront .................... SC Biz News Briefs .............. 4 .................. 5 Best Advice .................... In Focus: Transportatio ........ 6 n and Infrastructure .................... .. 15 List: Largest Employers Bonus List: Business ........ 19 Communications Companies 21 At Work .................... ............23 Peer to Peer .................... ......26 Hot Properties .................... ...28 Viewpoint .................... .........29 Day in the Life .................... ...30
Suzy Castelloe
prepares shrimp
on June 16 in the
Charleston Place
kitchen. (Photo/Patrick
Framework for cycling, walking
By Patrick Hoff
Plan offers ideas for easing congestion in Charleston. Page 15
Suzy Castelloe prepares shrimp on June 16 in the Charleston Place kitchen. (Photo/Patrick Hoff)
R
estaurants and hotels across the country are struggling to find qualified candidates for jobs, and Charleston is no exception. Charleston’s reputation that secured accolades over the years — including being named the No. 2 City in the World by Travel & Leisure magazine in 2017 — has been built primarily on hospitality. Mickey Bakst, general manager at Belmond Charleston Place, fears that if the shortage isn’t remedied, Charleston’s stature as a tourist destination could be in jeopardy. “Charleston’s reputation in the last five years, 10 years — all of the great
growth that we’ve seen, the awards that we’ve gotten, they’re all based on hospitality, they’re not based on history,” he said. Linn Lesesne, chairwoman of the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau board of governors, said there’s a general consensus in the hospitality industry that low national and local unemployment rates are causing a shortage of workers. The unemployment rate in Charleston County was 3% in May, according to the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce. Bakst said another factor is the number of restaurants opening in the area.
otherNEWSMAKERS Ohio-based North American Properties planned to invest $1 billion into developing Laurel Island into a massive, mixed-use development along the Cooper River. The 10-year transformation of the former landfill into the Lorelei community was expected to bring 2,000 residential units, Class A office space, retail space, restaurants, at least one hotel, meeting space and an entertainment venue. The deal is off, however, after city planners and developers failed to agree on the number of lanes needed on an access bridge.
24 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
“Twelve years ago, there weren’t even a fifth of the restaurants there are now,” he said. Lesesne said the bureau, the Greater Charleston Restaurant Association and the Charleston Area Hospitality Association are working together to combat what she called a “workforce crisis.” One of the major initiatives has been to find alternative sources of employees, working with organizations such as the homeless service One80 Place, the prison rehabilitation project Turning Leaf, Palmetto Goodwill, the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center and the S.C. Vocational Rehabilitation Department.
The restaurant association also launched a members-only resume portal to help employers connect with job seekers. Karalee Fallert, co-owner of The Park Cafe, said she’s hopeful that solutions can be found for the workforce shortage, but she pointed out that there’s a nationwide problem of less people getting into hospitality. “It’s hard to have a family, hard to make it work for a lot of different reasons, so I think we have to get creative ourselves as industry leaders about how to make it a more livable industry,” she said.
Welcome to
CRBJ
Laurel Island Laurel Island is an undeveloped site, tucked away on the Upper Peninsula and along the Cooper River. Gravel paths and grassy fields dot its landscape. The most recent attempt to develop it failed. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
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tightens downtown
la transformin iznews.com g — known, in from an industrial area part, for warehouses encourage such growing city superfund sites with limited developmen and Upper — into a more able room on avail- cial ts on the Peninsula. and residential commerinto a massive, its historic insula, Several large-scale penPlanners talk neighborhood. along the Coopermixed-use developmen land beyond Charleston is turning to communiti would have of office developmen t River. The former the brought thousands es that fill sits north as an extension Crosstown Expressway filled with tech companies, ts dential landof the Arthur of resiunits and millions of itself and increasing demand an answer to housing options for residents affordable in office of square feet Bridge near Morrison Drive. Ravenel Jr. space have lanes throughout and Tall grass, wildflowers The city envisionsfor space. the community bike construction could died or stalled before the Upper Peninsu- hope to see tall buildings , gravel paths and the occasional . They An Ohio-based begin, however. and high-density projects, real estate company tree cover the large trash can and palm and the city swath of land. has zoned to announced its intention offers a view The site last year How healthy $1 billion into of the Ravenel developing Laurelto invest bridge; the are you at work? Island See UPPER PENINSULA, Workers talk about Page 8 effectiveness of workplace wellness programs. Page 2
A
Hoff)
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 7.10.17 Issue
July 10 - 23,
2017 • www.charl
Tech acquisiti
on Blackbaud plans to purchase a London-base d crowdfunding company. Page 12 More demand for offices than supply
Office space continues lacking in Charleston to be area. Page 24
Growing business: S.C. legalizes industrial hemp farming
Medal of Honor Museum update
The planned museum is looking for $100M more. Page 8
Boeing’s next
jet The company announced a new composite aircraft at the Paris Air Show. Page 2
INSIDE
estonbusin
S.C. ASSO PRESS CIAT awar ION
By Liz Segrist
lsegrist@scb iznews.com
Volume 23,
South Carolina, paving the way trial hemp farming for an indusndustrial hemp industry to could become time. emerge over paper, fuel, food, nutritional in South Carolina a cash crop industrial oils, supplements, if farmers Hemp comes limited pilot cosmetics, from the same program for help test a as marijuana plant species plastics and seeds, to name pharmaceuticals, versatile plant. growing the but does not a few. The new law have the same choactive ingredients. Gov. Henry outlines a pilot psy- test the Companies McMaster recently trial hemp to program crop’s viability a law that legalizes use induscreate products in South Carolina. to signed textiles, the crop’s cultivation such as fabrics, idea is to start small carpeting, home — with a maximumThe 20 growers and in struction of 400 acres in materials, auto furnishings, contotal in the first parts, composites, See HEMP FARM, Page 14
I
‘BUtoILT LAST’
Developers breathe plans to redevelop new life into Garco site with the historic mill connect it to North Charleston’ building and s commercia residential and l, retail districts. Page 19
Upfront .................... SC Biz News Briefs ............ 2 ................ 3 Best Advice .................... In Focus: Commercial ...... 4 Real Estate.......... List: Commercial ............... 19 Estate CompaniesReal ............. 30 Hot Properties .................... .27 At Work .................... .......... 31 Viewpoint .................... .......37 Day in the Life .................... 38 Photo/Kim McManus
Liquor licenses now require $1M insurance By Patrick Hoff
phoff@scbizn ews.com
E
stablishments that want to hol now have serve alcoanother hurdle in getting a liquor license: to jump $1 million in obtaining liquor liability insurance. A bill passed in May by the Assembly stipulates S.C. General that any serving alcohol after 5 p.m. mustestablishment $1 million have at least in receive or renew liquor liability insurance to a Katherine Wells,liquor license after July 1. staff attorney ate Judiciary for the SenCommittee, said chosen as the threshold because$1 million was passed law that of a previously required
craft brewers $1 million in to have liability insurance going to give samples to customers.if they were Russ Dubisky, executive director Insurance Association of the S.C. , said most ments probably establishliquor liability already have some amount insurance — of of the amount. it’s just a question “They might sus a million, have limits of $500,000 veror lion that they something less than $1 milwould need to increase to be
Pets in the office
See LIQUOR LICENSE,
New agribusiness sector for S.C. • How does industrial hemp differ from marijuana? Hemp and marijuana come from the same plant species, cannabis sativa, but marijuana is the flower of the plant and hemp is the fibers, and they differ in concentrations of THC. Legally, THC levels determine whether the substance is considered an agricultural product or a regulated drug. The new S.C. law defines industrial hemp as any part of the plant with a THC concentration that does not exceed 0.3% on a dried weight basis. Anything above that is considered marijuana and is illegal in the state.
I
ndustrial hemp could become a cash crop in South Carolina if farmers help test a limited pilot program for growing the versatile plant. Gov. Henry McMaster signed a law that legalizes the crop’s cultivation in South Carolina, paving the way for an industrial hemp farming industry to emerge over time. The new law outlines a pilot program to test the crop’s viability in South Carolina. The idea is to start small — with a maximum of 20 growers and 400 acres in total in the first year — and potentially expand in ensuing years. Interested growers can apply with the S.C. Department of Agriculture. The law requires four-year colleges and universities to collaborate with agriculture officials to conduct research on the progress of the crops and the
pilot program, as well as to work with growers. Clemson University’s Public Service and Agriculture arm expects to create a research-based pilot program, a spokesman said. Legislative sponsors of the bill said industrial hemp crops create more opportunities for farmers and could spark new business in the state. Hemp growers need buyers for their products and, in some cases, processing plants. “I believe this gives our farmers another option, and options are always good,” said Rep. Sylleste Davis, R-Moncks Corner. A section of the 2014 Farm Bill, signed by President Barack Obama, allowed universities and state agriculture departments to begin cultivat-
ing industrial hemp for research purposes or pilot programs. At least 20 states have passed laws allowing research and pilot programs, and 16 states have now legalized industrial hemp production for commercial purposes, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some of those states have made headway in the industry. Kentucky’s agriculture department approved in 2017 more than 200 applications for farmers to grow hemp on around 13,000 acres — nearly triple the acreage that was approved in 2016. Since Colorado’s Department of Agriculture launched its program in 2014, grower registrations have increased an average of 28% annually. About 9,000 acres were dedicated to industrial hemp in 2016.
otherNEWSMAKERS Establishments that want to serve alcohol now have another hurdle to jump in getting a liquor license: obtaining $1 million in liquor liability insurance. A bill passed in May by the S.C. General Assembly stipulates that any establishment serving alcohol after 5 p.m. must have at least that amount of liquor liability insurance to receive or renew a liquor license after July 1. Katherine Wells, staff attorney for the Senate Judiciary Committee, said $1 million was chosen as the threshold because of a previously passed law that required craft brewers to have $1 million in liability insurance if they were going to give samples to customers.
26 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
CRBJ
No. 15 • $2.00
S.C. legalizes indu strial hemp farm ing
Charleston-area businesses send pics of their puppies, in kitties, piggies and tell stories about their work buddies. Pages 34-36
By Liz Segrist
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ess.com
Growing business:
• Industrial hemp products Products derived from industrial hemp can include cannabinoids, cloth, construction materials, cordage, fiber, food, fuel, paint, paper, particleboard, plastics, seed, seed meal, supplements, seed oil for consumption, and seed for cultivation, if the seeds originate from industrial hemp varieties. • What does the industrial hemp law allow? The S.C. Department of Agriculture will allow 20 permits and up to 20 acres per grower for the first year. For the second and third years, it will allow 40 permits and up to 40 acres per grower. For subsequent years, the department and four-year colleges and universities will determine the number of allowable permits and acreage. Applicants must submit information indicating where hemp will be grown and are required to have a contract with a buyer. Applicants must agree to criminal record checks by the State Law Enforcement Division and the FBI.
Page 6
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 7.24.17 Issue
July 24 - August
6, 2017 • www.char
S.C. ASSO PRESS CIAT ION awa
lestonbusiness.com
On the waterfro
nt Proposal could expand popular Waterfront along Charleston Park Harbor. Page 11
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MEETING A NEED Volume 23,
No. 16 • $2.00
Charleston hopes an affordable residential developmen the peninsula’s t planned for Eastside neighborho od will help some downtown address residents afford and mitigate the a city’s increasing cost of housing.
Page 6
Charleston plans affordable housing development on peninsula
T
Charleston accuses of Broad homeownerSouth of violating rental law. Page 9
Banking startup
Proposal would create new community bank in Charleston area. Page 20
Regulating credit
Possible changes to Dodd-Frank law could help small business lending, banks say. Page 12
INSIDE
Photo/Liz Segrist
Debate on offshor returns to S.C. e drilling coast
Costly multifami housing ‘not just ly developer prob a lem’
Upfront ............................. SC Biz News Briefs .................... 2 By Liz Segrist ......................... 3 Best Advice ............................. lsegrist@scb egy” makes iznews.com ........... 4 In Focus: Banking the and Arctic Ocean, outer continental shelf in Finance ............................. resident Donald the Atlantic Ocean .................17 List: Banks ............................. and By Patrick Hoff Trump touted Mexico eligible for increased energy offshore drilling, Gulf of outrage among Bonus List: Executive ......... 27 phoff@scbiz his campaign, independence during news.com environmentalists, causing Recruiting Firms among many and in an executive concern .........................29 coastal communiti order to open April, he signed ment At Work ............................. ffordability is es and excitein the oil and of previously millions of acres ..................31 the No. 1 issue protected federal Peer to Peer............................. multifamily Trump said thesegas sector. and gas exploration waters for oil housing in the facing ........34 Hot Properties waters contain Charleston area, and ................................36 comment periods and production. Public oil and natural gas abundant Viewpoint............................. it’s going to reserves, work from on those changes government take underway. .............37 has kept 94% “but the federal problem, multiple parties to Day in the Life are now areas take on the ................................38 of these offshore according to closed for exploration The “America-F a panel of industry experts. irst Offshore and production Energy Strat.” “I know various See OFFSHORE municipalities DRILLING, Page have 12 See MULTIFAMIL Y, Page 10
P
A
Are you still here?
A lot of young adults in South Carolina live at home even though jobs or go to school. most of them have Page 2
By Liz Segrist he cost of living sits high among Charleston’s growing pains. As explosive growth brings internationally recognized companies, new jobs and nearly three dozen new residents a day, it also creates a more expensive housing market. “Affordability is the No. 1 issue facing our region,” said Dan Doyle, senior vice president of development for The Beach Co. The region’s popularity has boosted housing demand, and the lagging supply and rising cost of construction contribute to the housing affordability problem, Doyle said. Regional wages have failed to keep pace as rental rates and home prices have risen. Many residents — 33% of homeowners and 52% of renters — are living in homes they struggle to afford, spending more than 30% of their income on housing costs, according to Housing Matters S.C., a public awareness campaign launched by the S.C. Community Loan Fund. But the affordable housing problem isn’t isolated to Charleston. Cities and towns across the country feel the dearth of affordable housing, which continually affects more people across the income scale, said Sue Popkin, a senior fellow in the Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center for the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based policy and research organization. “We’re in the worst affordable housing crisis in memory. ... Charleston is not alone in this,” Popkin said. “It’s happening everywhere.” A city-led affordable housing development is now in the planning stages in Charleston. City leaders hope it will offer some relief for residents with low to moderate incomes who wish to live on the peninsula. The project is planned for the site of the former John P. Grace and Silas N. Pearman bridges in down-
City sues over short-term rentals
town Charleston. The bridges and some Eastside residences were demolished in the early 2000s to make way for the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge. Charleston donated 1.4 acres to the Charleston Housing Authority to build an affordable housing development on the land near Meeting and Lee streets. The new development, expected to cost $16 million, received $2.3 million from the city, including $300,000 for drainage work. The housing authority will cover the remaining cost through a loan that will be paid back using rental revenue. Don Cameron, president and CEO of the Charleston Housing Authority, said the need for such a project is huge, especially on the Eastside. The project includes apartments and single-family homes — a mix of rental and homeownership options — designed for people with low and moderate incomes. The units are not public housing, meaning they are not fully subsidized by the federal government. Some residents will pay in full; lower-income residents will pay part of the monthly rent, and government subsidies will cover the remaining costs. The development will be condominium-style units. Cameron said he envisions a mix of elderly residents, families and younger people; residents will likely work in jobs earning minimum wage or be at the beginning of their careers, earning lower salaries. “Gentrification has occurred on the Eastside of Charleston, and this is an attempt to provide a mix of incomes so people can hopefully return to live on the Eastside,” Cameron said. “There also is not a lot available on the peninsula, so this is hopefully one way of bringing back some people who otherwise could not afford to live downtown.”
PROJECT SITE
The city and Charleston Housing Authority plan to build an affordable housing development for lowto moderate-income residents near Meeting and Lee streets on Charleston’s Eastside neighborhood. The first phase is expected to open in 2020. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
PROJECT INVENTORY • Twenty-five one-bedroom units will be for elderly households or individuals earning between 30% and 50% of the area median income, set at $23,100, meaning renters for these units will earn between $6,930 and $11,550 a year. Renters will pay a portion for these units, and the federal government will pay the remainder through Section 8 funding. • Five two-bedroom units and five three-bedroom units will be for households or individuals earning 30% to 50% of the area’s median income, set at $23,100, meaning renters for these units will earn between $6,930 and $11,550 a year. Renters will pay a portion for these units, and the federal government will pay the remainder through Section 8 funding. • Twenty two-bedroom units will be for households or individuals earning up to 150% of the area median income, set at $23,100, meaning renters for these units will earn up to $34,650. Renters will pay for these units in full. • Five three-bedroom homes will be for sale for households earning up to 120% of the area median income, set at $23,100, meaning buyers will earn up to $27,720. The homes are for first-time buyers; they will be responsible for paying for the home. • The monthly mortgage payments are unknown; monthly rents will range from $526 to $840.
Source: Charleston Housing Authority, city of Charleston, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
CRBJ
otherNEWSMAKERS One of the most prominent parks and largest tourist attractions in downtown Charleston might see an expansion nearly 30 years after its opening, pending regulatory approvals. Lowe Enterprises, which plans to build a 225-room luxury hotel at 176 Concord St., wants to expand the existing Joseph P. Riley Jr. Waterfront Park along its property. The firm also wants to build an adjacent public dock and marina in Charleston Harbor. Lowe bought the current site of the S.C. State Ports Authority’s headquarters for $38 million in January.
28 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
Lowe Enterprises received unanimous approval from the Board of Architectural Review – Large for the new hotel project. (Rendering/Provided)
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 8.7.17 Issue
August 7 - 20,
2017 • www.char
Volume 23,
Lifting the Battery
City wants input on renovation at Low plans for Battery, White Point Garden. Page 13
Aging architecture brings challenges for businesses
S.C. ASSO PRESS CIAT ION awa
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Report outlines infrastructure prio rities amid
Commercial surge on Spruill Avenue
New construction , building renovations ongoing along North Charleston corridor. Page 14
Rising tide of
cargo S.C. State Ports Authority saw a 10% increase container volume in for the fiscal year. Page 6
INSIDE
No. 17 • $2.00
By Liz Segrist
lsegrist@scb iznews.com
H
AGE-OLD PROBLEM
Upfront ................... SC Biz News Briefs ............. 2 ................ 3 Best Advice ................... In Focus: Architecture ....... 4 , Engineering and Construction ...................... 13 List: Heating and Air In a city known Contractors ................... for its history and Bonus List: Commerical .....29 architecture, aging buildings Moving and Storage require businesses to Companies................... invest more time and money into keeping At Work ................... ..... 30 ........... 31 them safe. Page Peer to Peer ................... 8 .....34 Hot Properties .................... 36 Viewpoint ................... ........37 Day in the Life .................... 38 Photo/Patrick Hoff
Uncertainty linge for hospitals afterrs health care deba te
T
By Patrick Hoff
phoff@scbiz news.com
he months of debate and uncertainty over whether Republicans able to repeal would be the Affordable seem to be over, Care Act still concerned but hospitals and doctors are Washington about what comes next from regarding health care. Schipp Ames, executive director munications of comand pital Association marketing for the S.C. , said the intensity Hoshospitals has at S.C. lessened a bit care bill failed, since but he said seeing the health was “painting it as a relief it a little too positively.” “It’s been such a resilient that the (Trump) bill, and administration we think gress are so and Condedicated to this issue that think it’s something we that we continuing to are going to work on and be thing that we’ll definitely someclosely,” Ames be continuing to watch very said. Dr. Todd Shuman, chief physician at Roper St. officer Francis, said that although debate has settled in Washington the there’s still a for now, lot especially aroundof uncertainty in health care, cost. “We have the he said. “We same two pressures upon have a downward us,” pressure in See HEALTH CARE, Page 7
Who is Projects, companiesbuilding what in the Charleston , prices, projected area? timelines, photos and stories. Page 13
Photo Illustration/Andrew Sprague
I
growth
industry continuing to add moving into residential housing,jobs, families capacity ours lost to flocking to commuting as top concerns, and tourists Charleston’s gested roadways, on conalong with affordable housing and downtown and the search for sitting on roads area’s beaches. the blocked skilled Derreberry While the Lowcountr streets flooded by trains and navigating said the Lowcountrworkers. will from rain and y’s economic y’s growth all part of a success- mentonly accelerate, requiring high tides are es rise, its infrastructu typical drive re woes worsen, “wise investchoices” in Bryan Derreberry for many Lowcountry residents. the region’s said network. transportation Charleston Metro , president and CEO of The region’s the Chamber of population grows “All these things Business leaders Commerce. are important daily with ity of our community equate transportat consistently rank for the abilinadto continue ion options to scale to and highway See INFRASTRUC TURE, Page 9
CHARLESTON UNDER CONSTRUCTION
By Patrick Hoff
n the past year and a half, Nick’s on King, Lagunitas’ Charleston Taproom on East Bay Street and Read Brothers have all been forced to close because of structural issues with each of their historic buildings located in downtown Charleston. Andy Meihaus, owner of Renew Urban Charleston, the contractor that’s been renovating the former Nick’s on King Street building at 288 King St. since October, said buildings deteriorating is pretty common in Charleston. “If you’re from 1830, you’re probably getting tired,” he said. “So things just get tired. These old buildings get tired.” The problem at 288 King St., Meihaus said, is that the original supports of the building are failing, causing the facade to cave out toward the street.
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Renew Urban shored up the building and saved the facade with a system of 135,000 pounds of concrete and steel that anchor the building to the street, designed by Mark Dillon of ADC Engineering. The exterior of the building still protrudes toward the street, but Meihaus said that gives an illusion that things are worse than they really are at this point. “Now that it’s secured and arrested, it’s totally fine,” he said. Meihaus predicted that the company would be able to remove the exterior structure within four to six months of starting work on the building, after they’re able to secure a concrete wall to the current facade. Meihaus said he’s planning for the entire renovation project to take two years. The owners of Ink Meets Paper leased a 2,000-square-foot building along Spruill Avenue, best known for its days as a 7-Eleven, and renovated the interior. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
30 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
David Howard, president of The Neighborhood Dining Group, said the appeal of the old buildings is a significant factor in the success of many restaurants in Charleston, but he said proper care has to be taken of the structures. “I just know that it’s a commitment, certainly on my part, to maintain these properties and the part to fund the upkeep,” Howard said. “It’s something that we take great pride in, but it’s also a great deal of work and a commitment.” The Neighborhood Dining Group operates McCrady’s Tavern at 2 Unity Alley, built before the American Revolution. The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. Howard said people who reside in an
old building “have a responsibility to maintain it at a high standard and a safe standard.” Josh Martin, senior adviser to Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg, said the city is keeping an eye on these issues and having discussions about ways to keep buildings safer as the city ages. The city usually gets involved with building deterioration on a case-by-case basis, and Martin said most property owners in the city properly maintain their buildings, so it isn’t common that the city has to get involved with mitigation. CRBJ
otherNEWSMAKERS More companies are relocating operations into newly renovated buildings or new construction along Spruill Avenue in North Charleston. Investors and company owners said they see an opportunity to build on more affordable land and along a main thoroughfare that connects two popular city centers — downtown Charleston and Park Circle. Jack Owens, a broker with Lee & Associates – Charleston, said activity has picked up recently. Thomas Boulware, senior broker at NAI Charleston, agreed: “That whole area is booming.”
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 9.4.17 Issue
September
4 - 17, 2017
Building boats
Another Dorchester County watercraft manufacture r plans expansion. Page 10
Long-planned Cainhoy development moves ahead
Taking flight
South Carolina high schools implementing aerospace curriculum. Page 17
Career options
Apprenticeship programs provide hands-on experience for students. Page 18
Making the list
More than two dozen Lowcountry companies make Inc. 5000 rankings. Page 13
• www.char
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Lawsuit accuses telecom firms of not By Patrick Hoff
phoff@scbiz news.com
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C
fees
GROWTH REACHES CAINHOY
Photo/Liz Segrist
INSIDE
Upfront ................... SC Biz News Briefs ............. 2 ................ 3 Best Advice ................... ....... 4 In Focus: Education and Workforce Developmen t ..... 17 List: Post Graduate Degree Programs................... Bonus List: Private ........27 At Work ...................Schools 28 ........... 31 Peer to Peer ................... .....34 Hot Properties .................... 36 Viewpoint ................... ........37 Day in the Life .................... 38
The owners of one of the last large-scale, undevelope in Charleston say d sites they hope to transform private Cainhoy the 9,000-acre Plantation into a mixed-use community public green space with and a legacy of smart growth. Page 6
Coding challeng
Companies continue es to need tech workers as coding boot camps face shifting landscape. Page 24
NORTH CHARLESTON
CAINHOY PLANTATION
TS EN EM CL
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RR
YR
41
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DANIEL ISLAND
MOUNT PLEASANT
The 9,000-acre Cainhoy Plantation sits within the city of Charleston and Berkeley County. It is a large, undeveloped tract of land surrounded by several municipalities. (Map/Emily Williams)
plans are now moving forward to transform it into an integral part of Charleston’s footprint. Developers plan to transform the private plantation over several decades into a mixed-use community with up to 9,000 homes; three public schools; new shops, restaurants and office buildings; and public green spaces. Matt Sloan, president of DI Development Co. — a Daniel Island firm made up of the Daniel Island Co. management team — said the land will become publicly accessible for the first time. “This is 9,000 acres in the heart of metropolitan Charleston that’s completely private,” Sloan said. “Last year, maybe 25 people enjoyed the property for recreation. That’s all about to change.” City leaders annexed the Cainhoy property in the 1990s. The city approved a planned unit development in 2014 that allows office, residential, retail, industrial and schools. The approval elicited concerns from several historic groups, environmental agencies and residents who wanted to ensure histor-
ical and natural assets would be preserved, and that adequate infrastructure would be built to prevent congestion. Of the 9,000 acres at Cainhoy, 4,500 acres will be designated for mixed-use developments, with about 1,000 acres of that land set aside for parks, trails, lakes, wetlands and open spaces. The remaining 4,500 acres will be protected from any development, remaining as natural open space, woods or wetlands. This includes a 500-acre nature sanctuary designed to protect wildlife and plant species that will be publicly accessible. Sloan said the Cainhoy community will be built slowly. “We don’t want to come across as a big scary thing that’s going to be this chokehold on Charleston,” Sloan said. “We’re going to be a very important part of the economic fabric of this community, but we’re going to be green, and we’re going to have very conservation-minded principles.”
otherNEWSMAKERS Sportsman Boats launched in 2011 with six employees in a 20,000-square-foot space in Summerville. Since shipping its first recreational boat in 2012, the company has moved into a larger space at 113 Isaac Way, hired about 250 employees and launched 21 boat models. “We’ve come a long way ... in a little over five years,” said Tommy Hancock, the company’s founder and president. Hancock said the company will invest $3.5 million in hiring 100 more people and adding 70,000 square feet of production space onto its existing, 200,000-square-foot facility.
32 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
Gov. Henry McMaster (from left), Sportsman Boats President Tommy Hancock and other officials broke ground on the boat builder’s expansion. The company plans to hire 100 people. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
CRBJ
Photo/Liz Segrist
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No. 19 • $2.00
concerning this at stake,” said area simply because lives Marlon harleston County are has filed a lawsuit Motley Rice and state Kimpson, an attorney at gation to make sure that against 20 telecommu they analyze and collect the senator. The lawsuit the law nications companies alleging is the first of the services,” funds due to them to support Carolina, but its that “knowingly Kimpson said. Kimpson said kind in South violate the law” the companies gation In Charleston this type of collecting and is going on by not properly County, telecommu liti- tions across remitting 911 companies must ness customers. nicafees from busi- service centers struggle the country as 911 collect every phone to provide services citizens. line they service. a 50-cent fee on “I can’t think to to keep of a more important 2% as an administra They’re allowed “I lawsuit on think that ... as more demands tive “The South 911 service centers, are Carolina law fee. counties have placed and local ordian obliSee TELECOM, Page 12
By Liz Segrist
he sound of gravel crunches underfoot, adding to the cicadas’ symphony nearby. All around, long-leaf pines stand tall, parting only for the centuries-old roadways that wind through Cainhoy Plantation. Clearings in the trees let history seep into view. A plantation-style home sits empty at the end of a lengthy drive. An old slave cemetery with crumbling headstones has freshly cut grass. Tucked away from the sounds of cars that speed down Clements Ferry Road each day, the Cainhoy land feels far removed from the bustle of Charleston. The land sits in Berkeley County, within the city of Charleston, bounded by the Wando and Cooper rivers, Daniel Island and the Francis Marion National Forest. One family — the Guggenheims — has owned the 9,000-acre plantation for decades. It is one of the few large tracts of undeveloped land remaining in the city of Charleston, seemingly unfazed by the development advancing toward its borders. But
Volume 23,
properly collec ting 911
Photo/Liz Segrist
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 9.18.17 Issue
September
18 - October
Co-working economy
Startups looking for space, community find several options in Charleston area. Page 17
Taking off
Industry group expects aerospace sector to worth $35 billion be in 10 years. Page 9
Joint Base Charleston assists in hurricane relief efforts
1, 2017 • www.char
S.C. ASSO PRESS CIAT ION awa
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MOBIL
TO HELPIZING Volume 23,
No. 20 • $2.00
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Land acquisit
Lowcountry Land ion Trust purchases 600 acres plans for conservationwith . Page 8
Patriots Point
plan State approves Patriots Annex LLC lease for use developmen mixedt near Cooper River. Page 11
INSIDE
Crews from Joint Base Charlesto n provided assistance to hurricane victims in Texas and the Caribbean and helped secure Charleston as Hurricane Irma threatene d. Page 10 Crew members unload supplies from a Charleston-ba storm hit Puerto Rico and other sed Air Force C-17 Caribbean islands in San Juan, Puerto as a catastrophic Rico, during a Category 5 storm hurricane relief before making mission to prepare landfall in Florida days later. (Photo/Staffthe island for Hurricane Irma. The Sgt. Douglas Ellis/U.S. Air Force)
Health care ind ustr
y warns of labo r crisis
Upfront ................... SC Biz News Briefs ............. 2 ................ 3 Best Advice ................... In Focus: Information ....... 4 By Patrick Hoff Technology ................... phoff@scbiz of caregivers. news.com ..... 17 List: IT Services and Jones was at Networking Companies hen Tom Jones, and physicians,” person stopped the fair for seven hours; At Work ................... ...... 21 said Schipp one director by. at the BeWell program director Ames, executive ...........23 He isn’t the of communica Home Services, Peer to Peer ................... only one facing struggling to tions and marketing was Across for the S.C. Hospital .....26 find enough Hot Properties this ees, the S.C. the country, employ- ties .....................28 Department hospitals and problem. ly these front-line, Association. “So it’s Viewpoint ................... are of Employme Workforce offered bedside clinicians realnt and nurses struggling to find enough care facili- you’re seeing ........29 him a booth Day in the Life where doctors and fair and sent to meet growing projected workforce .................... at a career hundreds of 30 demand. MUSC Health shortages.” “The workforce flyers to a database CEO Dr. Patrick said that every shortage focused on region has different Cawley front-line clinicians... is mostly needs and like nurses See HEALTH CARE SHORTAGE, Page 12
W
New expansio n plans for Charleston Internat ional
By Patrick Hoff
Airport tries to balance growing demand with construction plans. Page 6
Coast Guard Sector Charleston crew members assess the Port of Charleston on Sept. 11 in response to Hurricane Irma. (Photo/Petty Officer 2nd Class Loumania Stewart for the Coast Guard)
Staff Sgt. Lindsey McCoy of the 78th Logistics Readiness Squadron secures a truck with a cargo winch at Robins Air Force Base in Georgia. Flight crews from Joint Base Charleston delivered supplies and equipment to those affected by Hurricane Harvey. (Photo/ Senior Airman Thomas Charlton for Joint Base Charleston)
D
ays before Hurricane Irma pummeled the Lowcountry with punishing winds and a storm surge that swamped the Battery in a salty flood, Joint Base Charleston was on the ground and in the air, assisting those affected by the storm. Col. Christopher Karns, director of public affairs for Air Mobility Command — to which Joint Base Charleston’s 437th Airlift Wing and 628th Air Base Wing belong — said several C-17 Globemaster IIIs stationed at the base were flying to Pope Army Airfield in North Carolina to pick up medical supplies destined for St. Croix in the
U.S. Virgin Islands. Before Irma made landfall in Florida, C-17s also were delivering supplies and vehicles to San Juan, Puerto Rico, which was battered as the storm grazed the U.S. territory and cut a deadly swath across the Caribbean. During the storm, crews from Coast Guard Sector Charleston assessed the condition of the Port of Charleston and worked on Tradd Street to fortify navigational aids. The assessment team surveyed port terminals and collected data on damage and debris to determine when the terminals could return to full operation.
All aircraft stationed at Joint Base Charleston not involved in relief efforts or other missions around the world were relocated to Air Force bases across the country during hurricane preparations. “But once they basically arrive there, they continue to perform their worldwide mission until the storm passes (and) recovery occurs, because we’re entrusted with this equipment and we want to do everything possible to ensure uninterrupted service for our nation,” Karns said. He said typically 33% of Air Mobility Command
otherNEWSMAKERS The State Fiscal Accountability Authority unanimously approved a 99-year lease between Patriots Point Development Authority and Patriots Annex LLC, clearing the way for the latter to begin work on a mixed-use development of restaurants, shops, office buildings and a hotel adjacent to the USS Yorktown. The development is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs and state tax revenue of over $80 million during the lease, as well as $200 million of revenue through local taxes and fees.
34 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
Over the next 15 years, 60 acres adjacent to the USS Yorktown will become a mixed-use development with restaurants, shops, office buildings, an amphitheater and a hotel. (Rendering/ Provided)
missions are flown out of Charleston. Karns said Joint Base Charleston also played a “critical role” in assisting with relief after Hurricane Harvey. Airmen from the base flew more than 30 tons of medical supplies and more than 20 first responders to the area. “Our team has responded to this relief effort by getting supplies to those in need,” said Col. Jimmy Canlas, 437th Airlift Wing commander. “This is what we are trained to do. ... No matter the mission, we are ready to get any cargo to any place in the world in a moment’s notice.” CRBJ
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 10.2.17 Issue
October 2 -
15, 2017 • www.char
Volume 23,
Snapped up
Acquisition of Charleston’s SnapCap by LendingTree could reach $21 million. Page 6
Manufacturing opportunity
Eclipse brings economic boost to Charleston
Company hires workers who are blind to produce parts. Page 29
Development
ROI Consultant tells business, government leaders recalculate regional to value. Page 18
No. 21 • $2.00
the groundbrea off Interstate king of the Volvo Cars plant 26 near Ridgeville. n Sept. 25, 2015, This expansion den-based automaker Lex Kerssemak The Sweadds 1,910 president and ers, duction million to the was bringing CEO of Volvo Berkeley County jobs and $520 car proNorth America, Cars of initially to the U.S., hiring at least facility, bringclimbed 2,000 people ing the totals to nearly dozer on a muddy and 4,000 jobs and than expanse of land into a bull- the all-new investing $500 million County and more to build facility.$1 billion invested in S60 sedan. in Berkeley started the Lowcountr Two years later “We’ve got our digging. y to the day, Kerssemak “Today’s announcem confidence back stood in a new customers,” from our ers building on ent not only Kerssemakers the Volvo campus scores Volvo’s commitme undersaid then, during announcing the company’s nt to States, but also second vehicle, plans to build our commitme the United the XC90, in nt to South South Carolina. a
O
MOONSTRUCK August’s solar eclipse gave Charleston a economic boost $16.6 million and brought $269 million to South Carolina. Page 8
A
By Patrick Hoff
phoff@scbiz news.com
s Hurricane Irma was approachin the Southeast g during the first week of September, the Greater ton Restaurant CharlesAssociation Restaurant Week, which was kicking off customers into normally drives restaurants month of September. during the slow Despite several restaurants days beyond adding four the bring the same usual 11, the event didn’t boost restaurants to expect. have come “Unfortunately, we have completely lost of those sales,” all partner of The said Steve Palmer, managing Indigo Road “So September hospitality group. has been a really month for us, rough, rough and it’s He said it wasn’t just — sales are terrible.” tion did or didn’t anything that the associaof the hurricane, do — it was entirely because to Charleston which brought wind and rain on Sept. 11. David Howard, president of Dining Group, Neighborho od his restaurants said he saw the same thing . The at sales were down Saturday before the storm, 75%. “It’s definitely impacted (Restauran t Week) See IRMA’S IMPACT, Page 14
State certified
INSIDE
Upfront ................... SC Biz News Briefs ............. 2 ................ 3 Best Advice ................... In Focus: Manufacturin ....... 4 g.....29 List: Largest Manufacturers .................. 36 Bonus List: Industrial Agencies................... Staffing At Work ................... .........37 ...........39 Peer to Peer ................... .....42 Hot Properties .....................28 Viewpoint ................... ........44 Day in the Life People gather .................... on Marion Square 46 in downtown the solar eclipse Charleston to on Aug. 21. (Photo/Ashle witness y Sprouse)
Not the final
See VOLVO, Page
People gather on Marion Square in downtown Charleston to witness the solar eclipse Aug. 21. The eclipse brought an extra $16.6 million to the city, according to tourism data. (Photo/Ashley Sprouse)
the eclipse. “We were going to have a busy weekend anyway, but you add in the eclipse, and that gave you the Sunday and Monday nights that you typically don’t get,” he said. “So that’s where the enhancement came.” Across the state, the eclipse brought in $269 million, according to a study commissioned by the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism. “It was just a phenomenal event,” department spokeswoman Dawn Dawson-House said. “It was free, it was easy
to get to, it was a once-in-a-lifetime celestial event. We had good weather. All the stars aligned for us.” Smith said overcast and rainy weather in parts of the Charleston region held down some of the numbers, but that might have ended up being a good thing for the city, he said, by making it a more manageable event. Smith said tracking short-term rentals was difficult for his department because no mechanism is currently in use to independently measure every company or host.
Frontier
otherNEWSMAKERS Volvo Cars plans to build a second model of vehicle in South Carolina. Starting in 2021, the Volvo campus in Ridgeville will also build the XC90, which Lex Kerssemakers, president and CEO of Volvo Cars of North America, called the company’s “flagship SUV.” This expansion adds 1,910 jobs and $520 million to the Berkeley County facility, bringing the totals to nearly 4,000 jobs and more than $1 billion invested in the Lowcountry site. The company’s first U.S.-made vehicle, the S60 sedan, is expected to roll off Berkeley County production lines in 2018.
36 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
The S.C. plant will also make the XC90. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
Airbnb reported approximately 3,400 guests used its service in Charleston during the eclipse, bringing in about $830,750 for hosts. Charleston was the second-most popular Airbnb destination during the eclipse, behind Nashville, Tenn. Smith said the economic impact of the eclipse was similar to that of a Cooper River Bridge Run weekend, which usually brings in between $18 million and $20 million and approximately the same number of visitors as did the eclipse. David Howard, president of Neighborhood Dining Group, was surprised that the eclipse boosted business for the entire weekend, not just on the day of the eclipse. He said the boost benefited not only the owners of restaurants, but also the staff, giving them extra hours of work during a time of year that’s usually slower. CRBJ
12
Irma’s damage mainly financial for restaurants
Airline adds three nonstop routes at Charleston International. Page 7
T
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By Liz Segrist
lsegrist@scb iznews.com
S.C. offering professional certification for paralegals operating in the state. Page 10
By Patrick Hoff
he total solar eclipse on Aug. 21 was a total economic boom for the Charleston region, with hotels and restaurants filled to the brim and millions of extra dollars brought into the Lowcountry. According to the Office of Tourism Analysis at the College of Charleston, the astronomical event brought an extra $16.6 million to Charleston. The office also found that approximately 27,400 additional people stayed at Charleston hotels the night before the eclipse, filling up accommodations in and around the city. Wayne Smith, chairman of the hospitality and tourism management department at the college, said the numbers were calculated by looking at what would have been average for that weekend — which was also move-in weekend for the College of Charleston and The Citadel — and subtracting that from the total to find just the impact of
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Volvo adding 2nd model at Berkeley County site
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 10.16.17 Issue
October 16
- 29, 2017 •
Rising rental rates push business owners to go mobile
Construction
101 After letting out for summer, Charlestonthe County schools began building. Page 17 More for military
U.S. senator tells Charleston business leaders defense should be budget priority. Page 12
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ness.com
Production of 787 -10
Building momentu
Donations adding up for Internationa l African American Museum. Page 10
www.charlestonbusi
m
By Liz Segrist
lsegrist@scb iznews.com
Volume 23,
No. 22 • $2.00
The difference inside the 787-10 in length was evident roduction on flight testing. the side of Boeing waiting on the runway moving forward 787-10 Dreamliner is in North Charleston outAlong with the entrance bringing the . From more assembly, at Boeing S.C., adding near the cockpit, extra assembly stretched on, paint and flight the midbody and paint work, 787-10 work at the North and the back production also on the North Charleston campus. testing not visible of the plane builds Charleston The 787-10 Dreamliner from the was program, The twin-aisle front. said Michelle facility’s flight-test is the third derivative of the Dreamliner jet sat mostly Bernson, director ing a future family empty, await- delivery center, flight est, at 18 feet of customer to line and paint longer than the — and the larg- configurati tions for Boeing opera787-9. S.C. ons. Some seating determine seat Previously, ment were and test equipNorth Charleston inside the plane for ongoing workers See BOEING 787-10, Page 9
P
ROLL
HOW TH EY MOBILE BUSINESS
ES HIT THE STREETS
Office demand
Increased need for pushing businessesspace to Charleston submarkets. Page 18
INSIDE
Upfront ................... SC Biz News Briefs ............. 2 ................ 3 Best Advice ................... In Focus: Architecture ....... 4 , Engineering and Construction ...................... 16 List: Landscape Architecture Firms ................... .............29 At Work ................... ........... 31 Peer to Peer ................... .....35 Hot Properties .................... 36 Viewpoint ................... Amy Rose, owner ........37 Day in the Life of Red Rose Vintage, .................... store at various 38 sells clothes out locations across of her mobile the Lowcountry. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
The rising costs of retail space in Charleston push some business owners to take their concepts mobile, selling goods from inside old RVs and school buses. Page 6
Motley Rice files suit over nuclear project
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Staff Report
awsuits, legislative hearings and maneuverin legal gs are piling up in the wake of the failed tor constructio V.C. Summer nuclear reacn project. Mount Pleasant-ba sed law firm Rice, renowned Motley litigation, and for its asbestos and tobacco Columbia attorney brell both filed Brian Gamsuit against SCANA, tric and Gas’ S.C. Elecparent company, Motley Rice in federal court. charges that SCANA committed securities fraud up stock prices violations, artificially driving “by issuing false and misleading statements to rial information investors and omitting mateand completion concerning the progress, cost schedule” of the project. Gambrell accused federal racketeerin SCANA of violating a g statute by tomers for the charging cusuncompleted nuclear reactors. State-owned 45% and SCE&Gutility Santee Cooper owns 55% of the kinsville. It was originally project near Jenaround $11.3 budgeted to billion when cost the S.C. Public vice Commissio Serdelays mounted, n approved it in 2009, but as costs soared lion. SCE&G closer to $20 and Santee Cooper bilspent about See SCANA LAWSUIT, Page 13
CHARLESTON UNDER CONSTRUCTION
By Liz Segrist
Who is Projects, companiesbuilding what in the Charleston , prices, projected area? timelines, photos and stories. Page 17
Mobile grocer
Lowcountry Street Grocery workers prep the bus for customers outside of Tricounty Family Ministries in North Charleston. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
Julia Turner and Christen Thompson, co-owners of Itinerant Literate Books, turned a 60-year-old RV into a mobile book store, which they operate at farmers markets, coffee shops and breweries. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
Amy Rose, owner of Red Rose Vintage, sells clothes out of her mobile store at various locations across the Lowcountry. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
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oldy, tobacco-stained walls and orange shag carpet covered the 1970s-era Airstream RV when Amy Rose bought it to launch her mobile clothing store concept. She worked with her dad on renovations, investing $10,000 to gut the inside and retrofit the space with new clothing racks, storage spaces and a small dressing room. In March 2016, Red Rose Vintage mobile boutique was ready to roll. “Rather than going into a store for regular shopping, you’re actually having this really cool experience,” she said. Rose is one among a group of entrepreneurs in Charleston bucking the brick-and-mortar concept and taking
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Dreamliner adv ancing
their retail concepts mobile, launching businesses from inside old school buses, recreational vehicles or trucks. Four mobile business owners that work in the Charleston region said their decision to go mobile had to do largely with the rising costs of commercial space in the region. “Charleston is gearing away from the small, mom-and-pop shops, and the only people that can afford the space are corporate companies. ... So why not have a mobile unit where your overhead is gasoline and insurance?” said Bj Stadelman, the owner and operator of Haegur, a mobile plant shop. “That’s nothing compared to property taxes and the costs of having an actual, phys-
otherNEWSMAKERS The International African American Museum is scheduled to break ground in early 2018 and open to the public in 2020. (Rendering/ Provided)
38 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
ical address.” Stadelman makes plant holders with concrete and then creates plant displays, which he sells out of an updated truck. Julia Turner and Christen Thompson also saw an opportunity in a launching a mobile operation. They renovated a 60-year-old RV trailer into a bookstore-on-wheels, enabling Itinerant Literate Books to open its doors. Owners said the overhead is typically low once a business is launched, but the remodeled vehicles come with quirks. They said it can be difficult to organize inventory in a small space. “It’s not easy, but that’s what’s so fun about it. You have to be really creative,” Rose said.
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indsey Barrow Jr. wanted to bring locally produced fruits and vegetables into various Lowcountry neighborhoods by selling them from inside a retrofitted school bus. He particularly wanted to bring more healthy foods into low-income neighborhoods that lack options. He used about $20,000 from a Kickstarter campaign in 2015 to fund the Lowcountry Street Grocery and buy a 1988 school bus. The bus purchase and full renovations cost more than $30,000. The bus operates in up to three locations most days. Goods typically are priced a bit more in affluent areas, and a little less in low-income neighborhoods. Customers can use Electronic Benefit Transfer or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, enabling someone to get $10 of produce for $5. The profits from more affluent neighborhoods offset the difference, Barrow said. He recently bought a second bus to help keep pace with demand. He said bringing food to people can make a difference in meeting daily needs, especially for seniors or for people without a car. “So many people are in dire need of a service like this — that really brings the product to them — because they’re so immobile. ... When a store is three miles away, that’s attainable for some, but not for many,” Barrow said. “We can turn on a dime and provide healthy food access to anyone, anytime. If something happens today, we can just drive the bus in, and they’ll have a grocery store in their front yard.”
CRBJ
The International African American Museum, scheduled to break ground on the former site of Gadsden’s Wharf in early 2018 and to open to the public in 2020, raised over $9 million in the final four months of 2017. Spokeswoman Alexa Asendorf said the museum hopes to reach its fundraising goal of $25 million by the end of the year. The $75 million museum is being funded in three equal parts by private donations and government funding. The city of Charleston and Charleston County have contributed a total of $25 million, and the state is expected to contribute another $25 million; it has committed $14 million so far.
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 10.30.17 Issue
October 30
- November
Banking on banks
Consolidation continues to reshape landscape for businesses and community banks. Page 14
Manufacturers threaten automotive workforce levels
nt
lestonbusiness.com
By Patrick Hoff
phoff@scbiz news.com
Volume 23,
W
CRITICAL
SHORTAGE
They caught
Security consultant him talks about cyber breaches and life that inspired a movie. Page 20
INSIDE Upfront ................... SC Biz News Briefs ............. 2 ................ 3 Best Advice ................... ....... 4 In Focus: Financial List: Credit Unions Services15 ..............23 Bonus List: Accounting Firms ................... ..............22 At Work ................... ...........25 Hot Properties .....................28 Viewpoint ................... ........29 Day in the Life .................... 30
Demand increases for auto technician s as automotive shops and manufacturers in the region vie for the same pool of applicants . Page 8 Photo/Patrick
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Shipwatch Square deal No. 23 • $2.00
city council meeting But after seven last year. hen the city years, and despite of Piggy Wiggly ing to of the agreestores, purchased the North Charleston the sell the property to an investment Charles Willard, not to open at the site. city seems no owner of Square propertyformer Shipwatch goal closer to accomplish pool, Grocers, after a deal fell Keith Summey in 2010, Mayor ing that opportunitsaid he decided to Lowcountry through had one big pursue other to the south goal in mind. “The whole end of the city. to bring a grocer building ies for his company instead of at Shipwatch Adam MacConne property was purpose of us grabbing Square. to that North ll, project manager “It just didn’t a grocery store create it where we could Charleston, work out, and for said the city get disappointe in that area,” other things was “severely came into play unrelated Summey said d” by the decision to Shipwatch, at a Grocer getting others and out there was LLC, an independen by Lowcountry a little harder ... tly owned chain than See SHIPWATCH SQUARE, Page 6
Hoff
Giving
Low Line moves forward with support, funding
M
By Liz Segrist
lsegrist@scb iznews.com
ore than 60 years tion of Interstate after the construceral downtown 26 splintered sevCharleston borhoods, a neighrail-to-trail project that unite those streets would An abandoned inches closer to reality. Norfolk Southern sits far below rail line the up the highway. concrete columns that hold Weeds push tracks, and litter has been up between the land around scattered on it. the Various conservatio nists, planners leaders have and city taken the years, hoping notice of the tracks over line with a linear to replace the rusting rail park. The Friends of the Lowcountr group has been y Low Line working for money to buy years to raise the rights to the the railroad and transform property from pathway and it into a paved city park. The country Low 1.7-mile LowLine Avenue to Woolfe would run from Courtland Street. Similar rail-to-trail projects have cessfully launched been sucaround the as the High country, such Line Line in Atlanta in New York City, the Beltand the Swamp Rabbit Trail in See LOW LINE, Page 10
Giving CORPORAT EMPLOYEE E SUPPORT S UNITE TO THOSE IN NEED
Special
thanks to:
www.charlestonbusiness.com
Your guide
to community
giving in
the Giving: Your guide Lowcountry
to community
Sherry Rector, who co-owns three Honest-1 Auto Care shops in the Lowcountry with her husband, Chris Lloyd, said she first noticed the shortage of automotive technicians when Boeing and other manufacturers began building facilities in the area. (Photos/Patrick Hoff)
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Green agreeme
Conservation easement to protect 11,000 acres in Berkeley County. of land Page 5
S.C. ASSO PRESS CIAT ION awa
Grocer pulls out of
Philanthropic organizations provide community support across the Lowcountry. Inside
By Patrick Hoff
oeing, Volvo and Mercedes-Benz are bringing investment and jobs to the Charleston area, an economic boon for the Lowcountry. For automotive shop owner Sherry Rector, though, having the manufacturers so close is a drain on her workforce. “As more manufacturing came, the technicians just became more scarce,” she said. “People who were looking for benefits and steady work and everything started going with manufacturing because it makes sense to go out to that type of work.” Rector, who co-owns three Honest-1 Auto Care shops in the Lowcountry with her husband, Chris Lloyd, said she expects the shortage to grow, unless something can be done.
Career skills
State program helps homeless individuals skills for long-term hone jobs. Page 13
12, 2017 • www.char
“It’s getting harder and harder to find the right fit (for jobs),” she said. Brad Davis, community relations specialist for Hendrick Automotive Group Charleston/North Charleston, also said the industry seems to be on the verge of a dire situation. “Right now, we’ve been able to fill the open positions fairly quickly,” he said. “Not as quickly as we’d like, but fairly quickly. ... We’re not at a critical stage yet, but we’re feeling the pain.” The employment situation is positioned to become more dire when the new Volvo Car and Mercedes-Benz Vans plants open, Davis said, because the plants will need technicians to do end-of-the-line repairs as cars roll off the line.
Davis said he expects 75 technicians to be pulled out of the job market when the two plants open. “When that happens, it’s going to be critical,” he said. “It’s going to be every dealership fending for themselves and trying to steal people from one another if you’re not ready for the rush.” Rector said she and Lloyd have reached out to high school teachers and vocational schools, worked with S.C. Works to post jobs, and looking into hiring apprentices through the Charleston Youth Apprenticeship Program. Mitchell Harp, dean of apprenticeships at Trident Technical College, said approximately 120 companies participate in the apprenticeship pro-
| 2017-18 giving in the
Lowcountry
1
gram, a partnership of the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, Trident Tech, Apprenticeship Carolina, local school districts and local businesses. “The reality is we need to mentor that next generation,” he said. “And ... it takes the entire community.” Hendrick Automotive Group began taking on apprentices for the first time this year, mentoring nine high school students, because Davis said the biggest challenge for the company is that many technicians are approaching retirement age. Davis said he expects Hendrick apprentices to stay with the company after they complete their two-year commitment to the program, and Hendrick will help them finish their automotive technology degree at Trident Tech. Chad Vail, work-based learning partnerships coordinator for Charleston County School District, said the county is committed to making sure students are introduced to career and technical education classes, especially through the district’s Centers for Advanced Studies. “It’s an addition to the comprehensive high schools we already have ... so we’ll be able to complement that,” Vail said. The centers will serve as campuses for the entire region where high school students can learn technical skills during their school day. Instead of having small tech classes at every high school in the district, students will be able to come together at the centers to form larger classes. Vail said there’s already Center for Advanced Studies on the campus of Wando High School, with plans for two more in the coming years. CRBJ
otherNEWSMAKERS More than 60 years after the construction of Interstate 26 splintered several downtown Charleston neighborhoods, a rail-to-trail project that would unite those streets inches closer to reality. A new deal reached with the city, the Friends of the Lowcountry Low Line and Norfolk Southern would see the Friends group buy the old rail line and surrounding land for $5.1 million. The city and nonprofit would split the costs to create a city park and paved path. The 1.7-mile Lowcountry Low Line would run from Courtland Avenue to Woolfe Street. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
40 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
iz Segrist)
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 11.13.17 Issue
November
13 - 26, 2017
Nonprofits recruit space business to open in Chicora-Che commercial corridor. rokee Page 6
Developments increasing near Upper Peninsula
• www.char
S.C. ASSO PRESS CIAT ION awa
lestonbusiness.com
Homeport Charleston
Coast Guard cutter Willow has new home in the Lowcountry. Page 18
Cyber security
SPAWAR opens facilities for data forensics and to search for cyber weaknesses . Page 20
No. 23 • $2.00
By Patrick Hoff
phoff@scbiz news.com
difficulty filling to the start of those positions, even so close in the school, raised eeks before second semester a red flag students flooded “Usually, of the school halls, Principal the eral good even in August, you’ll to him. ing Carrick more year, givhave sevquality candidates time to find R.B. Stall High Jeremy Carrick of tions candidates. Kathleen Magliacane looking for posibefore the school bind: He still School was , director of needed to find in a wasn’t recruitment year started, teacher and staffing for er and a social the case this an and that ty year,” he said. studies teacher. English teachCharleston CounSchool District, As the first Carrick said said this is one day loomed, strategies the English and of several teachers are district social studies to adjust the school schedule Carrick decided fill typically the teaching positions,uses when it’s unable classes to avoid having easiest to find, to an increasing so his teacherswith no teachers. The across the state. problem classes would have The district taught will instead those also sometimes start See TEACHER SHORTAGE, Page 8
W
RISE
ON THE
construction quickens for mixed-use developments near the Crosstown Expressway, developers expect to see more vertical commercial space come online in the next few years along upper King and Meeting streets.
Funding model
Military leaders worried politics hurting readiness of nation’s military. Page 17
SCANA CEO resign s as earnings falter with nuclear proje ct By Melinda Waldrop and Travis Boland
As the pace of
Page 12
INSIDE
Upfront ................... SC Biz News Briefs ............. 2 ................ 3 Best Advice ................... ....... 4 In Focus: Defense Homeland Securityand ............. 17 List: Defense Contractors ... 21 At Work ................... ...........25 Hot Properties .....................28 Viewpoint ................... ........29 Day in the Life .................... Federal Capital 30 Partners’ mixed-use streets will have development at the corner of apartment units Meeting and Huger and retail space. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
A
mwaldrop@s cbiznews.com tboland@scb iznews.com
fter several days of speculation his future, SCANA about Marsh announced Corp. CEO Kevin from the embattled his resignation parent company Gas and Electric of S.C. Co. Marsh had come on Oct. 31. under increasing ny in the fallout scrutinuclear project, from the failed V.C. Summer calling for his with House Speaker Jay Lucas announcement. resignation a day before the “It has been an and chief executivehonor to serve as chairman officer of SCANA past six years, for the and pany since 1984,” to have worked for the comMarsh said in “The ranks of a statement. SCANA filled with dedicated and its subsidiaries are be in good hands.” employees, and they will Marsh’s resignation as CEO of both and SCE&G SCANA will be Stephen Byrne, effective Jan. 1. ident and COO SCANA senior vice presJimmy Addison, of SCE&G, will also retire. and CFO, will SCANA senior vice president become CEO, and Keller KissSee SCANA, Page
Military service
By Liz Segrist
D
evelopers continue to flock to land near the Crosstown Expressway, building mixeduse projects and changing the landscape of this part of downtown Charleston. At least nine mixed-use developments are in the works in the area bounded by Spring, King, Huger and East Bay streets. Construction has begun on seven of those projects, and more are in the planning stages, according to eight developers. The Midtown project on King Street, between Spring and Woolfe streets, was the impetus for much of this growth, developers said. Completed in 2015, the project, led by Clement, Crawford & Thornhill Inc., was the culmination of former Mayor Joe Riley’s longtime vision to bookend Charleston Place on Lower King Street with another hotel on Upper King. Midtown includes two Hyatt hotels with 300 rooms, 30,000 square feet of retail and office space, and 400 parking spaces. It abuts Greystar’s 200-unit Elan Midtown apartments. Combined, the projects nearly fill the Spring Street block between King and Meeting streets. One block over, the first phase of
South Carolina one for military service of top states among 18- to 24-year-olds. Page 17
Courier Square population growth. is well underNew York Cityway on land based Spandrel bounded by Development PartLine, Meetners and Virginia ing and Beach, Va.-based ArmaColumbus da Hoffler Properties streets broke ground recentand The ly on two student Post and housing developCouments on the rier’s Charleston buildpeninsula — ing. at 595 King The St. and 530 mixedMeeting use project St. — in is led by Everesponse ning Post Industo the tries. Phase I includes 226 apartments, 19,000 region’s square feet of retail space lack of and 70,000 square feet of housing office space. units, Some developers said the scale, particulocation and price points of these projlarly for ects spurred their own decisions to students. invest nearby. Other real estate exec“We realutives said they researched markets ly like the dynamics in the across the country and chose Charles- market north of Calhoun Street,” said ton because of the region’s job, wage and Eric Smith, chief investment officer for
otherNEWSMAKERS SCANA Corp. CEO Kevin Marsh resigned from the embattled parent company of S.C. Gas and Electric Co. after increasing scrutiny in the fallout from the failed V.C. Summer nuclear project. Marsh’s resignation as CEO of both SCANA and SCE&G will be effective Jan. 1. Legislative probes continue into the project, which was abandoned by SCANA and co-owner Santee Cooper after contractor Westinghouse declared bankruptcy in April. The utilities sank $9 million into its construction, and ratepayers have been footing that bill. Marsh
42 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
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Fewer teachers want to be in S.C. classrooms Volume 23,
Compete for
Armada Hoffler. “With limited land that’s mostly surrounded by water, the growth was clearly going that direction, and it was going that direction so quickly that we weren’t really a first mover.” Spandrel Development Partners has also broken ground on a third development in the area, working with Aspen Heights Partners and Northwestern Mutual on 511 Meeting St. That project, situated next to the end of Interstate 26 on the edges of the Eastside neighborhood, will have 221 apartment units. Parts of Meeting and Huger streets near the base of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge are also changing as development rises nearby. Federal Capital Partners of Maryland is now partnering with Raleighbased Kane Realty Corp. to bring a mixed-use project online at the corner of Meeting and Huger streets. It is one of four commercial or residential projects under construction within two blocks of one another along Huger Street. “We think what’s happening north on the peninsula is very exciting,” said Matt Valentini, director of development at Federal Capital Partners. CRBJ
10
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 11.27.17 Issue
November
27 - December
10, 2017 • www.char
S.C. ASSO PRESS CIAT ION awa
Volume 23,
No one to fly
Fewer Air Force pilots could hurt pipeline commercial aviators.of Page 17
No. 24 • $2.00
By Patrick Hoff
phoff@scbiz news.com
ton County, South Carolina sponsored by 2000-2015 was lack residents the gather data from and Social JusticeCollege of Charleston’s different areas have known of Charleston County Race put it for of life ... and in context Baltimore-based Initiative and written are being held generations that they by of African-Am to tell the story of journalist and back by educationa cey Patton, the history economic barriers, ericans in Charleston using data from historian Sta- said. l and the U.S. Census ,” Patton racial disparities said an expert researching Bureau and local agencies, in the region. The Race and as well as one-onone interviews. Now a study Social Justice founded in quantifies just Initiative was “My task was 2015 by the how The State of College of Charleston’s Marlene Racial Disparities much. disparities here to paint the picture of and Nathan racial the in Charlesin Charleston Addlestone Library, African-Am meant that it erican Studies was a herculean County, which Department task that I had to See RACIAL DISPARITIES , Page 12
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Stalled project
Mercedes-Benz Vans readying site for full-scale production
Lawmakers says nuclear project in Jenkinsville likely to be restarted. not
Page 11
National model
New engineering youth apprenticeship program launches in the Lowcountry. Page 8
Property ruling
S.C. Supreme Court rehearing a ruling denies that returns property to Episcopal Church. The Page 8
INSIDE
Upfront ................... SC Biz News Briefs ............. 2 ................ 3 Best Advice ................... In Focus: Aerospace ....... 4 ........... 17 List: Aerospace Companies 22 Bonus List: Regional Airports ................... At Work ................... ..........23 ...........25 Hot Properties .....................28 Viewpoint ................... ........29 Day in the Life .................... 30
CRANKING UP Mass hiring for workers at Mercedesexpanding campus Benz Vans’ begins next year. and paint shop A body shop already produce the company’s stand on the Ladson site to next-generation vans, expected Sprinter to roll off the line by 2020. Page 6
Photo/Provid
Boeing’s biggest Dreamliner
By Liz Segrist
ed by Mercedes-Be
Orders for the 787-10 could mean thousands more jobs in North Charleston. Page 20
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ercedes-Benz Vans has moved closer to producing nextgeneration Sprinter vans from its growing automotive campus in Ladson. The $500 million expansion, which kicked off in 2015, is on schedule to roll off the first new vans by 2020. The investment will double the size of the site, triple the building’s square footage and grow its workforce by 11 times its original size. The existing assembly and administration building will more than double in size, and a new body shop and paint shop now stand on formerly empty land. Some equipment has been installed in the buildings as construction continues. “You can see the progress each and every day, and it’s really, really amazing,” Michael Balke, Mercedes-Benz Vans president and CEO, said during a tour of the campus. The expansion should open by mid2018; the site will be fully operational by 2020 with a more than 1,300-person workforce capable of producing Sprinter vans from start to finish for shipment
Mercedes-Benz Vans workers will build next-generation Sprinter vans from start to finish in Ladson by the end of the decade. The existing campus has reassambled vans for more than a decade. The expanding site will require an additional 1,300 employees. (Photos/Provided by Mercedes-Benz Vans)
to North American customers. For more than a decade, workers reassembled Metris and Sprinter vans — arriving in pieces from Europe — to avoid paying heavy U.S. import tariffs. The expansion brings the Sprinter manufacturing process to the U.S. for the first time, eliminating the need to assemble the vans twice. Workers and robots will weld parts together to create the Sprinter van bodies, which will then undergo painting. After painting, the vans will head to final assembly, where workers will
install interior parts such as dashboards and wiring. “The next-generation Sprinter van will be produced part by part in the U.S. for the first time ever,” Balke said. Metris vans will continue with the reassembly process for now, although Balke said that might change to full assembly in the future, depending on market demand. The full production of Sprinter vans requires significant expansion of Mercedes-Benz Vans’ buildings, equipment, land and workforce.
Mercedes employed 130 workers when the expansion was announced in 2015. “We have tripled that workforce already,” said Biljana Jelacic, MercedesBenz Vans’ head of human resources. Hiring is ongoing and should hit the 1,300-worker count by the end of the decade; the company is focusing on filling manufacturing positions going into 2018. About 900 of the new employees will work in manufacturing, including maintenance technicians, paint technicians, body shop operators, assemblers and robot programmers. Experience in automotive manufacturing is preferred but not required, officials said. Applicants will undergo assessments and interviews, and new hires will receive extensive training through ReadySC and on the Mercedes site, as well as possibly overseas. New hires have trained at Mercedes facilities in Tuscaloosa, Ala., Duesseldorf, Germany, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. “We’re optimistic we’ll find the right people,” Balke said. CRBJ
otherNEWSMAKERS Benefitfocus CEO Shawn Jenkins will step down from the helm of the tech firm he co-founded 17 years ago. The startup has since grown to employ several thousand people and is building an expanded headquarters campus on Daniel Island. As of next year, Jenkins will transition into a new role at the company — senior adviser for innovation — and continue as a board member. Ray August will take his place as CEO, effective Jan. 1, after a vote by the company board of directors. August joined the company in 2014, soon after it went public in 2013, serving as president and chief operating officer.
44 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
Jenkins
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Report outlines ‘haunting story ’ of racial economic disparity
nz Vans
NEWS MAKERS 2017
From the 12.11.17 Issue
December
11 - 24, 2017
CEO resigns
Medal of Honor Museum looking for new top executive. Page 9
Beer boom not slowing down in Charleston
Firms need more industrial spaces
Manufacturers seek warehouses, facilities.new Page 26
Going up
Latest edition of Charleston Under Construction . Page 21
S.C. ASSO PRESS CIAT ION awa
lestonbusiness.com
Magnolia site gets another By Liz Segrist
lsegrist@scb iznews.com
Volume 23,
No. 25 • $2.00
LOWCOUNTRY
pBoRuEW riER ngIEinS In the 10 years since the General Assembly raised the state’s limit on almost two dozen the alcohol content of beer, breweries have Charleston area, but brewers say opened in the there’s still room for more in the market. Page 12
INSIDE
Upfront ................... SC Biz News Briefs ............. 2 ................ 3 Best Advice ................... In Focus: Architecture ....... 4 , Engineering and Construction ...................... 21 List: Commercial Property Management Companies ....37 Special Section: Health Care Heroes ................... At Work ...............................39 .......... 49 Hot Properties .....................28 Viewpoint ................... ........53 Day in the Life .................... 54
Economic Scoreca
rd
Measuring the Lowcountry against other regional economies. Inside
By Patrick Hoff
The Charleston area has nearly two dozen breweries, but brewers say there’s still room in the market for new facilities to open. (Photo/Nickie Stone for Holy City Brewing)
Carolina is actually a viable business,” Bristow said. “I think for some of the originators like Palmetto (Brewing Co., the first craft brewery in the state), it wasn’t that you couldn’t make money; but now we have various business models that we’re seeing, and it just makes more sense.” Bristow said he expects the growth of breweries in Charleston and across the state to continue, but “it’s not going to just keep going to the sky; it’s going to be more of a gradual kind of growth rate.” Chris Brown, production manager at Holy City Brewing, said he’s not worried about the increasing number of breweries encroaching on his business, because the business model has changed since Holy City opened in 2011. Brown said some breweries focus their energy on
Dockery’s, a brewery and restaurant on Daniel Island that opened last month, is one of the newest breweries in the Charleston area. (Photo/Paul Cheney for Dockery’s)
distributing beer, he said, such as Westbrook Brewing Co., while other breweries serve their beer only out of their taproom. “The business model has changed drastically because a lot of these guys are opening up and distribution isn’t even the first thing they’re thinking of. It’s all taprooms,” Brown said. “Good on you if you can make all your money in the taproom and not deal with all this (distribution) nonsense, but I think it just depends on where you’re trying to grow and what you’re trying to do.” Bristow said breweries are working to stand out from the crowd through different marketing techniques, such as social media, collaboration with other breweries and events; he said every taproom has its own vibe.
otherNEWSMAKERS Several land deals are now in the works to reignite development on the Magnolia property, located along the Ashley River in downtown Charleston. Texas firm Highland Resources might purchase the majority of the site from the current group of investors in early 2018, moving forward on the pre-recession plan to turn the former industrial dumping ground into a mixed-use community. “It is a perfect location to grow,” said Jacob Lindsey, head of Charleston’s planning department.
46 Charleston Regional Business Journal | Newsmakers
The city of Charleston built a $10 million bridge to connect the Magnolia site to downtown neighborhoods before the recession hit. It still stands today. (Photo/Liz Segrist)
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group of investor s
said of the flammable, oily liquid processed wood. raig Zeller said “I’d never seen used to treat Lawsuits and it in my life.” he remembers anything like environmental the Magnolia walking ensued in the mitigation The swath of years following ton in 1990. property in Charlesland along the the plant clonow known It was his Ashley River, sures. The EPA and state ment with the as Magnolia, U.S. Environme first assign- plants housed industrial cies began remediation environmental agenAgency out decades ntal Protection work on the of college. in the 1980s ity and fertilizerago. A wood treatment property and 1990s. “There were facilplants operated several feet of City officials there. Their ditches on Milford creosote in open operations caused creosote, and developers and Hagood took note in lead and arsenic the early 2000s. They streets,” Zeller to seep into ground, contaminat saw an opportunit rounding soil, ing the sur- turn the roughly 180-acre y to waterways and site, located ecosystems. at the See MAGNOLIA PROJECT, Page 14
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Office supply rising demandand
Brokers say commercial space commands top dollar across region. Page 24
In the 10 years since the South Carolina Legislature lifted the state’s limit on the alcohol content of beer from 5% alcohol by weight (about 6.3% alcohol by volume) to 14% alcohol by weight (about 17.6% ABV), more than 20 new breweries have opened in the Charleston area, bringing the total to almost two dozen in the region. Brook Bristow, executive director of the S.C. Brewers Guild, said the industry’s growth is in part because of continuing advocacy to get more laws changed. In 2010, it became legal for breweries to allow customers to sample beers on-site, and in 2013 and 2014, laws changed to allow breweries to sell beer directly to customers and serve food. “Now, running a brewery in South
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“I think they’re finding that just offering beer maybe isn’t enough anymore, so you kind of have to have another component to get people to come in,” he said. One thing Bristow said he’s cautious about is making sure new brewers are getting into the industry for the right reasons and producing quality beer. Chris Winn, co-owner of Tradesman Brewing Co., said the beer industry across the state and across the country is in a state of flux as more people try craft beer and consumer tastes change. “I think it’s an exciting time to be in beer,” Winn said. “We’re definitely in the middle of a full-blown American brewing revolution, and it’s great to see so many different takes on styles and so many variations on the theme.” CRBJ