Growth Report: Berkeley County

March 7 - 20, 2016

SPECIAL SECTION: GROWTH REPORT: BERKELEY COUNTY

GROWTH REPORT:

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Berkeley County As one of the fastest-growing counties in South Carolina experiences an economic development boom, regional business and community leaders look for ways to balance growth and quality of life.

Left: Phillip Barber assembles a trimmer at Central Hardware, a 40-year-old, family-owned business in Moncks Corner. Center: Nucor Steel is one of Berkeley County’s largest industrial employers. Right: Abbie Brown and her husband, Mike, have been operating A&M Brown’s Bar-B-Q on U.S. Highway 52 in Berkeley County for 16 years. (Photos/Andy Owens, Nucor Steel)

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SPECIAL SECTION: GROWTH REPORT: BERKELEY COUNTY

March 7 - 20, 2016

Economic development going nonstop in Berkeley County

By Barry Waldman

B

Contributing Writer

erkeley County, once an outpost of the Charleston area and now a burgeoning manufacturing center, faces explosive growth over the next two decades, thanks in part to continued migration from the North and in part to economic development efforts that have coaxed new businesses to the county.

The question now before the county is whether and how it can manage both the benefits and the costs of massive growth.

Businesses have committed to an investment of $785 million and the creation of 3,200 new jobs in Berkeley County since the beginning of last year, according to the Berkeley County Economic Development office. The linchpin is Volvo’s plan to invest $400 million in a new vehicle manufacturing plant off Interstate 26 outside of Ridgeville on the western edge of the county.

Volvo expects to employ 2,000 workers when the plant begins operations and another 2,000 once it reaches full capacity. The county estimates that will spin off 8,000 more jobs in ancillary service businesses for an economic impact of $4.8 billion.

“It’s a game changer,” said Barry Jurs,

Gov. Nikki Haley and Lex Kerssemakers, Volvo Car USA president and CEO, broke ground on the S.C. plant in September. (Photo/Kathy Allen)

director of economic development for the county.

County supervisor Bill Peagler said Volvo’s appearance is notable because it provides “the opportunity to not only live in Berkeley County, but also work here.”

Other projects are also bringing jobs to the county. In November, Mankiewicz

Coatings, a German manufacturer servicing the automobile and aviation industries, broke ground on a new, $25 million facility off Clements Ferry Road in the southern part of the county. The company estimates it will create 15 jobs.

“The proximity to the Charleston seaport, the ability to produce locally and

the access to southern truck routes to reach our customers on the West Coast finally paid out,” said Peter Dietz, managing director of Mankiewicz Coatings.

In October, A&R Bulk-Pak Inc., a contract packaging company specializing in the packaging and distribution of plastics for overseas export, announced it would build a $7.5 million facility on a site in Moncks Corner that had been dormant for decades. That plant is expected to create 25 jobs.

Roper St. Francis has begun design work on the county’s first full-service hospital, slated for opening in 2019. The $113 million facility in Carnes Crossroads, north of Goose Creek, will employ 285 people. Trident Health had proposed to build a 50-bed hospital in Moncks Corner, but those plans appear to be on hold.

Jurs said the county has a built-in asset in its expansive land, which Charleston County, hemmed in by rivers and an ocean, is running out of.

Ken Seeger, president of WestRock Land and Development, which is developing the Nexton community, likens the growth of the region to a tube of toothpaste being squeezed from the bottom. The growth inevitably migrates to See DEVELOPMENT, Page 18

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March 7 - 20, 2016

Berkeley County recruits 7,300 jobs since 2009

By Liz Segrist

lsegrist@scbiznews.com

M

ost of the economic development announcements made in Berkeley County over the past seven years have been from manufacturers. The most notable of those is Volvo Car USA’s plan to build the new S60 Sedan exclusively from its future automotive campus near Ridgeville.

Clothing producers, packaging companies, aerospace and automotive suppliers, medical equipment manufacturers, cold storage facilities, logistics companies and tech firms are among the other companies to set up operations in Berkeley County in recent years.

Since 2009, 21 companies have planned to expand existing facilities or set up new operations in Berkeley County, according to economic develoment announcements from the S.C. Commerce Department.

Those companies have announced plans to invest more than $665 million and create more than 7,300 jobs in

Berkeley County since 2009. The total investment is much higher than the projects’ total because eight of the 21 companies did not disclose how much they planned to spend on setting up or growing sites in Berkeley County.

Some of those companies have since shuttered operations. American LaFrance, for example, a manufacturer of fire, rescue and emergency medical vehicles, announced plans in 2009 to invest $1.69 million to move all production work into its Berkeley County headquarters and manufacturing facility.

The Moncks Corner-based company closed its doors suddenly in January 2014 as a result of the “unexpected current financial condition.” Around 150 employees were laid off.

Other firms have expanded operations since initially setting up in the county, such as tech firms Sparc, Blackbaud and Benefitfocus, all based on Daniel Island.

Manckiewicz Coatings LLC, a coating systems manufacturer, first announced plans to locate a facility in Berkeley Coun-

Berkeley County’s top 5 largest announcements since 2009, by job creation: Company

Investment

Job Creation

Status

Volvo Car USA, a Sweden-based, Chinese-owned car manufacturer

In May 2015, the company announced plans to build an automotive campus near Ridgeville with the initial capacity to produce 100,000 cars a year.

$500 million

4,000 by 2030

Construction is underway at the campus. The first cars are expected to roll off the assembly line in 2018.

Benefitfocus, Daniel Islandbased tech firm, creates benefits software

In December 2013, the firm announced plans to grow its Daniel Island tech campus from 13 acres to 40 acres, tripling the size of its headquarters to nearly 500,000 square feet.

Not disclosed

1,200

Construction is underway. The first new building to open was the Customer Success Center in February 2015. The four-story facility houses about 500 employees.

In March 2010, the company announced plans to locate its new distribution and logistics facility in the former Masisa USA building on Clements Ferry Road.

$25 million

Sparc, a Daniel Island-based software firm focused on defense contracts and private-sector clients

In December 2012, the firm bought its existing building at 2387 Clements Ferry Road and built another one to expand its tech campus.

$11 million

Gildan Activewear, a Montreal-based active clothing manufacturer

In February 2010, the firm announced plans to locate its new retail distribution center facility in Berkeley County.

Not disclosed

Source: S.C. Commerce Department announcements

or other automotive or industrial companies. These companies are expected to flock to the region, similar to BMW’s ripple effect in the Upstate, as production rates ramp up at the Volvo plant.

“This is the one and only factory where we are going to produce the S60. So global customers, customers all over the world, will drive a car coming from this factory,” Lex Kerssemakers, Volvo Car USA president and CEO, said during the groundbreaking in September.

The Volvo campus is likely to reshape the region’s economy, population and automotive supplier base for decades to come.

“Volvo Cars will do much more than make automobiles in Berkeley County. Volvo will raise the standard of life throughout the Lowcountry and throughout our state,” Santee Cooper CEO Lonnie Carter said in May at the announcement in Columbia. cr bj

Reach staff writer Liz Segrist at 843-8493119 or @lizsegrist on Twitter.

Berkeley County’s top 5 largest announcements since 2009, by investment value:

Announcement

Moulton Logistics Management, a California-based logistics provider

ty in 2009 with a $2 million investment and 25 jobs.

In late 2014, the company announced plans to expand into a new facility and create an additional 15 jobs over the next five years. Manckiewicz Coatings broke ground on a $25 million, 90,000-squarefoot building at 1200 Regional Parkway in Charleston late last year.

Other projects are also in the construction phase, such as Volvo’s plan to build its first North American car plant in the county.

Work is ongoing for what will become a 2,880-acre automotive campus, located within the 6,880-acre Camp Hall Tract near Ridgeville. The site is a few miles off Interstate 26 at exit 187.

The campus will include a manufacturing facility capable of producing 100,000 cars a year initially, a museum showcasing Volvo’s history and future plans, and a test track for customers to take their new cars out for a test drive.

The remaining land at the Camp Hall Tract will be reserved for Volvo suppliers

500 over the next five years

310 over the next four years

250 over the next few years

The company relocated operations last year to Dayton, N.J.

Booz Allen Hamilton acquired Sparc and its 270 employees in 2015.

The combined company operates in Berkeley County.

The company’s sales and marketing office and distribution center now employs 750 people at the facility.

Company

Announcement

Investment

Job Creation

Status

Volvo Car USA, a Sweden-based, Chinese-owned car manufacturer

In May 2015, the company announced plans to build an automotive campus near Ridgeville with the initial capacity to produce 100,000 cars a year.

$500 million

4,000 by 2030

Construction is underway at the campus. The first cars are expected to roll off the assembly line in 2018.

Gerber Childrenswear, a Greenville-based manufacturer of children’s apparel

In August 2015, the company announced plans to establish an operations and distribution center in Berkeley County.

$33 million

45 over the next The 477,000five years square-foot facility is under construction and slated to open this summer.

Tire International, a tire recycler and maker of rubber products

In June 2011, the company announced plans to establish a new recycling and manufacturing facility in Moncks Corner, relocating those jobs from China.

$25 million

150

Not available by press time.

American Synthetics, producer of recyclable packaging for the pet food industry

In February 2009, the company announced plans to establish its headquarters, first manufacturing operation and 50-person workforce in Goose Creek.

$25 million

200 within five years

Not available by press time.

Moulton Logistics Management, a California-based logistics provider

In March 2010, the company announced plans to locate its new distribution and logistics facility in the former Masisa USA building on Clements Ferry Road.

$25 million

500 over the next five years

Source: S.C. Commerce Department announcements

The company relocated operations last year to Dayton, N.J.

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SPECIAL SECTION: GROWTH REPORT: BERKELEY COUNTY

The future site of Volvo’s automotive campus within the Camp Hall Tract was a large expanse of muddy fields during the groundbreaking ceremony in September. The first car is expected to roll off the assembly line in Berkeley County in 2018. (Photo/Kathy Allen)

Industrial and commerce parks in Berkeley County: Bushy Park Industrial Complex

Location: 1588 Bushy Park Road, Goose Creek Land/buildings: 1,600 acres.

Tenants: Agfa, Jacobs, Kemira, Lanxess, Nexans, Perigon, Phillips Industrial Services, SunChemical and Symrise.

Space remaining: Four buildings available; 250 acres of industrial land.

Developer/owner: Cooper River Partners LLC.

Camp Hall Commerce Park

Location: Frontage along Interstate 26 near exit 187 near Ridgeville.

Land/buildings: 6,800-acre industrial site.

Tenants: Volvo will occupy 2,880 acres. The remaining land will be reserved for Volvo suppliers or other automotive or industrial companies.

Space remaining: 4,000 acres.

Developer/owner: Santee Cooper and Berkeley County.

Cooper River Business Community

Location: 3300 Cypress Gardens Road, Moncks Corner, along the Cooper River.

Land/buildings: More than 1,500 acres Tenants: DuPont, Dak Americas and S.C. Electric & Gas Co. Space remaining: 340 acres available.

Developer/owner: DuPont & SCE&G; marketed

by JLL.

North Rhett Commerce Center

Location: 5801 North Rhett Ave., Hanahan.

Land/buildings: 512,000 square feet, 34 acres Tenants: Frontier Logistics, JBE. Space remaining: A 212,000-square-foot building served by CSX rail and a 94,500-square-foot building.

Developer/owner: Beacon Partners; leasing by JLL.

Charleston Trade Center

Location: 180 Trade Center Parkway, Summerville, along Interstate 26.

Land/buildings: A 300,000-square-foot spec building, expandable to 900,000 square feet, is set to deliver in May 2017. The entire site contains 230 acres and can hold 2.8 million square feet.

Tenants: None.

Developer/owner: The Keith Corp.; leasing by JLL.

Omni Industrial Campus

Location: Off Interstate 26 at Jedburg Road interchange at exit 194.

Land/buildings: 220 acres Tenants: None.

Space remaining: More than 2.7 million square feet is available. Lots can accommodate facilities of 100,000 square feet to 1.32 million square feet.

Developer/owner: WestRock

Rockefeller Group-WestRock Foreign Trade Zone

Location: Off Interstate 26 at Jedburg Road interchange at exit 194.

Land/buildings: 400 acres, 2.7 million square feet.

Tenants: A 1.1 million-square-foot distribution center for TBC Corp. and a 477,000-square-foot distribution center for Gerber Childrenswear are currently under construction.

Space remaining: A building pad for a 561,000-square-foot building is complete and a site for a 477,000-square-foot building is available.

Developer/owner: Joint venture of WestRock and Rockefeller Group Development Corp.

West Branch Commerce Park

Location: U.S. Highway 52 and Gaillard Road.

Land/buildings: 680 acres, with 362 acres certified as “shovel-ready” by CSX. Developer/owner: The InterTech Group.

North Pointe Business Campus

Location: Off North Pointe Industrial Boulevard in Hanahan.

Land/buildings: A 350,000-square-foot spec building is nearly complete.

Tenants: SAIC, New Breed Logistics, FedEx ground.

Developer/owner: WestRock, SunCap Property Group.

Charleston Regional Business Center

Location: 2310 Charleston Regional Parkway along Clements Ferry Road.

Land/buildings: A 278,720-square-foot spec building on 16.7 acres is complete and a 350,000-square-foot building on 17 acres is under construction.

Developer/owner: Childress Klein, Amstar; leasing

by Charleston Industrial.

Blue Bell site

Location: Off Interstate 26 at Jedburg Road interchange at exit 194.

Land/buildings: 800 acres.

Mt. Holly Commerce Park

Location: Along U.S. Highway 52 in Mt. Holly.

Land/buildings: 145 acres.

Tenants: Google’s data center.

North Fairmont Industrial Park Location: Along U.S. Highway 52.

Land/buildings: 270 acres.

Patillo Tract Location: Near U.S. Highway 52.

Land/buildings: 420 acres.

Tenants: A&R BulkPak Inc.’s new 240,000-squarefoot facility.

Sources: Berkeley County, WestRock, JLL, Cooper River Partners LLC, Charleston Industrial

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SPECIAL SECTION: GROWTH REPORT: BERKELEY COUNTY

March 7 - 20, 2016

Hanahan benefits from position nearby two large cities

H

anahan’s location — sandwiched next to North Charleston and Charleston — gives it attractive traffic patterns for business but limits how far the Berkeley County municipality can grow, City Manager Johnny Cribb said.

“Hanahan is perhaps the most centrally located city in the Charleston area and that certainly helps and is appealing to businesses and residents alike,” Cribb said.

Cribb said Hanahan rarely has open storefronts and unsold homes; the city has a low crime rate and attractive schools.

“When older, established businesses and homes become available it presents DEVELOPMENT, continued from Page 14

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Berkeley and Dorchester counties.

Jurs notes that I-26 runs through Berkeley County and that many of its roads, miles from the urban core, have capacity for much more traffic and the ability to accommodate large trucks. The county also has heavy rail and two bodies of water that aid with transportation of goods — Lake Moultrie and the Cooper River, which feed into the Port of Charleston.

Jurs also cites inexpensive power, water and sewer infrastructure and a low tax rate.

The area has a critical advantage over every other market in the South, Jurs said.

“Being in the Charleston metro is like hunting over bait,” he said.

“The quality of life of this region is second to none,” he said, and it helps attract businesspeople who are searching for new places to locate.

Most businesses interested in establishing a presence in the county are funneled to Jurs’ office by the S.C. Department of Commerce. Others are recruited by the Charleston Regional Development Alliance and by site consultants who tout Berkeley County as “open for business.”

The Charleston market is also known to European companies. Volvo joins Robert Bosch, Daimler, Zeltwanger, Mankiewicz Coatings, Mahle Behr, IFA Rotorion and others doing business in the region. Jurs says word has spread that the area is friendly to business.

“And we must not minimize the impact of the port,” he said.

As Atlanta, Austin, Texas, Phoenix and many other American cities can confirm, however, growth is a double-edged sword.

Sprawl, spiraling costs and gridlock can reduce the very quality of life that attracted people in the first place.

Berkeley County’s population ballooned by more than 50,000 people from

an opportunity for business and residential investment and improvements,” Cribb said.

Cribb credits Berkeley County government for making economic development a priority to recruit new business and industry. He said municipalities can play a role in future economic development by creating places where people want to live and do business.

“Cities and towns throughout the county can keep this going by focusing on continuing to offer a high level of services to our residents and making our cities great places to live, work and play,” Cribb said.

— Andy Owens 2000 to 2014, and that growth is expected to accelerate. The result is a strain on resources.

Clements Ferry Road, for example, a lightly traveled, two-lane industrial corridor in 2000, is today lined by residential developments and supersaturated with traffic. The county and the state have begun a $22 million widening project that covers a portion of the road. It is expected to take two years to complete.

The county plans to use money from a penny increase in the sales tax approved by voters in 2008 for a host of roadbuilding projects, including construction of Nexton Parkway, widening of U.S. Highway 176, and work at the interchange of U.S. Highways 52 and 176.

Heather Foley, executive director of the Urban Land Institute, says planning for growth is a “chicken and egg” issue because the county needs to see the nature and location of its growth before making the significant investment necessary to accommodate it.

Growth appears likely to transform the Berkeley County School District, already the fourth-largest in the state with 32,000 students and 17 schools operating beyond capacity.

A recent study by Clemson University’s Strom Thurmond Institute estimates the school population will increase 72% in the next 20 years and will require the construction of 20 new schools at a cost of nearly $1 billion. Berkeley residents approved a $198 million bond issue just three years ago to build six new schools.

At a recent meeting with county legislators, discussion of the $903 million price tag for the schools was met with resistance. The entire county operations budget was $62 million in 2015-2016.

Efforts to bring new business and jobs to the county continue unabated.

“2016 is going to be a landmark year for us,” said Jurs, adding, “Call back in 60 days.” cr bj

SPECIAL SECTION: GROWTH REPORT: BERKELEY COUNTY

March 7 - 20, 2016

BERKELEY DEMOGRAPHICS 177,850

population in 2010

11.4% increase

70.3%

population in 2014

13,868

Rate of homeownership in the county (2014)

77,272

198,205

Number of Berkeley County businesses, excluding farms (2011)

Number of homes in Berkeley County (2014)

39,368

Workers in Berkeley County, excluding farms (2013)

Median value of homes: $150,400

Median value of homes: $167,400

BERKELEY COUNTY

DORCHESTER COUNTY

Median value of homes: $236,100

CHARLESTON COUNTY

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

WAGES ARE HIGHER IN BERKELEY COUNTY Berkeley County has the highest weekly wage compared with other counties in the Lowcountry — though it is still below the national average of $968.

BERKELEY (county) (weekly wage)

$888

CHARLESTON

$837 DORCHESTER

$666 Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

MUNICIPAL DATA

Two municipalities in Berkeley County have a population of 5,000 or more, which gives the U.S. Census Bureau enough demographic data to report.

MONCKS CORNER Population in 2014: 9,460 Population increase from 2010: 19.6% Housing units in 2010: 3,376 Business ownership in 2007: 2,470

GOOSE CREEK Population in 2014: 40,370 Population increase from 2010: 11.7% Housing units in 2010: 13,484 Business ownership in 2007: 1,005

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March 7 - 20, 2016

Berkeley County’s home market struggling to keep up with demand

By Ashley Heffernan aheffernan@scbiznews.com

W

hen Kimo Esarey moved to Berkeley County 35 years ago, traffic was light and most residents traveled to Charleston every day for work. Berkeley County was known as a “bedroom community” of Charleston, he said.

Esarey, broker in charge at Coldwell Banker’s Goose Creek office, said the influx of industry and jobs within the county over the past years has shifted the residential real estate market. Many more homebuyers are now working within the county, but the market doesn’t have enough homes available.

“We need more single-family homes,” he said. “We’re trying really hard to keep up with all the demand.”

Michael Sally, president of the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors and a lifelong Berkeley County resident, said the region is at its lowest inventory level in more than a decade.

“In 2009 and 2010, I can remember the inventory levels being at 12,000. Currently, we’re at under 5,000,” Sally said.

“That’s a drastic difference.”

When inventory shrinks, home prices go up. Berkeley County’s median price in 2015 was $200,973, which is an 8.6% increase from 2014 and a 23.5% increase from 2011, according to the association.

“We need workforce housing, and that’s what our elected officials need to focus on,” Sally said.

Some of that price increase can be attributed to large, mixed-use communities currently under construction, such as Nexton and Carnes Crossroads.

“They’ve really raised the price points.

Those houses in there are higher priced than most of the communities that are existing today,” Esarey said.

Most of Nexton, a 5,000-acre development near the intersection of Interstate 26 and U.S. Highway 17A, is in Berkeley County, with about 400 acres in Summerville, said Ken Seeger, president

of WestRock Land and Development.

Homes there are selling from $250,000 to $400,000.

“Nexton is approved for 13,000 residential units, but we don’t expect that they’ll have density to be greater than 9,000,” Seeger said.

About 70 homes in Nexton’s first residential community, called Brighton Park Village, have been built and sold already.

When completed, that village is expected to include 675 single-family homes and 325 multifamily units.

WestRock is planning to build a retirement community later this year with 1,000 single-family homes. Construction will also begin this year on a new community called Northcreek adjacent to Nexton that will include 600 homes and 250 apartment units, Seeger said.

“Berkeley County and upper Dorchester County are where the majority of growth is going to occur in the future,” Seeger said.

In Goose Creek, Carnes Crossroads is being developed by The Daniel Island Co. The 2,300-acre site, located at the crossroads of U.S. highways 176 and 17A, was purchased in 2006.

Development was suspended during the recession and resumed in 2013, communications director Julie Dombrowski said.

Properties there are selling for $290,000 to $475,000, while homes in upcoming neighborhoods could reach more than $500,000, she said.

Carnes Crossroads’ first neighborhood, St. Thomas Park, is nearly complete with about 100 homes. The second neighborhood, called St. James Park, and a high-end assisted-living facility called The Blake will be introduced this year.

When Carnes Crossroads is complete, it’s expected to house 15,000 people.

“It’s the path of progress, and it’s probably going to be the epicenter of growth for a while,” Dombrowski said. cr bj

Reach staff writer Ashley Heffernan at 843-849-3144 or @AshleyBHeff on Twitter.

Carnes Crossroads, located at the intersection of U.S. highways 176 and 17A in Goose Creek, is expected to house 15,000 people when development is complete. Homes there are selling for $290,000 to $475,000. (Photo/ The Daniel Island Co.)

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SPECIAL SECTION: GROWTH REPORT: BERKELEY COUNTY

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Moncks Corner prepping for explosion of growth

R

oland Windham, interim town administrator for Moncks Corner, and other town officials want to ensure that the inevitable growth coming for the Berkeley County seat is the right kind of growth.

“We’ve experienced extremely tremendous growth recently in plan reviews and residential building,” Windham said. “And we’ve had a sharp increase in the number of business licenses issued, especially since mid-2015.”

Infrastructure improvements to help Goose Creek

G

oose Creek is the largest city in Berkeley County, and it figures to grow more in the near

future.

Roper St. Francis recently announced plans to build a new hospital at Carnes Crossroads, at the intersection of U.S. highways 17A and 176.

That project will likely add high-paying jobs and more development in that part of town, according to Jake Broom, assistant city administrator.

“We are starting to really pick up in residential and commercial interest in that part of town,” Broom said. “The new Roper St. Francis hospital will spur a lot of development in Carnes Crossroads. We are looking at that as the next downtown for Goose Creek.”

Closer to the existing downtown, growth has complicated traffic issues, especially at the intersection of U.S. highways 176 and 52. Improvements to that junction are a priority for the town, Broom said.

“It’s really the key to unlocking the traffic problems here,” he said. “When that project is complete, we hope to have much-improved traffic flow throughout town. We are working closely with Berkeley County and the state to get that project underway.”

Broom said a recent property tax increase — the town’s first in more than 30 years — has been mostly wellreceived by residents. Money from the increase was used to pay for a new fire station on Old Mount Holly Road and a new fire headquarters on Button Hall Avenue.

“People can see what their money is paying for with these new facilities,” Broom said. “That has helped residents understand the need for the increase.”

— Steve McDaniel

Windham said much of the increase can be attributed to the new Volvo automotive plant that is being built about 15 miles west of Moncks Corner near Ridgeville.

He and other town officials expect a surge in new residential developments, especially along S.C. Highway 6 and Cooper Store Road, both of which run west out of town and would carry much of the anticipated commuter traffic toward the plant.

With this in mind, the town has accelerated the modification of its comprehensive

growth plan.

“We pushed it up by about a year,” Windham said. “We wanted to make sure we get ahead of this instead of having to constantly play catch-up.”

Along with new housing, Windham said grocery stores, restaurants, banks, medical offices and others will inevitably follow.

“Some of the plans we’ve had submitted to us are from developers who want to build fairly large projects,” Windham said.

“We’ve had to say no to some. We don’t

have the infrastructure in place right now to accommodate it all.”

Windham said the lack of infrastructure will be the biggest challenge facing the town going forward.

“All of this can be good for Moncks Corner,” Windham said. “But at the end of the day, it has to be the right kind of growth for us. We’re a small town, and we want to keep that small-town feel even as we get bigger.”

— Steve McDaniel

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Berkeley County officials told to expect large-scale economic, community benefits

By Bill Poovey

B

bpoovey@scbiznews.com

MW saved the Upstate and changed it forever, a Spartanburg County councilman said, recalling the German automaker’s decision to come to South Carolina in 1992.

Councilman David Britt joined Greer Mayor Rick Danner and S.C. Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt in assuring a group of Berkeley County officials that Volvo will bring major economic and other community benefits. But the company will need a community support team.

Volvo is building the $500 million plant on 1,600 acres of a 7,000-acre site about 30 miles from the Port of Charleston.

Not a place that welcomed other folks in

The effort to bring BMW and Michelin into a community of peach orchards and textile mills included government battles over incentives and overcoming a distrust of outsiders, Britt said.

“We had lost 25,000 jobs in that period of the textile companies leaving, and you would think with BMW looking to come here that everybody in the community would be jumping up, clapping.

‘What can we do to help? We are on the team.’ It wasn’t that way,” Britt said.

Britt said the seven members on Spar-

Spartanburg County Councilman David Britt (standing from right) and S.C. Commerce Secretary Bobby Hitt speak to a group of Berkeley County officials and economic development planners about BMW’s startup and growth and the expected impact of Volvo. (Photo/Bill Poovey)

tanburg County Council weren’t always in agreement about support for BMW. “We had some fight about incentives.

‘How could you give all this money up?’”

Britt said. “And we had battles within the

council. We had certain council members who talked about how much money we were going to bring in. Fortunately, we had a majority during that period of negotiating that looked beyond that.”

Britt said even after decades of losing textile jobs, some in Spartanburg did not want a new industry competing for employees and raising wages.

“Spartanburg wasn’t known as a place

March 7 - 20, 2016

that welcomed other folks in. It just wasn’t,” he said.

Berkeley County to benefit and change

Britt said there has since been a “real change in attitudes” on Spartanburg County Council since BMW’s first four years when there was squabbling about incentives and various community sectors looking for ways to hit up the new company financially. He said the economic development mindset doesn’t involve the amount of taxes to be generated.

“We don’t think about the taxes,” he said.

Britt said “there are 46,000 jobs in 38 S.C. counties because of BMW.” He said the company “always under-promises and over-delivers, in far more than their investment. Just their impact, their prestige, the teamwork that they can push on to the county and you can benefit from is unheard of.”

Britt said the “benefit that is going to come to Berkeley County is just like BMW.” Initially, he said, BMW was going to invest between $200 million and $400 million. Now, BMW Manufacturing has invested $7 billion and grown from a projection of 2,000 jobs in the first 10 years to 8,000 employees. Volvo said it has 2,000 initial job openings and will employ up to 4,000 over time in Berkeley

SPECIAL SECTION: GROWTH REPORT: BERKELEY COUNTY County.

Britt said Spartanburg County administrators and planners also focused on economic development efforts and infrastructure, such as expanding S.C. Highway 290 from a country road to a multilane highway. The area became a hotbed of development for BMW suppliers and others, such as Tokyo-based Toray Industries Inc.’s $1 billion carbon-fiber composites plant announced in 2014.

Danner said Greer was “stagnant to say the least” when BMW started production in 1994.

He said the city’s growth mirrors, in many ways, the growth of the plant, with the population growing 68% between 2000 and 2015, although many BMW employees commute from other areas.

Danner said BMW’s community impact is more than economic growth and jobs.

“It is not just about numbers and production. It’s not just about employees. It is about how they have integrated themselves into the community,” Danner said.

He said the presence of the plant has “forced in some regards other manufacturers to sort of get on board with some of our efforts. If I bring BMW to the table, well you better believe that Mitsubishi is going to be there, and Honeywell is going to be there, and some of the other manufacturing plants are going to be there.

Because it is rare company to be in, and

they want to be a part of it.”

Hitt, who helped recruit BMW to South Carolina and later worked as the plant’s corporate affairs manager, said recruiting efforts have become much more sophisticated since BMW and “South Carolina has learned. Our training mechanisms have learned.”

He said 60,000 people applied for jobs at BMW, and many of them did not have manufacturing experience.

“We had to build a whole center in Spartanburg County just to do induction of people. We had to have a run through, a physical test to see if they could even work in a plant. We had people who were shoe clerks and other things apply,” Hitt said.

Hitt advised Berkeley County officials to be ready to step in to help Volvo navigate community, political and business issues that might not be anticipated.

“Some of you will have to help Volvo because they just won’t know,” Hitt said.

“They will be focused on cars, not on local issues and other things like that.”

Next for Berkeley County

Berkeley County Supervisor and County Council Chairman Bill Peagler said about 5,000 acres will be provided for Volvo suppliers. The automaker has been offered some incentives to bring suppliers with them, he said.

“We want to get out of the real estate business as quickly as possible,” Peagler

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said The community support team for Volvo is “looking at things like how we can get more people qualified to do the jobs,” and he said there are ongoing discussions with Trident Tech and Berkeley County school leaders.

Peagler said the tour of the BMW plant and seeing the production process made him realize the importance of suppliers for the plant.

“What it told me was we need to come back and plan for those suppliers a little quicker than we anticipated,” Peagler said.

Volvo announced the S60 sedan would be built exclusively in South Carolina with the first cars expected to be assembled in late 2018 and exported through the Port of Charleston. Peagler said the first permit has been issued for construction of the Volvo paint shop, and the county is getting ready to build roads and infrastructure.

He said Berkeley County can also benefit from the decades of experience Spartanburg County and Commerce officials earned over decades of navigating and facilitating growth and expansion.

“I know now if I have an issue I can call someone there who has gone through the same experience I am going through now,” Peagler said. cr bj

Reach Bill Poovey at 864-235-5677, ext.

104.

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Abbie Brown said her family’s restaurant on U.S. Highway 52 in Berkeley County relies on traffic patterns and online reviews to drive business. (Photo/Andy Owens)

Berkeley County balancing rural nature with burgeoning growth

By Andy Owens

S

aowens@scbiznews.com

ixteen years ago, Abbie and Mike Brown opened A&M Brown’s Bar-B-Q on U.S. Highway 52 in Moncks Corner to support their family and the community by providing good, local food.

Today, the Browns and their staff of 10 cater weddings and events across the state and sell about 700 pounds of pork each week. Their son, who graduated from Johnson & Wales, pitches in from time to time when he’s not working at the Hilton Garden Inn in North Charleston.

Brown said online sites such as Yelp and TripAdvisor bring a lot of business to A&M Brown’s, which has relied on wordof-mouth recommendations and traffic moving by on U.S. Highway 52.

Berkeley Chamber of Commerce CEO Elaine Morgan said the county is seeing a shift in demographics, added technology and changing expectations for commerce, which will bring opportunities and challenges.

The strong industrial labor force from companies such as Dupont, Nucor Steel, Century Aluminum, Santee Cooper, Agfa, Nexans and Google provides cash flow that ripples through even as the county’s population has changed drastically.

Those jobs give the county the top average weekly wage in the region, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

“That money circles seven times through the community. ... When you have money flowing, they have more disposable income,” she said.

Morgan said businesses in adjacent states and within South Carolina have been inquiring about Berkeley County since Volvo announced plans for a manufacturing campus near Ridgeville. She said companies might not immediately know about Berkeley County, but they know Charleston.

“Charleston not only is a nationally known entity, it is an internationally known entity. ... It is a tremendous selling tool,” she said.

Morgan predicts retail options in Berkeley County will move more toward specialty, boutique stores like those found in Charleston, for what she calls “entertainment shopping,” as opposed to shopping for basic necessities.

She said an influx of families means the county is offering things young professionals want, including a work-life balance and high-quality schools. But she said that growth has to be managed.

“The other thing that I think is going to be key for our chamber is to make sure we have the labor force and the training for that labor force,” Morgan said. “We also have to get a handle on our infrastructure. We add 1,000 students per year to our schools, and I think we’ve really got to address that.”

She said infrastructure includes roads, energy and anything that keeps businesses and industries open and profitable.

Morgan cited Wabi Sabi Farm in Cordesville as an example of the value Berkeley County provides as a rural connection to the region’s economic core.

“They sell to all the fine restaurants downtown,” Morgan said. “Here we have rural Berkeley County producing a product that people internationally are coming in to purchase downtown.”

Morgan said the impending will require even more growth to support the commercial businesses, jobs and schools expected to arrive in the county.

“If you’re not looking to lure more people in to buy, live, work, then you’re losing,” Morgan said. “There is a balance that has to be met. ... You have to have these people coming in and buying, and it takes a very diverse group of people to support retail and commercial.” cr bj

Reach Andy Owens at 843-849-3142.

March 7 - 20, 2016

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