BEST ADVICE Daniel Seiden, Pinewood Preparatory School.
PAGE 4 VOLUME 26 NUMBER 25 ■ CHARLESTONBUSINESS.COM
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Business leaders, data project permanent change after 2020 By Barry Waldman
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Contributing Writer
re businesses in the region poised for success? Have they learned anything from the past year? Are we ready for a slightly new world in which many more people work remotely? In its 2020-21 Regional Economic Scorecard, the Charleston Regional Development Alliance
found the tri-county area better positioned precrash than it was prior to the Great Recession, with a more diverse, better educated and higher-income workforce. More families could afford housing in the community thanks in part to a 2.4% unemployment rate. Then the economy caught a nasty virus. Local consumer spending dropped by a quarter in March and April, but it has rebounded to roughly Jan. 1 levels across the region. That’s important
because consumer spending is the engine for economic growth. With job growth already recovering in most sectors, the CRDA projects 28,000 new jobs in the region by 2024. The largest area of increase will be in leisure and hospitality, the ecoSee SCORECARD, Page 8
On Laurel Island, affordable housing with no expiration
Parking to fly
By Teri Errico Griffis
Charleston International adds 2,400 parking spaces. Page 6
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Reining in revenue
Tourism revenue down more than $5 billion for the year across South Carolina. Page 10
Supporting role
Contractor serving war fighters plans expansion in North Charleston. Page 16
INSIDE
Upfront................................. 2 SC Biz News Briefs................. 3 Best Advice........................... 4 In Focus: Defense................ 15 List: Defense Contractors.... 19 At Work............................... 21 Viewpoint............................23
LATEST SCORECARD INSIDE
DEEP DIVE
W International is among the many defense contractors providing services for the Navy along with jobs for Berkeley County workers. See Special Report starting on page 14 Welders are in high demand for companies such as W International. The defense contractor works with area high schools and Trident Tech to recruit enough skilled labor. (Photo/Provided)
tgriffis@scbiznews.com
s the Laurel Island development moves forward, the project’s focus on affordable housing is a detail that has gotten overshadowed in the approval process, developer Robert Clement said. Upon completion of the planned unit development, 10% of the overall 4,260 rentable residential units will be affordable housing in perpetuity for Charleston’s working class. Geona Shaw Johnson, director of Charleston Housing & Community Development, said a private-sector developer has never offered rental units of this kind to the city before. In addition to the permanent housing, another 10% of units will be affordable for 10 years upon being leased. The planned unit development proposal also includes 276,500 square feet of retail, 2.2 million square feet of office space, 400 hotel rooms and 39.2 acres of usable green space. “It’s phenomenal, and I’m hoping that other private sectors will follow because what we have learned and what we understand is that private sectors develop well, and they See LAUREL, Page 11
Event Planning Guide
Planning events in 2020 isn’t like anything before or since. We have your guide to make it happen. INSIDE