will help speed up an ongoing trend of companies bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. Page 6
Technically tomatoes are a fruit, and we honor the value and taste of South Carolina tomatoes. They’re the best. You get savory and sweet in one beefsteak, Duke’s-slathered sandwich.
But this is about our favorite fruit that is unquestionably a fruit: Peaches.
Late summer is about the best time to get South Carolina-grown peaches. They’re plentiful and exceedingly delicious this time of year. The peach industry in the Palmetto State isn’t just about great eating, though. It’s also one of the major agricultural drivers in South Carolina.
In short, South Carolina is the real peach state. Aside from what Georgia might want to put on airs about, they did likely, possibly, perhaps have the first documented peach tree land on North American shores on a Georgia Sea Island. We appreciate them doing that because it’s been a cash crop in South Carolina for well over 150 years and counting.
The peach industry has been struggling lately in both South Carolina and Georgia. As you can imagine, that’s increased prices for the sweet, fuzzy fruit and caused the sector to take a hit in overall value.
Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which recently issued
its annual report on peaches, show that South Carolina and Georgia have both seen a reduction over the last year in peach production, with 30,500 fewer tons of peaches grown from 2021 to 2022 in the two states. While the Palmetto State produced 20,000 fewer tons of peaches in 2022 compared to the previous year, farmers saw a 9.6% increase in the price of peaches. That still resulted in a nearly $20 million decline in the overall value of the state’s peach crop.
Georgia, by comparison saw a reduction of 10,500 tons and experienced a price increase of 26.6%, which resulted in an decrease of $4.8 million in overall value.
1,251,360,000
Pounds of fresh peaches produced in the U.S. in 2022, worth an estimated $663.2 million.
134,800,000
Across the U.S., peach production was down 9.4% in 2022 and the average price per ton was up by 12.9%.
Peach production is down in Georgia and South Carolina, but the Palmetto State continues to grow tens of thousands of tons more peaches than the Peach State.
Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, May 2023
Pounds of fresh peaches produced in South Carolina in 2022, worth an estimated $107.8 million.
$1,600
Price per ton of peaches in South Carolina in 2022, which was more than 50% higher than the national average and fourth highest in the nation among peach-producing states.
1571
The year the first documented peaches came to North America by way of China. Researchers have pinpointed St. Simon’s Island, Ga., as the place the peaches first landed.
233
Number of peach packing houses in South Carolina in 1935, with 3 million peaches being commercially grown in Spartanburg County alone.
15,500
Acres of peach-bearing land producing in South Carolina in 2022. Georgia had less than half that number for the year.
20
Number of quarts of peach preserves you can get from one bushel of peaches. That’s about 2.5 pounds of peaches to make one quart of peach preserves.
Sources: Clemson University Cooperative Extension, U.S. Department of Agriculture
“We want to take our recidivism rate even lower, and help transform the lives of those who were incarcerated. This will also transform their families and eventually the economy as they enter the workforce.”
— South Carolina Department of Corrections Director Bryan Stirling
SEPTEMBER 11 ARCHITECTURE/ENGINEERING/ CONSTRUCTION
List: General Contractors, Architecture Firms
AGreenville-based real estate and development group announced the acquisition of a former service station in downtown Simpsonville that will transform into a community gathering place.
Community Hub LLC acquired property formerly known as Danny Smith’s Fillin & Fixin service station. It will be transformed into a “vibrant community gathering space” and will offer a diverse selection of food, beverage and entertainment options, complete with a stage for live performances, according to a news release.
The estimated project cost is $3 million, according to Community Hub.
“The commitment to revitalization initiatives and continued focus on economic growth in Simpsonville is quite impressive,” said Community Hub LLC principal and Simpsonville resident David Berger. “We have been watching the city’s growth over the years and have unwavering confidence in the diligent work put forth by the city and its leadership. We are excited to play a part in the flourishing journey and cultivate a true local community gathering destination that will be sustainable for decades to come.”
Aglobal manufacturer of expansion tanks, heat exchangers and other products for the heating and plumbing industries is establishing its first U.S. manufacturing operations in Georgetown County.
Zilmet USA, established in 2012, is headquartered in North Kingstown, R.I., and serves North America using products manufactured at the company’s flagship operation in Padova, Italy, according to a news release.
The Georgetown County plant will be located at 405 Technology Drive in Andrews. The company’s $32.7 million investment will create approximately 50 new jobs, the release said. Construction is currently underway on the 150,000-square-foot facility, with phase one tentatively scheduled to be completed in late 2024, with production beginning in 2025.
Founded in 1955 by Ugo Benettolo, Zilmet sell to more than 100 countries. Once complete, the Andrews plant will serve North American operations, according to the release.
Special Section: Under Construction
Advertising Deadline: August 28
OCTOBER 16
MANUFACTURING
List: Manufacturing Companies, Aerospace Companies
Advertising Deadline: October 2
NOVEMBER 20
FOOD & BEVERAGE List: Restaurants, Restaurants with Banquet Facilities
Advertising Deadline: November 6
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By Christina Lee Knauss cknauss@scbiznews.comGeorgia-based restaurant chain Takosushi will soon be opening a second location in the Columbia area. The restaurant will be opening a location in the Forest Park shopping center in Forest Acres, moving into space that formerly housed a Pizza Hut and a Baskin Robbins.
The shopping center, anchored by Lowes Foods, is located at 4711 Forest Drive. Colliers South Carolina’s Rox Pollard, Danny Bonds and John Gressette represented the landlord, Forest Park LLC in the lease of 2,400 square feet in the shopping center to Takosushi, according to a news release.
Takosushi serves eastern Asian and southwestern United States-inspired cuisine. Forest Park will be Takosushi’s eighth location across Georgia and South Carolina and the second location in Columbia.
The other Columbia location of Takosu-
shi is in the historic Arcade building at 1332 Main St. downtown. The restaurant also has locations in Georgia and other South Carolina locations in Aiken and Greenville.
“We are excited to be a part of the Forest Acres community,” said James Williams, co-owner of Takosushi. “Whether you are looking for a light lunch, a place to grab a drink or a hearty dinner, we feel that TakoSushi has something for everyone. Being headquartered here in the Midlands, this location is especially important to us.”
No opening date for the Forest Acres location has been set. Forest Acres officials confirmed that the restaurant has already sought construction permits from the city.
The 90,000-square-foot center’s tenants include Lowes Foods, Eggs Up Grill, CVS and UPS Store, along with a mix of local and regional boutique retailers and national brands. This center is adjacent to the mixed-use development on the former Cardinal Newman School site, Cardinal Crossing, consisting of 256 apartments,
complemented by 42,000 square feet of commercial space including ground-level shops fronting Forest Drive.
“Takosushi will be a welcome addition to Forest Park and all of Forest Acres with its excellent cuisine, top-notch service, outdoor seating and fun atmosphere,” Pollard said. “The space, formerly occupied by Baskin Robbins, will be completely renovated which keeps with the landlord’s commitment to keeping Forest Park a highly important amenity to the Forest Acres community.”
Pollard is a Vice President and Director of Retail Services at Colliers specializing in the sale, leasing and development consultation of retail properties across the state. Bonds is a senior brokerage associate specializing in the leasing of neighborhood shopping centers and Gressette is a brokerage associate working with tenants, landlords, sellers and purchasers to lease, purchase and sell retail properties of all sizes.
Nine current or former inmates of the South Carolina Department of Corrections and six other people have been indicted for allegedly receiving more than $4 million in fraudulent COVID-19 unemployment benefits.
A federal grand jury has returned a 51-count indictment against the current or former inmates and the six others for wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to a news release.
The indictment alleges that beginning in March and continuing through December 2020, nine SCDC inmates engaged in a scheme to fraudulently obtain COVID19 unemployment benefits administered through the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce and through Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Nevada, New Jersey, Missouri, Arizona and California, the release said.
According to the indictment, the defendants conspired and coordinated with other inmates and friends and relatives outside of SCDC to submit unemployment claims to SCDEW using the personal identification information of both inmates in SCDC and individuals outside the prison system, the release said.
The inmates harvested personal information such as social security numbers and dates of birth from other inmates and used it to apply for COVID unemployment ben-
efits in the names of those inmates as well as themselves. Some inmates provided their information willingly in exchange for a portion of the proceeds derived from the unemployment benefits. Other inmates had no
Anyone who wasn’t familiar with the supply chain and how it works got a crash course in it during the COVID19 pandemic. Supply chain problems caused shortages of everything from personal protective equipment and medicine to chicken wings and canned cat food, and the chain still hasn’t completely sorted itself out.
Leaders from South Carolina’s business community took a major step on Monday, July 19, to help the keep the state’s supply chain running as smoothly as possible.
Along with South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, they got together at the BOMAG America equipment plant in Ridgeway to launch CONNEX South Carolina, a free online platform that offers one-stop access for the state’s manufacturers to connect with each other, find local suppliers, discover new business opportunities and manage supply chains. BOMAG manufactures compaction and road building equipment and employs more than 180 people in Ridgeway.
CONNEX South Carolina is available free to South Carolina manufacturers through a partnership of the South Carolina Manufacturing Extension Partnership (SCMEP) the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance and the South Carolina Department of Commerce. The platform was created by i5 Services as the CONNEX Marketplace platform more than a decade ago, and is used around the country to help connect the U.S. manufacturing supply chain and enhance companies’ ability to keep manufacturing solutions locally sourced.
“This is a huge win for South Carolina manufacturers,” said Sara Hazzard, president and CEO of the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance. “This one-of-a-kind tool empowers manufacturers of all sizes, both buyers and sellers, to enhance supply chain connectivity. CONNEX South Carolina is an innovative resource to help manufacturers compete and create jobs.”
Andy Carr, president and CEO of SCMEP, said the platform has been under development for nine months and will offer both small and large manufacturers in the state to post their needs, network with others and search for qualified suppliers.
“The words ‘supply chain’ leapt into national focus three years ago when all of a sudden we couldn’t get PPE or supplies to protect our loved ones,” Carr said. “That caused us to
focus on it and come together to look for a solution. We spent the last 20 to 25 years building supply chains, a lot of them offshore, and most of the time they’ve worked well, but like I-26 on a Friday afternoon, all it takes is one little glitch like a strike at a port or a ship getting stuck to bring the whole thing to a halt.”
Carr said CONNEX South Carolina will help speed up an ongoing trend of “right-shoring,” or companies bringing manufacturing back to the U.S., because it will allow companies to connect with each other quickly to resolve supply chain issues and find suppliers for goods they need.
Brian Bieller, president of BOMAG Americas, said tools like CONNEX South Carolina will help his industry to stay ahead of supply chain problems.
“This supply chain solution will help address deficiencies and speed up production timelines,” Bieller said. “BOMAG’s operations are supported by a global supply chain but manufacturers must be agile and ready to pivot when facing shipping constraints, workforce shortages or other delays that impact our component and parts delivery.”
Companies who sign up for the service will also receive automatic connection to a wide variety of useful information, including an automatic connection to the SourceSC data base run by the South Carolina Department of Commerce, officials said.
SourceSC provides information about industry sourcing requests, updates on business opportunities and B2B outreach events. The database can help manufacturers connect with HR staffing firms, construction companies, suppliers and other businesses they need to support their industries, said Chantal Fryer, director of business services for the Department of Commerce.
“This is truly a win for all of us because it allows for continued growth and connectivity to the domestic supply chain,” Fryer said. “This will enable manufacturers to potentially experience reduced transportation times, better contingency planning and better speed to market.”
Manufacturers can access the portal at www.scmep.org/connex or by emailing connex@scmep.org.
Former inmates returning to the community will be able to get help and workforce training through a new program coming to South Carolina.
Concordance, a non-profit based in Missouri, is partnering with Wells Fargo and the South Carolina Department of Corrections to open a center in the Greenville area that will offer mental health and substance abuse treatment services, job training and other services for the formerly incarcerated. Concordance, founded in 2016, is planning to eventually open 39 centers around the country.
The partnership was announced Wednesday, Aug. 2, at the South Carolina State House in Columbia.
Wells-Fargo is giving $60 million to open the Greenville-Spartanburg Concordance center and others around the country. An exact location and opening date have not been determined.
Since launching in 2015, Concordance has helped to reduce reincarceration by 56% among its participants in Missouri. Officials said South Carolina was selected as the nonprofit’s first expansion site because of the state’s record low rate of recidivism at only 17%.
Bryan Stirling, director of the South Carolina Department of Corrections, said the partnership with Concordance is a way
to continue that positive trend.
“Businesses that are number one at what they do don’t want to rest on their laurels –they want to continually improve,” Stirling said. “That’s what we want do with this program. We want to take our recidivism rate even lower, and help transform the lives of those who were incarcerated. This will also transform their families and eventually the economy as they enter the workforce.”
The Concordance program is different than some other programs for the formerly incarcerated because of its focus on helping participants to heal from past trauma, said
Danny Ludeman, CEO of Concordance.
Ludeman said the common denominator among the 1600 men and women the organization has served in Missouri is going through a severe traumatic experience as a child, usually by the age of nine.
Condordance offers an 18-month program for participants that begins six months before their release and then continues for a year after they are released, and includes therapy to heal from trauma as well as other mental health and substance abuse treatment. Participants also get employment training, begin with part-
time jobs and eventually move on to full time employment.
Stirling said the Upstate was selected for the Concordance center because currently about 20% of the 6,000 people the Department of Corrections releases each year wind up in that region.
“Setting people up for success through this program will transform the lives of former inmates and their families, make the area safer and eventually save tax dollars,” Stirling said. South Carolina currently spends about $32,247 per inmate per year.
Smoked, the popular upscale contemporary dining restaurant in the heart of Columbia’s historic Main Street District, opened an underground speakeasy to the public on Wednesday, Aug. 2. The speakeasy, located under Smoked at 1643 Main St., is called The Burnline. The name comes from the remnants of burn lines that used to be on the building’s walls after Sherman’s march on Columbia in 1865.
Smoked had been operating the speakeasy space for members only since opening two years ago. Jake Cooper, bar director for Smoked, said The Burnline was opened to
By Christina Lee Knauss cknauss@scbiznews.comAColumbia-based business equipment supplier that has been a fixture in the South Carolina business market for nearly 50 years has been acquired by a Tennessee-based company.
Novatech, based in Nashville, recently acquired Carolina Business Equipment, which offers managed IT services, managed print services and an extensive line of office products from industry leaders such as Sharp, Toshiba and Kyocera, according to a news release.
Founded in 1998, Novatech Inc. is a nationwide business technology provider. The company says it eliminates the need for multiple managed service providers, hardware dealers and software integrators. Offering a full Managed Office portfolio, Novatech simplifies and streamlines the technology experience for today’s business, the release said.
This step aligns with Novatech’s mission
the public to improve the atmosphere.
“We wanted it to have character,” Cooper told SC Biz News. “The way it was operating it got the intimate note down, but it wasn’t getting the atmosphere we wanted. The goal was to create a space where all of our creative energy can be captured in one spot. It’s kind of a little nook where all our wildest ideas are coming to late. The space is about history and classic spirits, but also about creativity and pushing the border.”
Cooper said the décor of the space is meant to evoke a “study” where guests would go to sample drinks they normally wouldn’t be able to get elsewhere.
“Ninety percent of what we serve in Burnline is not available in the rest of Smoked,” Cooper said. “It’s a heavily curat-
ed selection including whiskeys and some of the best agave and rum we can find. It would have been easy to stock the shelves with just the most expensive stuff, but we have a range of prices that will offer a great product.”
Cooper said the menu will include specialty cocktails that can be found only at The Burnline to enhance the space’s singular experience.
It will feature a curated selection of premium liquors and a menu of six hand-crafted cocktails, including three rotating creations unique to Burnline and three classic favorites. The speakeasy also will feature exclusive beers from Columbia’s Peak Drift Brewing Co.
Guests can look forward to immer-
sive experiences at The Burnline, including cocktail classes, curated tastings and immersive experiences under Cooper’s direction, such as themed tasting dinners centered around cocktails. One event he wants to introduce is a “Celebrity Shift” series where celebrated bartenders from other popular locations in Columbia will come in to mix drinks for an evening.
The Burnline also will share a special “password” for admission on Smoked’s social media, although this will not be a requirement for entry. The Burnline will operate from 4 p.m. until closing Wednesday through Saturday.
For more information about The Burnline, follow Smoked on Facebook or Instagram and check the restaurant’s website.
ers, enabling the company to expand its geographical reach across the Carolinas.
“This alignment with Novatech offers an incredible opportunity for our team at CBE,” said John Eckstrom, owner of Carolina Business Equipment. “With shared values and a commitment to delivering outstanding service and technology solutions, we foresee a bright future for our customers and employees.”
Carolina Business Equipment currently has offices in Columbia, Charleston, Florence, Greer, North Augusta, Rock Hill and Rockingham, N.C.
of “providing comprehensive managed office solutions to businesses nationwide while expanding its reach into the thriving Carolina market,” according to the release.
“We are incredibly excited to welcome Carolina Business Equipment to the Novatech family,” Novatech CEO Dan Cooper said in the release. “CBE’s reputation for delivering exceptional customer experiences, inno-
vative managed IT and print services and its impressive growth trajectory perfectly mirror Novatech’s vision for the managed office. This acquisition represents a key milestone in our ongoing growth strategy.”
Established in 1975, Carolina Business Equipment has significantly broadened its product and service offerings to provide more comprehensive solutions to its custom-
Novatech is the core portfolio company of Trivest Partners, a private investment firm that focuses exclusively on the support and growth of founder-led and family-owned businesses in the United States and Canada in both control and non-control transactions. Since its founding in 1981, Florida-basedTrivest has completed more than 500 transactions totaling approximately $8 billion in value, according to the release. The company’s regional office is in Charlotte.
AMissouri-based delivery company has leased a 29,930-square-foot cross-dock building at 6011 Shakespeare Road in northeast Columbia.
Lanter Delivery Systems arranges transportation and courier services to the agricultural, automotive, trucking and industrial supply industries, according to a news release. The company has a nationwide footprint, operating in all 50 states.
Shakespeare Industrial Park at 59216011 Shakespeare Road consists of 14 industrial flex buildings with covered storage totaling 98,072 square feet. The build-
ings include a cross-dock building, office warehouses, light manufacturing, fleet service buildings, equipment storage sheds and covered storage of varying heights, according to the release. The total land is approximately 23.69 acres consisting of four parcels.
The property is part of Weston Inc.’s Southeast Industrial Properties portfolio of 60 tenants and 45 properties totaling over 7 million square feet. Weston is a Cleveland-based commercial real estate owner and developer and one of the largest privately held industrial landlords in the South Carolina.
“When we purchased the Shakespeare Industrial Park, we envisioned the main
building on the property as a cross-dock transfer terminal,” said Eileen McConville, asset manager for Weston Inc. “We are glad that it was a fit for Lanter.”
The property was purchased by Weston in 2020 from The Donald R. Tomlin Jr. Special Master Trust which represented the former South Carolina Electric & Gas Co. Colliers South Carolina’s industrial brokerage team of Chuck Salley, Dave Mathews, Thomas Beard and John Peebles represented Weston in the lease transaction.
“We are pleased to welcome Lanter as the fourth and largest tenant in the Shakespeare Industrial Park,” Salley said. “This location is just minutes away from I-20 and the fast-growing northeast Columbia
submarket has proven to be a very popular locale for distributors and last-mile service providers. “
Colliers’ Josh Eig serves as the property manager for 6011 Shakespeare Road. Scott Burriss with LCK has served as the construction project manager at the property. LCK is completing several projects including the installation of a handicap-accessible restroom, the addition of LED lighting, the conversion of obsolete office areas back to warehousing space, and the installation of new dock doors and dock equipment.
More information on Weston’s Southeast Industrial Properties portfolio and current availabilities in South Carolina and Georgia can be found online.
By Christina Lee Knauss cknauss@scbiznews.com
Amassive new student housing tower in downtown Columbia opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, July 31.
The Standard is a new 17-story, 678-bed student housing tower at 1401 Assembly St. in Columbia’s Arsenal Hill neighborhood. National real estate development and investment firm CRG handled the project along with Landmark Properties, the national’s largest student housing developer, design-builder Clayco and architecture firm Lamar Johnson Collaborative.
Located on an urban-infill site at the intersection of Washington and Assembly streets, the development is steps from retail, restaurant and entertainment offerings in downtown Columbia as well as the University of South Carolina, which welcomed its largest freshman class in the 2022-23 academic year, supporting future demand for campus-adjacent housing, according to a news release.
Speakers at the event included Columbia Mayor Daniel J. Rickenmann; JJ Smith, executive vice president and partner of residential for CRG, and Rob Dinwiddie, executive vice president of management services for Landmark Properties.
Murals painted on the north and south sides of the building and in the parking garage were also unveiled. They are by North Caro-
the rich cultural history of the area where the building is located, which
was known as Columbia’s “Black Downtown” from the 1920s through mid-century. The murals incorporate vibrant colors and architectural images that honor many of the Black-owned businesses that lined the streets during that era.
The Standard at Columbia features 678 beds across 247 fully furnished studio to five-bedroom apartments, which are more than 90% pre-leased for fall. A generous amenity package includes a resort-style rooftop pool with sun shelves, jumbotron, fire pit and outdoor grilling stations, complimentary tanning beds, fitness center, multi-sport simulator, academic lounge with private study rooms and computer lab, resident clubroom, bike storage, and garage parking with EV charging stations.
CRG’s residential group has expertise and established relationships across 100 markets, 40 states and seven countries, according to the release. The team has sourced and developed more than $6 billion in residential communities and 40,000 multifamily units, including market-rate apartments, co-living residences and off-campus student housing.
Landmark Properties is a fully integrated real estate firm with more than $11.8 billion in assets under management including more than 100 residential communities across the country. Landmark currently has 22 student and multifamily projects under construction with an estimated value of $4.7 billion.
The murals honorThe development is steps from retail, restaurant and entertainment offerings in downtown Columbia as well as the University of South Carolina. (Rendering/Provided) The Standard is located on a former urban-infill site at the intersection of Washington and Assembly streets. (Rendering/Provided)
AColumbia developer is continuing to focus on the city’s restaurant industry as a sector for growth.
When Masa Mexican Street Food opens this fall as part of the 5th & Sloan Development on Rosewood Drive, it will be the fifth restaurant redevelopment project in Columbia by Cason Development Group, according to a news release.
Other Cason Development Group restaurant projects include The War Mouth at1209 Franklin St; Indah Coffee at 2238 Sumter St.; Il Focolare, 2150 Sumter St. and Moctezuma’s Mexican Restaurant, 402 Beltline Blvd. The War Mouth, opened in 2015, was not only Cason’s first restaurant, but also Cason Development Group’s first project of any kind.
Cason transformed a 2,400-squarefoot former auto repair shop into what has become one of the North Main Street area’s
most popular restaurants, leading to a renaissance of sorts in that area of the city.
“We believe that one of the best ways to help Columbia grow is by helping its restaurateurs expand,” said Frank Cason, president of Cason Development Group, in the release.“From local to national, Columbia has room for more, and we are excited to continue our
efforts in making it happen.”
The War Mouth redevelopment kicked off a wave of adaptive reuse projects in the Cottontown Neighborhood by Cason. The development team transformed the former Dunn Electric Co. building at 2238 Sumter St. into Indah Coffee in 2017. That 12,000-square-foot building also houses
Circa Barbershop, Columbia Printing and Graphics, and Southern Pottery.
Cason redeveloped 2150 Sumter St., one of three buildings that the company acquired as part of the former Dave’s Transmission complex, into a small pizzeria, Citta Del Cotone, in 2018. The space now houses Il Focolare pizzeria operated by well-known Columbia chef Sarah Simmons.
Not confined to Cottontown, in addition to Masa Mexican Street Food in the 5th and Sloan development, Cason purchased the former Lizard’s Thicket at 402 Beltline Blvd. earlier this year and transformed the 6,500-square-foot building into a new home for Moctezuma’s Mexican restaurant. Moctezuma’s also has a location at 5067 Beltline.
Cason Development Group is a commercial real estate development focused on projects in the Columbia area as well as retail-focused development in and around South Carolina.
Amusic and bicycle festival with a focus on sustainability is returning to Columbia later this month.
The third annual SolFest RollFest will take place from 4 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 26, at NoMa Warehouse at 2222 Sumter St. in Columbia.
The festival started as a “micro-music” festival in 2021, when it was held on the summer solstice, according to a news release. That festival featured four bands and 10 local sponsors. The 2022 event was held at Earlewood Park and featured a bike-powered stage pedaled and powered by volunteers.
This year’s festival will return to Sumter Street and will take place inside and outside of NoMa Warehouse. The goal for the event
is to be a zero-waste event, so guests are asked to bring their own containers for beer and drinks and T-shirts to be printed with festival
graphics.
Local band Homemade Haircuts will be the headline, joined by Danielle Howle, Dear Bianca and Monti-Rabbit.
Proceeds from the event will enable NoMa Warehouse to contribute to Sustainable Midlands and the Colatown Bike Collective.
NoMa Warehouse is a co-working community for artists and creators located in downtown Columbia.
Registration for the Rockin’ Rollin’ Group Ride in conjunction with the festival, as well as sponsorship, vendor and volunteer applications are open now online. To sign up and for more information visit @SolFest.RollFest on Facebook and Instagram.
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions is moving from fossil fuels to electricity to power a fleet of nearly 1,000 vehicles at the Savannah River Site.
The transition from gasoline cars, vans and light duty trucks to electric alternatives is underway, according to a news release. The conversion comes in response to a presidential executive order that also specifies that gas-powered light duty vehicles can not be purchased for use at federal facilities after 2027 if an electric version is available.
“SRS personnel have successfully converted more than 10% of our light duty, gasoline-powered vehicles to those powered by electricity,” said Joe Solesby, logistic manager of site services for SRNS. “We now have 106 zero-emission vehicles on site, with
more to come by the end of our fiscal year in September.”
According to Solesby, multiple charging
stations are being placed at locations across the site. In one area of SRS, crews have installed eight fast-charging stations near
administrative buildings that will provide a charge from zero to 80% within 60 minutes, providing a range of about 200 miles. A bank of slower charging stations was more recently installed several miles away in another part of the site and a third bank is currently under construction, according to the release.
During additional phases of the project, SRS will convert mid- and heavy-duty vehicles to zero-emission engines as well.
“The work accomplished at the Savannah River Site on this project has been impressive,” said Mike Budney, Savannah River manager for the Department of Energy. “It’s truly taken a team effort from multiple individuals and organizations to realize the progress we’ve seen to date. Preserving, protecting and improving the environment continues to be a top priority for us.”
By Christine Lee Knauss cknauss@scbiznews.com
A20-acre parcel of land in Prosperity with community access to Lake Murray recently was sold by Edgewater Shores Development Partnership.
Ryan McCue, a senior brokerage associate on the land brokerage team at Colliers South Carolina brokered the sale.
The Prosperity area has recently seen a steady increase in housing demand driven by factors such as its location and affordable property prices, according to a news release. The area’s growth potential is challenged by obstacles such as a limited housing inventory.
Edgewater Shores is a Prosperity neighborhood that offers small-town appeal with existing lake-front and lake-access lots.
“This transaction was unique because it juggled the disposition of land in a multi-stage development,” McCue said in the release. “The neighborhood consists of legacy homes built on lake-front lots, homes built on infill lots, developed lots without homes yet and raw land. We were able to source a purchaser who was interested in developing infill lots on the remaining undeveloped acreage while adhering to the original vision of the neighborhood.
McCue specializes in the sale of large land tracts for development, recreational use and timber production.
Jimmie Gianoukos has been elected chairman of the board of the South Carolina Trucking Association for 2023-2024.
Gianoukos is the former president and CEO of ATS Logistics, a North Charleston-based warehouse and transportation company, specializing in Southeast freight, according
to a news release. The company was formed in 1986 and today predominantly handles the movement of vans and containers to and from the Charleston port terminals, rail yards, warehouses and clients throughout the Southeast.
“Jimmie Gianoukos has been a fixture on the Charleston waterfront, warehousing and trucking sectors for over 40 years,” said SCTA President
and CEO Rick Todd. “He brings a wealth of experience, knowledge and contacts which will benefit our advocating for a safer and more efficient supply chain here in South
Carolina.”
The South Carolina Trucking Association is a non-profit trade association representing all segments of the trucking industry. Organized in 1932, SCTA serves the transportation industry’s interests by providing educational opportunities, compiling and distributing essential information, and conducting aggressive programs of advocacy.
2023
Executives from more than 100 companies will gather to celebrate being named one of the Best Places to Work in South Carolina, and no event this year will provide better networking opportunities!
August 10
The Charleston Women of Influence Awards celebrates the exceptional achievements of women in the Lowcountry. We are excited to honor the trailblazers, visionaries, and leaders who are making a difference in our region’s business landscape.
October 25
July 26
The Columbia Women of Influence Awards celebrates the exceptional achievements of women in the midlands. We are excited to honor the trailblazers, visionaries, and leaders who are making a difference in our region’s business landscape.
October 25
This annual event recognizes forty Lowcountry professionals under the age of 40 who are making their mark with professional and community involvement.
November 9 - 10
The SC Manufacturing Conference & Expo will be held in Greenville. This multi-day event includes the Salute to Manufacturing Awards Luncheon, a manufacturing expo, panel discussions, and several interactive, practical workshops.
For sponsorship opportunities, contact Ryan Downing at rdowning@scbiznews.com or 864-867-1928
was known as “Johning.” Using contraband cellphones within SCDC, inmates posed as younger males or females and lured individuals to send them nude or compromising photos. After obtaining the photos, the inmates contacted the victims posing as law enforcement. The inmates then allegedly extorted the victims into sending them money and/or photos of their social security cards and driver’s licenses, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The non-incarcerated defendants received the unemployment benefits in the names of the extortion victims and SCDC inmates in the form of government checks and prepaid Visa debit cards. They then used ATM withdrawals, wire transfers, and mobile banking applications to make the proceeds available to the incarcerated defendants.
In total, the indictment alleges the fraudu-
lent scheme resulted in a loss of approximately $4,996,673.00 to the U.S. Government.
The specific charges in the indictment are:
Reginald Raynard White Jr., an SCDC inmate, faces 20 counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
Christopher Ford, an SCDC inmate, faces one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
Marvin Lee Trotter, an SCDC inmate, faces two counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
Dawn Hall, of Kansas City, Mo., faces 10 counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
Benika Kershaw, of Chester, faces one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
Albert J. Cave Jr., an SCDC inmate, faces one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
Jason Andrew Cash, an SCDC inmate, faces eight counts of wire fraud and one count
of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
Stepheno Lemain Alston, an SCDC inmate, faces seven counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
James Griffin, an SCDC inmate, faces five counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
John Travis Mace, an SCDC inmate, faces four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
Ronald Gene Harvey, an SCDC inmate, faces four counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
Bridgette Cash, of Landrum, faces one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
Latasha Alston, of St. Helena Island, faces eight counts of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud;
Lori Robinson, of Monroe Township, N.J., faces one count of conspiracy to
commit wire fraud;
Jessica Howell, of Southport, N.C., faces one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Each alleged count of wire fraud and each alleged count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.
All charges in the indictment are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty, according to the Attorney General’s Office. This investigation remains ongoing.
The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, the South Carolina Department of Corrections, Office of Inspector General, and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, with assistance from the South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Winston Holliday and Scott Matthews are prosecuting the case.
Jill Smith + Associates Counseling recently celebrated the official grand opening of its new and expanded office located at 1777 Bull St. in downtown Columbia with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and community celebration.
“We are thrilled to have another booming small business in our community,” said Columbia Mayor Daniel Rickenmann. “Jill Smith + Associates’ commitment to providing exceptional counseling services has not only transformed individual lives but has also strengthened the social fabric of our community.”
The 4,600-square-foot historic building, nestled between the BullStreet District and Main Street District, was renovated to combine modern functionality with the preservation of its historical charm. With an increased number of counseling offices and additional parking, the new office space will accommodate a growing team of certified counselors while maintaining a high standard of patient care, JSA said in a news release.
“This building is a dream come true,” said Jill Smith, CEO and founder of the
counseling group. “To have such a comfortable and gracious place for our staff to come to every day and to welcome our clients is just indescribable. I am filled with deep appreciation for the warmth and support we have received from this incredible community over the past 20 years to get us here.”
The counseling group opened its first location in Lexington in 2003. Since then,
they have served more than 7,000 clients throughout the greater Columbia region.
“Our community deserves access to topnotch counseling services,” said Lexington Town Councilman Gavin Smith. “Seeing a small business that originated in Lexington grow the way Jill Smith + Associates has fills me with pride for our region and the strength of our local business community.”
Smith partnered with several businesses in the area to transform the new Bull Street location, according to the release.
She worked with Architrave to update the interiors while keeping historical integrity such as the original molding details on the walls. Indigo Design + Construction managed renovations by adding more rooms for counselors. Brookegreen Landscaping transformed the front greenery, while the interiors were handled by Ellen Taylor Designs and Avanti Interiors, according to the release.
“Our vision was to create a space where clients feel cared for and pampered,” Smith said. “We want to elevate the counseling experience.”
The space includes an upstairs specially designated for family and children counseling. These rooms are a safe space for both children and parents, with more capacity for activities. Every door to counseling rooms includes a frosted center with a transparent outline that allows for privacy, yet the feeling of not being enclosed. Details like this were executed to elevate the counseling experience, according to the release.
The grand opening also marks a milestone for the practice, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.
Orangeburg-based Mixon Seed Service Inc. is expanding its operations into Calhoun County with the purchase of the L.B. Wannamaker Seed Co. facility in St. Matthews. The facility will be repurposed as a cover crop production facility and SouthLand Wildlife retail storefront, according to a news release.
The company is investing $1.2 million in the expansion, which will create nine new jobs. Mixon Seed Service received a $150,000 South Carolina Agribusiness Incentives Grant for the project, the release said.
“We are excited to bring these two storied companies together and create a robust growth plan for the future that builds on the cover crop and wildlife seed experience already in place,” said Robert Etheridge, president of Mixon Seed Service. “Cover
crops are a primary tool for advancing climate smart agriculture and this investment will allow us to better meet the needs of the local area and the region.”
Mixon Seed was founded in 1973 by Danny Mixon. With distribution centers in Orangeburg and Newton, Ga., Mixon supplies high quality, high yield cover crop and wildlife blends throughout the region, according to the release.
“Mixon’s expansion is a great example of
a local agribusiness fueling South Carolina’s economy by growing to serve new markets,” said Commissioner of Agriculture Hugh Weathers. “We’re thrilled that Mixon Seed Service is continuing to invest in South Carolina farmers and our state’s future.”
The storied L.B. Wannamaker Seed Co. closed earlier this year with the retirement of Luther Wannamaker, who ran the business for 57 years, developing a reputation for wildlife mixes.
The 34 women named Women of Influence 2023 represent a wide variety of industries and sectors in the Midlands, including business, entrepreneurship, public service, education, law, communications, health care, hospitality, finance and information technology. These women were nominated because of the impact they have had in their fields and because they have demonstrated exceptional leadership, resilience, and innovation, not only having impact on the business world and in the community right now but also paving the way for future generations. The women were honored at a luncheon held July 26 at the Doubletree by Hilton in Columbia, an event which allowed them a day of recognition and helped the community as a whole learn about the continuing contributions of remarkable women of influence in the Midlands.
Donna Arnett
So, what are you in the top point-one percent of?
Donna Arnett is recognized as being in the top onetenth of one percent of scholars worldwide writing about hypertension, body mass index and other important issues. A Ph.D. in epidemiology, with a master’s in biostatistics, Donna serves today as the chief academic officer for the University of South Carolina.
Makes sense, right? After all, COVID is over, so epidemiologists have to do something else. For Donna, that meant serving as national president of the American Heart Association and, oh yeah, this whole provost at one of the state’s flagship universities thing.
We can all agree, Sara Barber belongs in the White House.
She was recently invited for a ceremony honoring accomplished South Carolina social service leaders. As executive director of the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault, she oversees 22 independently operated non-profits providing confidential prevention and education services to sexual assault survivors.
A key part of Sara’s job is advocacy, negotiating the halls of power to affect legislation critical to her members’ work. For that, one needs to be a mental acrobat, so it’s a good thing that Sara has learned to perform on a trapeze.
The first woman president of Benedict College, Roslyn Clark Artis transformed a school placed on probation by accrediting agencies. Restored to good standing, the school earned a Best HBCU Award in 2019. All that followed her service as the first woman president of Florida Memorial University.
Roslyn was no stranger to firsts even before then: she was the first girl to play on the boy’s football team at her junior high school, though she got out before too many hits to the head. Roslyn says, “I get to touch the future through my students. Long after I am gone, they will be making a positive impact on the world.”
Sometimes, Hope Blackley runs Hope Consulting, helping others grow into leaders of change in their communities. Sometimes, she’s busy serving on the boards of a wide variety of philanthropic organizations, such as the Institute for Youth Justice, United Way of the Piedmont and the South Carolina Coalition for Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault, to name just three of many.
Sometimes she can be found sharing experiences from her time as director of the Governor’s Office of Crime Victim Services and Spartanburg County Clerk of Court. And sometimes Hope just needs time to relax, and reflect on a rewarding commitment of giving back to the community.
• 2017 - Became the First Female President of Benedict College
• 2018 - Named “Female HBCU President of the Year” by HBCU Digest
• 2019 - Named to Diverse Issues in Higher Education’s “Top 35 Leading Women in Higher Education”
• 2020 - Named “President of the Year” by Higher Ed Dive for her leadership in navigating the unprecedented challenges of 2020
• 2021 - Appointed to the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI)
Hope Blackley is honored as one of South Carolina’s 2023 Women of Influence.
“I’m grateful and humbled to receive such recognition by such a wonderful host and be in the number with such a remarkable group of phenomonal women of SC.”
As the chief operating officer of South State Bank, Renee Brooks oversees the operations for an organization with $34 billion in assets. She is the highest-ranking woman at the company, whose employees are nearly three-quarters female.
Known inside the bank for her 3:45 a.m. emails, her 27-year tenure has coincided with the bank increasing in size 68 times over. Coincidence? Nope. In fact, Renee has held just about every job you can have in a bank, which means that if anything has gone right, she’s been responsible.
If you’re seeking to influence lawmakers on a piece of legislation, we’ve got two words for you: LaJoia Broughton. Or perhaps they should be Alpha Strategies, her public policy consulting firm.
A former political consultant and lobbyist, former executive director for the South Carolina Legislative Black Caucus and current Columbia Metropolitan Airport Commissioner, LaJoia understands how government works.
And if that’s not what you need, consider that she was the TV talent pulling the lottery numbers at one point. Maybe she can find you a few million that way.
Sharon Crawley Bramlett is listed in the Who’s Who in America, named to SC Biz News’ Real Estate Attorney Power List, among the Best Lawyers in America in four categories, and recognized four times as Lawyer of the Year in Columbia. And being a lawyer isn’t even her top priority – serving others is.
A former Palmetto Center for Women Volunteer of the Year, Sharon helped organize an annual program providing life and job readiness skills for residents of Transitions Homeless Center. She mentors young lawyers and homeless women and believes deeply in the saying that to whom much is given, much is required.
This is all old hat for Sharon Bryant, the regional executive vice president for First Citizens Bank.
Her high school, Heathwood Episcopal School, already recognized her with its community service award. And another publication named her one of the area’s most influential people.
Her volunteer work over the years has also been recognized with awards from the Girl Scouts, The YWCA, and the Junior League, and she’s and she helped found Women in Philanthropy.
Sharon’s banking career has covered the gamut too, after 40 years. Yes, Sharon began her career the same year the last hand-cranked telephones in the U.S. were taken out of service.
Kelsey Carter helped create and runs Camp Cole, a camp and retreat center for individuals with illnesses, disabilities and life challenges. Camp Cole is a place to find friends, role models and hidden talents.
A former grade-school teacher, Kelsey was inspired to co-found Camp Cole by her brother Cole Sawyer, an 11-year-old boy who lost his battle with cancer in 2004. Her mother, Stacy Sawyer, provided the vision for the camp, but died tragically before she could turn her dream into reality. So today, Kelsey is making her family proud and changing the lives of 600 children and teens each year.
And now a little quiz: which is more impressive, that Caroline Crowder graduated magna cum laude with a master’s degree from the Darla Moore School of Business, that she studied in Australia and worked in Singapore, that her favorite quote of all time came from a Hallmark card, or that at the tender age of 28 she serves as executive director of the organization growing the Midlands’ startup community, GrowCo?
Ha, trick question. The actual answer is that Caroline doesn’t own a television, which explains how she’s managed to accomplish so much. Oh, and that Hallmark quote: “Be who you are. Do what you love. Make a difference. Change the world.”
Claire Gibbons possesses her great grandmother’s diploma from Columbia College. It reminds her of the strong, sassy, independent women who preceded her and gave rise to her own authentic personality.
As executive director of Power Ed, a statewide nonprofit that supports pathways to economic opportunity for low-income children, Claire has the ability to shape future independent women. And men too. She says a child’s zip code should not determine their future and she has a passion to create opportunities for all.
So what does strong, sassy and independent look like? Asked her age as part of this recognition process, Claire simply wrote: “Nope.”
The classic American success story, Adair Ford Boroughs was raised in a double-wide trailer in impoverished Barnwell County and helped install cabinets and countertops with her father. She graduated valedictorian of her high school, earned a full ride to Furman where she earned a math degree summa cum laude and graduated Stanford Law School with distinction.
She worked in private practice and public service before being nominated by President Biden to the role of U.S. Attorney for the District of South Carolina, for which she was overwhelmingly confirmed by the Senate. She oversaw the federal prosecution of Alex Murdaugh, among other high-profile cases.
South Carolina Student Loan is proud of the work our philanthropy, Power:Ed, does to help remove economic barriers to education by awarding over $2.6 million in grants to SC nonprofits, colleges, and organizations.
And we are proud of Power:Ed’s executive director—who helps us achieve our mission—for being named to the 2023 Women of Influence list.
On behalf of South Carolina Student Loan and Power:Ed, congratulations, Claire! We’re proud of the work you do, and we’re happy that your impact is being recognized.
Anne Headley’s first job is University of South Carolina mom, with five Gamecock children either graduated or attending. Her paying role as director of customer support for AgFirst Bank, the wholesale lender and business service provider to local farm credit associations in 15 states, puts her at the point of the spear for service to affiliated organizations.
Anne has been the voice of AgFirst bank and sometimes its conscience, as it continues its transformative growth in the 2020’s. Now with $42 billion in assets to promote agriculture in the South and East, AgFirst is one of four wholesale banks in the national farm credit system.
Kelly Glynn met a guy named Brian at a pizza joint, fell in love and got married. So naturally, she bought the company. Kelly and Brian have expanded Village Idiot Pizza to three locations, winning four consecutive Best Pizza awards along the way.
Kelly serves more than mushrooms and pepperoni to the community, though it almost feels like that would be enough. She serves as the co-chair of the Columbia Food & Wine Festival, sat on the Five Points Association board for a decade and got inducted into the Columbia Restaurant Hall of Fame.
Imagine being a Woman of Influence for founding a public relations firm that is so impactful that one of your employees earned the same distinction. That’s the case for Heather Hoopes-Matthews who created NP Strategy, an outgrowth of her PR and marketing work for the law firm Nexsen Pruet.
You might know Heather from her distinguished career as a television journalist, including a long stint at WIS-TV, Channel 10. Heather has a penchant for taking complicated stories and explaining them simply.
But you probably don’t know Heather for her half-marathon sprint up Pike’s Peak in Colorado.
As the voice of West Columbia, for which she serves as director of public relations, Anna Huffman is building the city’s brand. If that side of the river makes you think of Kinetic Derby Day, she’s getting it right.
Anna is responsible for several city events, like Bridge Day and Art on State, but mostly it’s the annual soapbox derby-obstacle course-art show that sets her city apart. Thousands gather for this ode to creativity by the Ferris wheel that’s building community pride and showcasing its innovative thinking. Now when you think of Kinetic Derby Day you’ll think of Anna Huffman.
Jesica Mackey is not the type to seek this kind of recognition, but she sure does earn it. A vice president at NP Strategy public relations firm and vice chair of the Richland County Council, Jesica has a heart for community service. She is working with Women in Leadership to coax more women into elected office. She also volunteers with First Steps to ensure that children are prepared for success in school and life.
A mother of two, Jesica believes you have to see it to believe it, and so she lets her actions do the talking.
Sara Marin puts the able in Able SC, a nonprofit that empowers individuals with disabilities. As senior vice president and chief operating officer, she transformed its finances and now manages 32 grants.
Lauded as a servant leader who is kind, caring and always willing to go the extra mile without expectation of recognition, Sara helped this statewide organization become a nationally recognized leader in the disability services field.
Sara is not unfamiliar with challenging environments: She is a College of Charleston grad surrounded by Gamecock fans.
Sara Marin, SR. VP + Chief Operating Officer, has been recognized by the Columbia Regional Business Report as a Women of Influence Honoree
Danielle Martin is the kind of corporate executive no company can do without. American SpiralWeld Pipe doesn’t have to. As director of finance and human resources, Danielle is responsible for the money and the people at three manufacturing plants here and around the country, and for serving a company that has quadrupled in size to $125 million in business. Her own family increased in size by 25% recently with the birth of her third child, for which she paused her pursuit of a doctorate.
A systems thinker and creative problem solver, Danielle is respected at ASWP as a leader in enterprise planning and continuous improvement.
Fiona Martin founded and runs her own marketing agency and speaks Spanish and Portuguese. And two forms of Gaelic. And plays the piano. And the guitar – when she’s not training as a competitive triathlete. She was awarded All-American status by USA Triathlon.
Oh, and she grows her own food, now that she is a vegan.
In the spare time she doesn’t have, Fiona serves on the Kershaw County Planning Commission and raises chickens.
Five Points Association congratulates Executive Director, Heather McDonald, for being named a 2023 Woman of Influence
Upon assuming her current role as executive director of the Five Points Association, Heather McDonald took on the small task of organizing the Southeast’s largest one-day St. Patrick’s Day celebration.
Keeping thousands of revelers happy and only mildly drunk is a piece of green cake when you’re a seasoned organization executive, marketing whiz, project coordinator extraordinaire and respected leader. The Midlands’ largest street festival came off without a hitch.
The rest of the year, Heather is carrying out the Five Points Association’s vision to embrace the historical and cultural significance of the district.
While inventing the role of marketing director at the digital agency Cyberwoven, Shayla Merritt has served a list of nonprofits and community organizations two pages long, all focused on improving the Columbia community.
A small sampling of her accolades includes a Jefferson Award for community service, an Icon & Phenom recognition by the Columbia Regional Business Report, membership in the 20 to Watch Under 40 and a 30 Under 35, and, well, time’s running out.
People say they love Shayla because she cares more about her team and her community than about herself.
An entrepreneur, business owner, law school grad, and residential and commercial property developer who focuses on historic revitalization, Sara Middleton Styles wears many hats.
Known best as the owner of the restaurant Smoked and Peak Drift Brewing Co., Sara is a community asset who offers her time and expertise to a variety of organizations including her neighborhood association, the City Ballet and Women in Leadership.
She’s won a slew of honors for her preservation work, including last year’s South Carolina Historic Preservation Award.
If you’ve ever wondered, who is responsible for the massive undertaking that is three days of fun celebrating Irish and Celtic heritage in Camden, the answer is, a volunteer.
Rebekah O’Hara and her merry band put on IrishFest Camden, the county’s second largest festival. Irish storytelling, a downtown pub crawl, the Lucky Leprachaun 5K, music and dance and food – it’s all the brainchild of a working mother of three raising money for her church.
Last year, the event raised spirits throughout Kershaw County and nearly $100,000 for Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Camden.
It’s been quite the year for Heather Mitchell, president of the architecture firm Boudreaux. She was honored as one of 50 most influential Columbia residents by the Business Monthly; her team is leading the state’s largest-ever capital improvement project, USC’s Campus Village; and now, best of all, this…of course.
Heather uses her superpowers to influence how our community is organized. She serves as chair-elect on Columbia’s Main Street District, on the boards of One Columbia for Arts and Culture, and for the Columbia Chamber. She has even launched a program to teach the state’s mayors about community planning.
If you’re in the market for some civil litigation, Tally Parham Casey is the lawyer for you. A magna cum laude graduate of Princeton University, she earned a law degree and represented homeless people in New York City.
When women were finally allowed to fly in combat, she joined the South Carolina Air National Guard, where she became the first female fighter pilot, serving three combat tours over Iraq.
Now the CEO of a statewide law firm, Tally is a Liberty Fellow and was recently recognized as one of the top 25 lawyers in South Carolina.
She says “I don’t ever want any little girl in South Carolina to have the fact that she’s a woman hold her back.”
A Jefferson Award winner, and Winthrop University’s outstanding young alum in 2022, Punam Patel has the immense job of directing external affairs for MUSC’s regional health network.
Bringing health care to all corners of the state involves a massive amount of community service, but Punam does much more. One shining example is her collaboration with Richland School District Two and EdVenture Children’s Museum to create MedVenture, exposing children to rewarding careers in health care.
Says her nominator, “Punam’s natural ability to bring people together for the common good truly sets her apart from her peers in the field.”
Angela O’Neal is director of Nextera Solutions, eDiscovery and ESI Services for Maynard Nexsen. That means she assists clients with mitigating risks associated with managing large numbers of documents for the law firm, Maynard Nexsen.
To prepare for this role, Angela earned a law degree and ran basketball operations for the University of South Carolina. Not surprisingly, Dawn Staley is one of her role models.
Angela achieved all that while learning how to manage ADHD. As an adult she realized – quote – “you don’t have to fit in.”
The official mascot of Hotel Trundle, co-owned and designed by Rita Patel, may be the unicorn, but Rita’s spirit animal is the badger. Her colors are yellow and black, and she is skilled at the use of herbs.
Rita’s magic comes from the Art Deco boutique hotel she and her husband operate, described by “Southern Living” magazine as the intersection of kindness and comfort.
Rita’s love for Columbia shines through everywhere at Hotel Trundle, as it was important to foster the voice of the talented array of local artists, craftspeople, restaurants and small business owners that make up the growing community, according to the hotel’s website.
You don’t have to pull teeth to convince people to sing the praises of Dr. Shivani Patel. She’s been named Best Dentist in the Free Times’ Best of Columbia Awards four consecutive years. Shivani founded 32Dental in 2015 and handles the office’s financial, staffing, and administrative duties in addition to, you know, being a dentist.
Shivani announced to her freshman year roommate on move-in day that she wanted to be a dentist, and now she is mentoring her own staff who are thinking the same thing. They see the compassionate, professional service she delivers to patients and want to be like her.
From heading up a Fortune 500 industrial sales team, to directing a $140 million philanthropic organization, to serving as governor of Minnesota, JoAnn Turnquist has always been a leader. As the president & CEO of Central Carolina Community Foundation, she captains the effort to link charitable people and businesses with areas of need in the community.
JoAnn has led teams in the corporate world at Clorox and Proctor and Gamble and did a stint as governor when she was a teenager – as part of Girls State, the American Legion’s summer leadership and citizenship program.
Robin Waites approaches art through a social lens, deciphering an artist’s commentary about contemporary issues through art. Now in her third decade as executive director of Historic Columbia, she has helped the city rethink how it looks at history, even when the topics are challenging or difficult to discuss.
A former varsity basketball player, the challenging topic she addressed was finally realizing that it’s OK to be proud of who you are and who you love.
So, where does this art expert recommend you go for some good art value? She says the annual student-faculty art auction at the University of South Carolina is a great place to get high-quality work at reasonable prices.
Before Kristen Ziesmer told athletes what to eat, she learned how to cook all the things they shouldn’t. She started in culinary school before getting her dietetics degree and becoming the state’s first sports dietitian and certified personal trainer.
Kristen runs Elite Nutrition and Performance, a company that helps athletes properly fuel and train their bodies. She serves as the nutrition expert for the U.S. Doping Agency and was recognized as the Young Dietitian of the Year by the South Carolina Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics.
If you attended USC between 2010 and 2012, Kristen was guiding your nutrition. She was the campus dietitian for those two years.
Ann Warner might be South Carolina’s Woman-inChief, as founder and CEO of SC Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network – SC WREN. In a state with a nearly all-male legislature and an exclusivelymale state Supreme Court, Ann and her team are among the leading advocates for women and children in South Carolina.
A leader in the statewide non-profit sector and a valued advisor to several other groups, Ann demonstrates interest in supporting the hopes and dreams of a broad range of Palmetto State residents. She is known for addressing issues with passion, skill and preparation, which even her adversaries can appreciate.
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LISTS: Commercial and Residential Real Estate Firms, Pages 35-36
Architecture/Engineering/ Construction
Commercial real estate markets in the greater Columbia area have not been experiencing the uncertainty and downturns seen in some commercial sectors nationwide so far in 2023.
In fact, recent reports show record strength in the Midlands’ industrial market, the first positive absorption rate in the area’s office market since 2019, and consistently high performance in retail.
Data compiled by Colliers South Carolina shows that the ongoing increase in the number of businesses moving to South Carolina, with the corresponding surge in new suppliers and new residents, has kept commercial markets in the state, the Midlands included, from experiencing some of the ups and downs that markets in other parts of the country are seeing.
The greater Columbia area is reaping the benefits of new companies moving to the area to do business, as well as others coming in because of the area’s proximity to major interstates and the state’s ports. Experts at Colliers say the available workforce in the Midlands is another factor driving positive growth.
Industrial. The industrial sector is by far the standout performer in the Midlands so far in 2023, according to a report from Colliers South Carolina. The data showed that industrial vacancy in the area fell to a record low of 2.4% during the second quarter, the lowest level on record and lowest of the state’s three major markets. This occurred despite 1.2 million square feet of delivery, according to the report.
“The bottom line is that our market fundamentals for industrial are as good as they’ve ever been — we’ve got a very low vacancy rate coupled with a very high level of user demand,” said Thomas Beard, vice president of industrial services with Colliers. “In some other parts of the Southeast and the country, they have a lot of space coming online and are wondering how they are going to fill all of it. On the flip side, in Columbia we have a very high level of demand and with very few existing opportunities to satisfy a lot of the requirements clients need.”
Positive absorption in the Midlands industrial sector is largely being driven by manufacturers and third-party logistics providers, most of which are new to the market, according to the report.
Beard said manufacturers looking at the Midlands are seeking two things:
enough space to support their local operations and facilities with sufficient power to expand production capabilities.
Speculative real estate is more in demand and more needed than ever before, Beard said. Two projects currently under construction are expected to deliver in the third quarter: Magnus Development Partners’ 252,750-squarefoot Gateway 1 building in the 803 Industrial Park, which has 196,550 square feet available, and Summit Real Estate Group’s 351,540-square-foot building in the Pineview Trade Center is expected to deliver in December.
Ground also will be broken on two other class A buildings later this year — a 519,000-square-foot building at the Sandy Run Industrial Park in Calhoun County and Magnus’ 210,000-squarefoot Access 77 buildings.
“Those buildings moving into the under-construction stage will eventually help alleviate some of the tenant demand, but we’re going to need more product, more continued speculative development to remain competitive with the other
markets we compete with,” Beard said. Offices. Office spaces are languishing in some areas of the country, due to the continued increase in remote and hybrid work and some office workers’ reluctance to return to in-person work. That isn’t the case here in Columbia, however. During the second quarter, office vacancy in Columbia dropped significantly to 15.3%, largely due to tenant demand for better-quality spaces, according to a report from Colliers.
“The office market in the Midlands is in a very good condition as of right now,” said Allen Wilkerson, vice president of office services for Colliers. “You hear a lot of doom and gloom nationwide about offices, but we’re not really seeing that.”
Wilkerson said Columbia’s office market is likely benefiting from the fact that most of the area’s workers don’t have to make long commutes to get to their offices, and ongoing population growth in the area is keeping the office worker population relatively stable.
A nationwide trend of “flight-to-quality” in the office sector is continuing and,
in some cases, growing stronger, Wilkerson said. Employers are increasingly finding that if they want to continue to attract workers to an office atmosphere, they need to occupy class-A, better quality spaces with modern design and finishes and a full package of amenities, situated in desirable areas in proximity to restaurants and stores.
Absorption for office space was also positive during the second quarter for the first time since 2019, and rents for office space increased to $21.52 per square foot.
According to the report, buildings along Main Street in downtown Columbia, as well as offerings in the Vista and the BullStreet District meet the criteria of high-quality space that many tenants are seeking. On the flip side, buildings that lack the high-quality amenities they seek are expected to continue to languish, “unlocking opportunities for redevelopment and reducing the overall amount of office space,” the report said. Older or lower quality office space, while not
See REAL ESTATE, Page 31
Downtown Columbia office buildings like this one at 1901 Main St. are attracting tenants by offering updated office suites and an array of amenities. (Photo/Colliers)
Plans for Smallwood Cove, a 93.5-acre resort community along the shores of Lake Murray in Lexington County, have been scrapped.
Late on July 19, the owner of the property where the resort was to be located announced that the project would not be moving forward.
“The landowner has enjoyed Lake Murray for more than 80 years and only wants the best for the community,” said the landowner’s attorney, George Bullwinkel, in a statement. “Regrettably, the annexation and zoning process has overshadowed the thoughtful plans that would have opened up community access to this beautiful location. My client has elected to withdraw annexation and rezoning efforts at this time.”
Detailed plans for the community released in May said it would feature 1,100 residential units including townhomes, condominiums and single-family homes, two hotels, retail space, restaurants, a marina and a conference center. Local officials estimated the buildout of the development would take 15 years and involve developers spending more than $733 million for the project.
After the project was announced, many members of the community said they were excited about it, but many others voiced concerns about increased traffic on the area’s deteriorating roads, strained area
resources such as schools, health care and first responders, environmental impact to the lake and access to the property for local residents. Those concerns and more were addressed at a packed July 12 joint meeting between the town of Lexington and county officials.
The town of Lexington had asked for traffic and environmental impact studies to be done to better determine the proposed resort’s impact.
Lexington County officials also raised questions over whether the town of Lexing-
ton had the legal rights to annex the property.
“We respect the landowner’s decision to withdraw the petitions and we will continue to ensure that Lexington remains a great place to live, work, play and raise a family for generations to come,” said Lexington Mayor Steve MacDougall.
Lexington Town Council member Todd Lyle said the decision was unfortunate because he anticipated having more opportunities to discuss the proposed resort with the landowners and come up with a work-
able plan. He said the residential density of the plan revealed in May was “significantly more dense” than he had originally been led to believe.
“The decision to pull the project is unfortunate and an extreme measure in my opinion,” Lyle said. “I would still love to see that property developed. There were just things in the existing proposal that I didn’t like and a lot of people in the community didn’t like. We would have loved the opportunity to go back and chat and come up with a plan that worked for everyone.”
Our Giving magazine is a special opportunity to support philanthropy in the Midlands. The articles tell the heartwarming story of the community’s generosity. The winners of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Midlands Chapter Philanthropy Awards are also featured, with bonus distribution at their National Philanthropy Day luncheon.
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appealing to workers, might find new life through being repurposed for other uses.
This repurposing is already evident in the Columbia market, according to the Colliers report. Since 2017, 16 office properties have been removed from the area’s office inventory. Some of the buildings were converted to public use, such as 1401 Main St. Others were repurposed into hotels or apartments (1233 Washington St., 1200 Main St. and 1310 Lady St.). Others were purchased with the intent to demolish the building and reuse the land, including the Richland Office Center, DXC Campus and the former State Media Company building.
Wilkerson said demand for high quality office space is also strong in the St. Andrews area, Harbison and Irmo. One area not seeing a growth in office demand is northeast Columbia, where retail has continued to grow but the office market has been on a downturn for more than a decade.
“You do have nicer, newer buildings out in that area so there is no reason they should not perform well,” Wilkerson said. “It’s just a matter of getting the right businesses into those spaces. With the recent announcement about Scout coming to Blythewood, we will also probably start seeing some shift in office demand in the Northeast, but it’s not an overnight fix.”
Retail. The high-profile bankruptcies
and store closings that plagued big box stores like Bed Bath and Beyond earlier this year have caused some people to cry doom and gloom about retail, but that negativity isn’t evident in the greater Columbia area’s retail sector, according to Rox Pollard, vice president and director of sales for Colliers South Carolina. Pollard said occupancy levels in most of the Midlands’ outdoor retail properties like strip shopping centers remain high, with the biggest demand for smaller spaces of 3,000 square feet or less.
Pollard said the strongest categories in retail currently include quick-serve restaurants, specialty fitness providers (pilates, stretching, yoga, indoor spinning) and specialty health care, with a particularly strong demand for physical therapy.
The loss of big box retailers like Bed Bath and Beyond also isn’t causing too many long-term vacancies, Pollard said, with many of the spaces vacated by the big-box chains already seeing interest from other tenants.
Pollard said the greater Columbia area is seeing healthy retail submarkets in “almost a 360-degree radius” from a currently strong retail environment downtown Columbia, including southeast Columbia along the Garners Ferry Road corridor, Forest Acres, Harbison, Ballentine, Chapin and the northeast Columbia area.
“There is really not any part of town that is not experiencing positive retail growth,” Pollard said.
An iconic part of Columbia’s skyline is one step closer to making a comeback.
Workers on Wednesday, July 26, raised part of the cupola back to the roof of the Babcock Building, the historic centerpiece of Columbia’s BullStreet District.
The 48,000-pound section is the windowed base of the cupola, called a clerestory. In August, the building’s familiar red dome will be placed atop the base, making the cupola whole once again and bringing back a signature Columbia landmark that many people say is second only to the State House dome for recognition.
Three years ago, many feared the historic domed cupola — and the Babcock Building itself — were doomed after a Sept. 12, 2020, fire caused heavy damage to the building and caused the cupola to fall. Luckily, the fire damaged less than 15% of the historic building, making restoration of the dome and the continued renovation of the building possible.
The ongoing renovations of the building are being handled by Clachan Properties, a Virginia-based company that specializes in acquiring, renovating and managing historic properties. The company’s portfolio includes properties in North Carolina and Virginia. The Babcock project is its first in South Carolina
and its largest to date. Walter Parks Architects of Richmond, Va., is the architect for the restoration while Rehab Builders Inc. of Winston-Salem, N.C., is the contractor.
Clachan has worked for the past three years to transform the 254,000-squarefoot building, which once housed mental patients, into a 208-unit apartment building.
The 2020 fire and the fall of the cupola briefly put the whole project in doubt.
Clachan’s vice president, Amy Crea-
son, recalls the morning she heard about the fire.
“When the cupola fell, we were concerned that we wouldn’t be able to keep going on the project,” she said. “We were all in tears. We thought we were done.”
Creason and others said the quick work of firefighters that morning controlled the damage enough so that work on the Babcock Building could continue.
Everyone knew that the historic dome had to be restored. The problem was find-
ing someone who could make it as close to the original as possible.
“Rebuilding a cupola is not something you do a lot — the challenge was finding companies who could do it,” Creason said.
The structure has been restored in two parts. The clerestory was built by Museum Resources of Williamsburg, Va., and Kentucky-based Campbellsville Industries has built the new metal dome, which will be 18 feet tall and weighs about 10,000 pounds. With the clerestory back on top of the roof, now the waiting begins for the dome, which is set to arrive in Columbia in early August.
“The dome will be the crowning glory for this Renaissance revival building that has been a Columbia landmark since it was first built,” said John Sherrer, director of preservation for Historic Columbia. “It’s been a huge undertaking for Clachan to take one of South Carolina’s most iconic and recognizable buildings and transform it into apartments. This kind of historic project has huge importance not only for the state but for the nation.”
Residents started moving into the Babcock Building in 2022 and currently only 24 of the 208 apartments are available for lease, Creason said.
The apartments vary in size from one to three bedrooms and each is unique
See CUPOLA, Page 38
ACharleston-based company that creates modern pre-fabricated homes is offering a promising way to address housing shortages and create more affordable housing.
The company’s housing build systems have parts that essentially snap together and can be built in just days with no specialized labor required.
Construx (formerly Charleston Fab Lab) owners Rob Bertschy, chief revenue officer, and Nicholas Godfrey, CEO, say the housing kits can save up to 20% of construction labor costs compared to building homes using traditional construction.
“The savings are in labor because these houses can be put together by unskilled workers — you just need a rubber mallet to put these together. There are no tape measures, no saws. We’re taking that element out where an unskilled worker can build precise, strong, perfect houses,” Godfrey said. “Each kit has an assembly guide that’s, ‘step one, step two, step three,’ and the parts fit together so tightly that everything is perfectly straight and perfectly square.”
Construx manufactures 16 different designs that offer a variety of floor plans and up to 50 different layouts and looks, including two-story homes. The kits have models with porches and balconies and the company can work with architects to incorporate nearly any style and size.
Using 3-D cutting of the panels, the kits can be mass produced quickly and use helix foundations for virtually zero soil disturbance and the ability to be placed on lots that are difficult to build on using traditional methods.
While the company works with private homeowners, the idea is to be a cost-saving solution for contractors. A 528 square-foot, one-bedroom home with a porch starts at $125,000 and a three- bedroom, two-bath home that is between 1,200-1,800 square feet starts at $165,000.
“We want contractors to buy our framing structure so they can build more homes and have us become the ‘shell’ that they finish,” said Bertschy. “Contractors have a problem today with finding skilled labor and we’re providing a guaranteed frame where everything is the right size. We don’t want to compete with contractors; we want to be a solution for them.”
Construx has worked with non-profits, foundations and private property owners to use the housing kits to easily add a second home on a lot to provide additional rental housing stock. The company has added nineteen houses in the Charleston area, from Hollywood to Johns Island.
Many Charleston-area city laws allow Construx’s smaller units to be added to lots that are 9,000 square feet and up.
“Many municipalities, including North Charleston, have made it easy to build these backyard units with tax credits, rapid permitting and very easy guidelines to
allow people to add these small backyard 528-square-foot options,” Bertschy said.
The units are partially pre-assembled at the Construx warehouse in downtown Charleston and shipped by truck in parts to the site where they are finished being assembled by most able-bodied adults, even those without prior construction experience. The kits snap together and have all hookups ready for water and sewer, central air conditioning and heat.
“A couple of friends in three or four Saturdays could get their own structure up,” Godfrey said. “Then, it’s up to a contractor to tie into the water and sewer as a second step after the structure is up.”
The ease of the kits allows for more rapid connections to utilities than a traditional house, Bertschy said.
“The kits are more intuitive for the plumber and the electrician, HVAC and mechanical contractor. What would normally take an electrician four or five days takes three quarters of a day with our system. There’s not as much drilling and it’s kind of a ‘plug in and play,’” Bertschy said.
The kits are ideal for construction and contractor partners for foundations, non-profits and governmental housing to add quality housing in less time and for less cost.
The company is licensed in 38 states
and works on projects across the Southeast as well as Oregon, California, Idaho and Texas.
“We’re looking at a project now in Canada,” Godfrey said.
The housing kits have become so popular that Construx will be seeking investor funding over the next six months to scale up in order to make hundreds of pre-fabricated homes a month.
“We’re getting contracts in the hundreds now that we got through our R&D phase,” Godfrey said. “We are not able to (currently) handle that demand.”
Investor funding would allow the company to increase production capacity locally and expand to other markets. The company also is looking to secure grant funding to add affordable housing stock throughout the county.
“We don’t want to build a gigafactory that can build houses and ship them all over the country. We want a bunch of little factories distributed across the country that are a low-cost barrier to entry from an equipment standpoint. Instead of having one facility that can build 1,000 houses, we’d rather have a thousand facilities that can build 50,000 houses,” Godfrey said.
Godfrey, who has a background in fab-
rication and technology, said the idea is 16 years in the making, after an economic recession and an earthquake in Haiti. He started putting the first prefab housing kits together in 2011 in his Johns Island backyard.
He connected with Bertschy, a Johns Island neighbor, who previously owned a swing company and whose family was in construction.
“I talked to half a dozen engineers, but it really came down to meeting someone who really identified with trying to go after a lack of affordable housing,” Godfrey said.
“I was intrigued by seeing the things (Godfrey) was building out for testing and asked, ‘How can I get involved?’” Bertschy recalls. “It was at a point where all the work was ready to be put into a product. I came in and started getting sales and contracts. Nicholas is the scientist and I’m the business and sales side.”
The two started in earnest in 2014, manufacturing the houses in Charleston in a research and development phase under the name Charleston Fab Lab with the first homes in Asheville, N.C., thanks to a contract and connection. The first houses in Charleston came online in 2016 in the Park Circle area.
Anyone can purchase the Construx building system, but the focus is on affordable homes and working with contractors, Godfrey said. The company has worked with local land trusts to place homes on family-owned and heirs property land.
Construx kits are unique and modern designs that are unlike the cookie-cutter blocks of apartment homes historically seen in affordable housing communities. Construx works with architects on new and existing designs.
“We can take almost any look of any house and convert it to our building system,” Godfrey said.
There are opportunities to incorporate innovative materials in the future, like industrial hemp in lieu of wood frames and walls.
With a mission as a solution-oriented company, Godfrey said the lower-cost and lower environmental impact housing kits can make a big — and rapid — difference in addressing affordable housing around the country.
“There’s not a city out there that has enough affordable housing. Some cities are further along, where they have land allocated and bids open — a need for 400 homes in Phoenix or 200 homes in Vancouver; these projects are right up our alley and partners from those markets contact us to bid on them,” Bertschy said. “The plan is to continue to grow here and expand, but to take the model we’ve built and expand it to other markets through existing fabricators. It’s infinitely scalable because the demand for housing is never ending.”
For more information, visit www.buildconstrux.com.
Photo Macon Lovelace and Bruce Greenberg of Trinity Partners represented the seller in the sale of a 40,400-square-foot office building at 1021 Pinnacle Point Drive in Columbia for $3,950,000. The property is a multi-tenant office building. Trinity Partners Columbia has been engaged to continue the leasing of the property.
It was one of several recent commercial property transactions in the Midlands, including:
DeWees Real Estate Group assisted in
the lease of 1215 Wayne St. in Columbia. Adjacent to Metropolis Salon, Suites B and C, with a total of 3,737 square feet, was leased to EM Nails and Spa.
The Vista location will undergo extensive renovations, according to a news release. Sales associate Angela Cash, with DeWees Real Estate Group, represented the tenant in this transaction. Em Nails and Spa is set to open later this year.
Trinity Drive Peyton Bryant, partner and director of business development, along with Ryan Causey, brokerage associate for Trinity Partners, represented the seller, Big & Tall LLC, in its acquisition, entitlement and subsequent disposition of
Mungo Homes, a homebuilder with communities throughout the Southeast, is expanding its corporate headquarters in Richland County. The $10 million investment will create 40 new jobs.
Mungo Homes will build a new, 20,250-square-foot facility to house marketing, human resources, information technology, accounting, purchasing and customer service teams, according to a news release.
The new building will be adjacent to the current headquarters, located at 441 Western Lane in Irmo, which will receive extensive renovations, the release said.
“Even though our footprint has expanded to four states, this company was ‘born’ in Irmo so it’s important to us to remain headquartered in our home community,” said Steven Mungo, CEO of Mungo Homes. “We just appreciate the support from the Department of Commerce along with Richland County to help make this project a reality, and we look forward to providing our team members with an
updated work environment that mirrors the innovation and thoughtfulness we put into our homes.”
Established in Columbia in 1954, Mungo Homes is part of Berkshire-Hathaway Inc. and works in markets throughout the Carolinas, Georgia and Virginia. The company expects to complete this project in late 2024 or early 2025. Individuals interested in joining the Mungo Homes team should visit the company’s careers page.
“This investment supports council’s commitment to bolstering economic development throughout Richland County while contributing to the success of local business,” said Richland County Council Chair Overture Walker in the release. “The expansion will not only be an asset to the Irmo area with the creation of new jobs but also add to the vibrancy and quality of life in the community. We welcome and are excited about this new opportunity for growth.”
approximately 25 acres of land on Trinity Drive in southeast Columbia. The land sold for $2.5 million to a regional home builder.
Chuck Salley, Dave Mathews, Thomas Beard and John Peebles of Colliers represented Weston Inc. in the lease of industrial space at 131 Hobart Road in Blythewood. Xerxes Corp. leased 156,251 square feet and 123,370 square feet went to an undisclosed tenant.
Danny Bonds and Marshall Hoefer of Colliers represented Pinewood Village Inc. in the sale of a 78,000-squarefoot shopping center at 500 Second Loop Road in Florence to Langston on the Loop for $5.5 million.
Braden Shockley, senior brokerage associate, and Roger Winn, partner of Trinity Partners, represented the buyer in the purchase of a retail building in Lexington. The property at 509 W. Main St. contains approximately 6,400 square feet of space,
and sold for $1.7 million. The tenant, Pet Supermarket, will continue to fulfill the remainder of their lease.
Chuck Salley, Dave Mathews, Thomas Beard and John Peebles of Colliers represented Columbia Presbyterian Church Inc. in the lease of 17,583 square feet of industrial space at 1700 Huger St. in Columbia to Love Chevrolet.
Rob Lapin and Robbie Cook of Trinity Partners represented the buyer in the purchase of a 66,432-square-foot office building at 917 Chapin Road in Chapin $6,631,000.
Bruce Harper and Robbie Cook of Trinity Partners represented the buyer in the purchase of a 2.82-acre parcel and a 3,000 square foot building at 5223 Sunset Blvd. in Lexington for $2.5 million.
Submit commercial real estate transactions for Hot Properties by emailing them to cknauss@ scbiznews.com
The South Carolina Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits related to this project. The council also awarded a $200,000 Set-Aside grant to Richland County to assist with the costs of building improvements. ls3p.com
Fitzpatrick Properties LLC 1728 Main St. Columbia, SC 29201
Kahn Development Co. 101 Flintlake Road Columbia, SC 29223
The Knight Co. LLC 17 Calendar Court, Suite 1 Columbia, SC 29206
PURE Property Management of South Carolina 3790 Fernandina Road, Suite 105 Columbia, SC 29210
803-731-4321 www.arnoldfamilycorp.com kklosterman@arnoldfamilycorp.com
803-931-0055 fitz_prop@sc.rr.com
803-227-1229 www.kahndevelopment.com alankahn@kahndevelopment.com
803-744-9999 www.theknightco.com jake@theknightco.com
803-407-8522 www.turnerproperties.com info@turnerproperties.com
Shelly W Little 1994
T. Houston Fitzpatrick 1998
Marilyn Quattlebaum, Charles B. Kahn, Alan B. Kahn 1968
Jake Knight 1995
Chris Turner 2021
Flex, industrial, land, multifamily, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse
Flex, health care, hotel, motel, income-producing, industrial, land, multifamily, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse
Flex, health care, income-producing, industrial, land, multifamily, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse
Agricultural, flex, health care, income-producing, industrial, land, multifamily, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse
Because of space constraints, sometimes only the top-ranked companies are published in the print edition. For a full list of participating organizations, visit scbiznews.com/buy-business-lists. Email additions or corrections to Listresearch@Bridgetowermedia.com.
Midlands Technical College has received the Edgar J. Helms Community Partner Award from Goodwill Industries of Upstate/Midlands South Carolina. The inaugural award recognized MTC as a valuable community partner that is providing top-notch training that is making a significant impact on the lives of individuals.
“Goodwill’s partnership with Midlands Technical College is a great example of how we can all be lifted up by a rising tide,” said Patrick Michaels, president and CEO of Goodwill Industries of Upstate/Midlands South Carolina. “MTC has provided tremendous resources to our participants through training, education and workforce development programs. Our relationship with MTC has been invaluable to our participants, our associates and the communities we serve. We are proud to award them with the Edgar J. Helms Community Partner Award. Their strong commitment and passion for Goodwill Industries has helped lift up thousands through the power of work.”
“As a board member for Goodwill Industries of Upstate/Midlands South Carolina and the president of Midlands Technical College, it is a true honor for us to receive this award,” said MTC President Ronald L. Rhames. “MTC is making a di erence in the lives of our students by providing them with the education they need to transform their tomorrow. Goodwill Industries is doing the same by providing career service opportunities, skills certification, job placement for individuals with disabilities, and much more.”
The award was presented to MTC during Goodwill’s 50th anniversary gala in Greenville.
Hood Construction’s preconstruction team now includes Dwight Williams and Doug Long. Previously, Williams operated his own residential construction company for 24 years. He works closely with Hood’s project managers to provide current budgets and value analysis to owners. Long came to Hood as an intern before becoming a full-time hire in late 2022. He is an Apache pilot with the South Carolina Army National Guard and served one deployment under Operation Spartan Shield. At Hood, Long has worked on several job sites and helped in-office with documentation, budgeting, reporting and communications.
Michael Caraballo has returned to Garvin Design Group as a full-time hire. He earned his associate degree in architecture from Midlands Technical College and completed his master’s in architecture at Clemson University School of Architecture.
Interning for Garvin Design Group this summer are Kevin Buell, Kate Hughes, Samantha Lowrie, Carlos Richardson and Ania Suber Buell, Lowrie, Richardson and Suber are architectural interns; Hughes is a marketing intern. Buell, a Lexington High School graduate, is scheduled to complete his undergraduate degree in architecture at Clemson University School of Architecture in 2024. He is also minoring in anthropology. Buell has interned in Clemson’s VR Mondi lab since August of 2022 and was part of the winning team in Clemson’s 2023 Design-a-thon. Hughes, a rising senior at the University of Mississippi studying marketing, is back for her second summer with Garvin Design Group. Lowrie,
another Lexington High School graduate, is scheduled to complete her undergraduate studies at Clemson’s School of Architecture in 2024. In addition, she is minoring in visual arts. Richardson is a member of the student branch of the National Organization of Minority Architects; his prior experience includes working for Hood Construction. Suber, a Clemson University School of Architecture graduate, minored in business administration and was a member of the National Society of Leadership and Success, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, and the student branch of the National Organization of Minority Architects.
LS3P’s new senior project manager is James “Jimmy” Wilhide. A graduate of Clemson University with a Master of Architecture, Wilhide specializes in K-12 facility design. He brings more than 35 years of experience to the firm. Wilhide serves on the Clemson University Architectural Foundation Board as well as other community organizations in Rock Hill and Lancaster.
bia campus. Bolton is a cum laude graduate of Southern Wesleyan University, where she earned an MBA. She brings more than 17 years of experience in business development, sales and marketing from both corporate and private sectors.
The South Carolina Academy of Science recently recognized Jennifer Brown, a South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics biology instructor, as the state’s STEM Teacher of the Year. She has a Bachelor of Science in biology from the College of Mount Saint Joseph and a Master of Science and Ph.D. in botany from Miami University. Brown teaches AP biology and three above-AP advanced elective courses: botany, marine biology and molecular biology of the cell.
The 2023 South Carolina State Fair’s Ride of Your Life Scholarships went to 51 recipients, each of whom received $10,000, with a bonus scholarship awarded thanks to Circle K stores. The list of recipients is online at https://www. scstatefair.org/scholarships/2023-scholarship-recipients/. Scholarship recipients are from all seven South Carolina congressional districts. The scholarship funds must be used at a South Carolina university, college or institution.
The Benedict College Marching Tiger Band of Distinction band director, H. Wade Johnson, and his assistant director, Ronald Green, have been invited to participate in the 21st annual Jazz at Lincoln Center’s 2023 Band Director’s Academy. Johnson and Green received full tuition and travel scholarships for the four-day professional development session. The Benedict Jazz Ensemble recently competed against nine jazz ensembles from Historically Black Colleges and Universities for an opportunity to open for jazz great Wynton Marsalis and his Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Benedict College and Norfolk State University won the competition, which was judged by Marsalis and other musicians from his group.
South University has appointed Sandra Bolton as director of community outreach and development at the Colum-
Kim Saunders, financial adviser, is joining Safe Federal Credit Union’s members financial services. Saunders, a graduate of North Carolina State University, has more than 15 years of experience in the investment services industry, including her prior role as LPL financial advisor at BOC Financial Services.
Sanford Dinkins, a vice president of Cox and Dinkins, was appointed a member of Columbia’s Planning Commission.
See PEOPLE, Page 38
Williams Long
Caraballo
Suber
Buell
Lowrie
Hughes
Wilhide
Johnson Green
Bolton Brown
Saunders
Richardson
because of the building’s design, she said. The building is full of original elements, including the 1,800 historic windows which were removed from the building, restored and then carefully replaced.
PEOPLE, from Page 37
He previously served on the city’s Design, Development Review Commission. Dinkins, the firm’s engineering design leader for all federal clients and projects, also helps lead economic and community growth initiatives, continues the advancement of technology within the company, and leads a land development division team. A professional engineer registered in South Carolina, he has a Bachelor of Science in chemistry and a Bachelor of Science in engineering (civil) from the University of South Carolina.
The U.S. Small Business Administration-South Carolina District Office recognized four clients of the South Carolina Small Business Development Centers for outstanding achievement in categories significant to the small business community. Tremaine Moore, of Naturally Geechee, was named the 2023 South Carolina Female Small Business Person of the Year; Marvin Ross, of Peculiar Pig Farm, was named the S.C. Minority Small Business Person of the Year; and Michael O’Shaughnessy Williams, of Calavera Tool Works, was named the S.C. Rural Small Business Owner of the Year. Joseph Wilson Jr., of Toll Solutions, was named the National Exporter of the Year. The Greenville Area Small Business Development Center, led by area manager and business consultant Earl Gregorich, was honored as the state’s Small Business Development Center of Excellence and Innovation.
The original layout of the Babcock Building has been preserved as much as possible, down to former dayrooms for patients and visitors which now have been transformed into lounge space for residents.
“The Babcock building means a lot
For the seventh consecutive year, Gallivan White Boyd’s John T. Lay Jr. was selected for inclusion as a global leader in the 2023 edition of Who’s Who Legal: Thought Leaders — USA-Life Sciences-Product Liability. Lay is one of three lawyers from South Carolina to be chosen as a thought leader in product liability defense. A partner in the firm’s Columbia and Charleston offices, Lay has more than 25 years of experience managing complex, high-stakes litigation. He has tried more than 100 cases to verdict and handled appeals in the South Carolina Court of Appeals, the Supreme Court of South Carolina, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, and the U.S. Supreme Court. In addition to product liability, Lay focuses his practice on business litigation, professional malpractice, insurance coverage and bad faith, and financial services litigation, representing government and private interests.
Gibbs Leaphart, a member of Robinson Gray law firm, has joined the board of SoundBites. He has been playing music since the mid-1990s when his band, Five Way Friday, was part of the South Carolina music scene. At Robinson Gray Leaphart focuses on workers compensation defense. He has represented employers,
to Columbia, and it’s significant we were able to resurrect it, save it and create homes for people,” Creason said.
Sherrer said the restoration of the cupola and the Babcock Building’s new role as an apartment building offers a chance to reflect on both the building’s history and
carriers and self-insured employers. He has practiced before state trial courts, appellate courts, and the South Carolina Workers Compensation Commission. After graduating from Wofford College, Leaphart obtained his juris doctor at the University of South Carolina School of Law.
Burnie Maybank III, a former two-time director of the South Carolina Department of Revenue and a state and local tax law and economic development attorney, has joined Adams and Reese in the intersection of business and government practice group. He represents public/private businesses, commercial real estate developers, manufacturers and nonprofits in state and local tax controversy issues, and economic development incentives. In addition, he has experience in tax exempt issues, charitable giving, conservation easements, alcohol beverage control and regulatory work before the Public Service Commission.
Cyberwoven has brought in Jon Rivers as its new digital marketing director. Rivers oversees a team of individuals who specialize in social media marketing, search-engine optimization, e-mail marketing,
that of the BullStreet District itself.
“This building means so many things to so many people who all had different experiences based on why they were here,” he said. “We want this restoration to be a gateway to Columbia’s future while also preserving the past.”
advertising, automation and demand generation. A graduate of the College of Charleston’s Corporate and Organizational Communication program, Rivers has more than 10 years of experience driving digital marketing results in agency, startup and corporate settings.
Waypost Marketing’s marketing intern is Shelly Salomon. After several years in the education industry across various countries, Salomon took a part-time content writing job for an international business-to-business company based in Shanghai. During her three years with the company, she was promoted to marketing communication specialist. Salomon has a Bachelor of Arts in labor studies and East Asian studies from Tel Aviv University and a master’s in digital communications and media/multimedia from the University of Florida.
Turning Pages SC’s interim executive director, Lisa Cole, has received the Katharine Heath Manning Perry Award from the Junior League of Columbia. A graduate of United Way’s Blueprint for Leadership, Cole has also served on the board of directors of East Point Academy, Midlands Fatherhood Coalition, River’s Edge Retreat, and the Cayce Beautification Foundation. She has worked on more than 35 committees around the Midlands, served on multiple school improvement councils, and acted as an American Legion Ethics hearing manager.
There is nothing that more closely ties two nations together than trade, investments, and economic cooperation. And nothing bridges two cultures better than in-person travel to different countries across the world.
The new partnership we celebrated in Charleston recently, between Boeing and Saudi Arabia, accomplishes both.
On March 14, 2023, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia announced two major agreements with Boeing. These agreements are for the Kingdom to purchase up to 121 Boeing Dreamliners for Saudia Airlines, already the third largest airline in the Middle East, and the recently formed Riyadh Air. The agreements are valued in the billions and constitute Boe-
ing’s fifth largest commercial order in its history. It will support over 140,000 jobs throughout America, including in South Carolina where the economic impact will be over $640 million, supporting 11,000 jobs.
From Saudi Arabia’s founding in 1932 to today, American companies have played an integral role in the Kingdom’s growth and prosperity. This agreement reflects the strength and depth of Saudi-U.S. relations. A relationship that continues to grow and expand under various presidential administrations from both parties.
This strategic partnership will have a significant economic impact in South Carolina and across the United States and will contribute to achieving the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 objectives, under the leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques and the Crown Prince. It will advance Saudi Arabia’s goals relating to the transformation of our tourism, transportation and logistics sectors. Our
aim is to become the world’s fifth largest logistics hub, a global transportation epicenter for tourists, families, academics, students and business leaders that will serve 330 million passengers and attract 100 million visitors to the kingdom by 2030. It is this ambition that helped lead to the agreements with Boeing and will lead to an even closer relationship between South Carolina and the Saudi people.
Riyadh Air, a new airline owned by the PIF with advanced fleet of aircrafts, specifically will be equipped with the latest modern technologies aiming to lead the aviation industry. This new airline is expected to contribute $20 billion growth in non-oil GDP in the Kingdom, further diversifying our economy, and will create over 200,000 jobs in Saudi Arabia both directly and indirectly. For Saudia, the agreement will significantly expand its fleet and its ability to reach international destinations.
These agreements are not just about a new Saudi airline or even the 121 new aircraft. It is about a Saudi Arabia that is looking forward, engaging with the world, and pursuing new opportunities ranging from tourism, new investments, and diversification of trade. We believe agreements like these will help ensure a prosperous, peaceful and secure Middle East while continuing the long history of U.S.-Saudi partnership that has improved the lives of both Americans and Saudis.
Fahad Nazer is the official spokesperson for the Embassy of Saudi Arabia in the United States.
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