Future Economic Security

If you don’t build it, they won’t come. That’s for sure.
~ DiDi Caldwell, a Greenville-based site selection expert.

South Greenville Enterprise Park

A group of three families have joined together in hopes to secure future economic security for Greenville County. They want to pool their lands and create a business park near Interstate 185. This would be a match or above Clemson University’s International Center for Automotive Research.

To be named “South Greenville Enterprise Park” it would be the first to be completed under the county’s just created “Business and Technology District” zoning. This zoning will limit development in the park to offices, labs, data centers and banks. A bit of warehousing and clean manufacturing will also be possible.

One big caveat will be the infrastructure. There is currently no sewer lines in that area and it could be a hard sell to get any businesses to commit without installed utilities. Because of this Greenville County has had a hard time competing with neighboring counties that already have infrastructure in place.

Some numbers:

1. Economic development in Greenville County fell from $336 million invested and 1,800 jobs created in 2017 to $151 million invested and 1,500 jobs created in 2018.
2. Neighboring Spartanburg County has more shovel-ready sites and infrastructure and had a boon of several major announcements in 2018: Keurig for $350 million, Grupo Antolin for $150 million and Draexlmaier for $42.7 million.

Once complete, the park would have uniform landscaping, architecture and amenities that businesses are looking for. Also, according to new county rules, the park is required to have 150 feet buffer from any residential land and 100-foot landscaped buffer. Outdoor storage will be banned, noise and odor restrictions, limited-height towers to 90 feet and dumpsters will be hidden.

The property is currently zoned for residential homes so zoning will have to be applied for and approved with the current owners in full support. Local homeowners living in the area around the proposed park are hesitant with lots of questions. As the rural nature of the area is replaced with building and growth will it truly be good for us?

Greenville SC is frequently named one of the best places to live in the U.S. and is the fourth-fastest growing city in the U.S. The key will be to maintain growth while also maintaining quality of life. Once quality of life begins to degrade, you begin to lose workers and homeowners. But it seems Greenville SC has its heart in the right place. Advance the future of the economy while honoring the things that make Greenville a “best place to live”.