Jenkins may be an entrepreneur and a visionary, but he is far from alone in Charleston -- a city a New York Times writer two years ago said had engaged in an "enthusiastic rediscovery of itself."
That rediscovery is continuing, led by a group of 30-something high-tech dreamers who are attracted not only by Charleston's old world charm, but also by its low-cost, business-friendly atmosphere. You won't find many dot-com boom-and-bust stories here; what you will find is a tightly knit community of digital brainpower that networks frequently and serves as the best marketing force the Charleston Regional Development Alliance could ever want.
The reasons to do business here, they say, make sense first and foremost to the bottom line:
- Charleston International Airport's landing fees are the lowest of any airport on the eastern seaboard of the United States.
- Average worker commutes in the Charleston region are less than 19 minutes.
- Construction costs in Charleston are lower than those in Raleigh, N.C.; Norfolk, Va.; Savannah, Ga.; Jackson-ville and Atlanta.
- The cost of living is cheaper than competing East Coast markets. The average cost of a new 2,400-sq.-ft. (223-sq.-m.) home in Charleston ($217,000) is cheaper than comparable housing in Atlanta, Richmond, Raleigh and Washington.
- South Carolina's corporate income tax is among the lowest in the nation at 5 percent.
Charleston also has a reputation of competing for business. After Atlanta-based Scientific Research Corp. announced in early 2001 that it would consider three markets for a major expansion project -- Atlanta, Huntsville, Ala., and Charleston -- it chose Charleston.
Charleston Regional Statistics |
Population of Metro Area: 552,803
Population by 2005: 609,100
Distance to Atlanta: 291 miles (468 kilometers)
Distance to Miami: 590 miles (950 kilometers)
Distance to New York: 768 miles (1,236 kilometers)
Average Daily Temperature: 65.6 degrees
Total Labor Force: 274,840
Largest Employers: Medical University of South Carolina (8,000); U.S. Navy (6,000); Charleston Air Force Base (5,292): Charleston County School District (4,865); CareAlliance Health Services (4,500).
Avg. Household Effective Buying Income: $41,799
Annual Tourism Impact: $3.2 billion
Annual Visitors: 3.7 million
Source: Charleston
Regional Development Alliance |
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SRC, which specializes in system design and software integration for the U.S. Navy, is creating more than 140 new high-skilled jobs and bringing $4.5 million in capital investment to the Charleston region.
"We chose to commit our resources to the Charleston region for a number of reasons," says Michael Watt, president and CEO of SRC. "This expansion is prompted by a growth in technical services and product development for customers such as SPAWAR (the U.S. Navy's Space and Naval Warfare Systems, which has a Command Center in Charleston), and it makes sense to be near our customers. We also recognize that Charleston's famed quality of life represents a very strong recruiting tool for us as we seek technically advanced employees to help us move forward."
Blackbaud Inc., a leading producer of software for non-profit organizations, relocated to Charleston from Long Island, N.Y., in 1989. Since then, the company has seen its revenues grow by 500 percent to nearly $90 million a year and its work force increase tenfold to 700 employees.
Blackbaud's business expanded so rapidly in Charleston that it outgrew its space in the Ashley Center and moved into a new, class A, 230,000-sq.-ft. (21,390-sq.-m.) office building on Daniel Island in August 2000.
Rachel Hutchisson, director of corporate communications for Blackbaud, says her company likes the location because it makes it easy to recruit new employees. "We recruit actively in the local market but also in cities throughout the Southeast," says Hutchisson. "When we go to recruit technology people from other markets, we find that people want to live in Charleston."
The same can be said for the AAI International Pharmaceutical Devel-opment Center in Charleston. One of a number of small but growing life-sciences companies in the greater Charleston region, the center was spun off by the Medical University of South Carolina and was subsequently acquired by Wilmington, N.C.-based AAI.
"We have great resources in this town with the Medical University, the College of Charleston and the Citadel," says JoAnne Jacobs, technical definer for AAI. "There is a good base of scientifically trained personnel in this market, and the MUSC has always provided clinical trials for new drugs, which is absolutely vital in our industry."
The drug-developing firm recently moved its 45 employees into a new 48,000-sq.-ft. (4,464-sq.-m.) facility -- complete with two class 100 clean rooms -- in Charleston.
