Top Business Park Locations – Special Advertising Section, Site Selection Magazine, November 2003

Hal Johnson knows a thing or two about business park development. As the chief economic developer for Orangeburg, S.C., Johnson has literally put his community on the map by making corporate real estate executives aware of the new industrial parks being developed in south central South Carolina.

        Located along Interstate 26 between Columbia and Charleston, Orangeburg is a hotbed of business expansion because of one prime asset: industrial park sites that are permitted and ready for growth.

        “The Orangeburg County and City Industrial Park was first conceived in 1995,” said Johnson. “This is a 443-acre [179-hectare] joint venture between the county and city. The county bought the land and the city bought the infrastructure to it, then the two entities split the costs.”

        The result was the first successful, joint-venture park in South Carolina. Complete with a brand-new road built into the park and a new 80,000-sq.-ft. (7,432-sq.-m.) shell building, the development quickly won a major project with Allied Air Enterprises.

        Allied Air leased the shell building while it constructed a 329,000-sq.-ft. (30,564-sq.-m.) facility in the park, which is within 30 minutes of four interstate highways and within one hour of two major airports.

        Now, the park is moving into phase two and beyond, said Johnson. “The park is being expanded by 1,200 acres [486 hectares] in phase three and by another 1,400 acres [567 hectares] in phase four. We received a $7.3 million grant and used that to turn it into $42 million for a water line extension,” he noted. “This enabled us to build a new water plant in Santee at U.S. Highway 301 and Interstate 95.”

        Johnson calls Orangeburg the “South Carolina Global Gateway” because of its location at the convergence of I-26 and I-95. Eventually, Johnson will have prime sites ready for development at all interchanges in the triangle.

        In the meantime, he is busy handling inquiries from prospects. Already, he has landed a 120,000-sq.-ft. (11,148-sq.-m.) project from Pilot Therapeutics, a major biotech firm, in the County-City Industrial Park.

        Companies, he said, like the fact that 30 percent of the Orangeburg County work force is employed in manufacturing.

        What makes an area a top business park location? That’s what the following section is about. Read on to learn about more success stories.

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