Summerville, South Carolina
February 10, 2009 – Dorchester County has announced the Tri-county Region’s first certified industrial site, located near the intersection of I-95 and I-26 and adjacent to the Town of St. George. The 610-acre site, called Winding Wood Industrial Center, will accommodate manufacturing, distribution and
other operations requiring large tracts of land. Depending on individual project requirements, the site can be
subdivided into lots ranging from
20 to 50 acres.
Dorchester County Council
Chairman, Jamie Feltner,
a long time advocate of site development, welcomed the
completion of
the
site certification process. "With this certified site, Dorchester County can take full advantage of our
most
significant
business asset: the intersection of I-95 and I-26. We’ve not had that
opportunity until now," he said.
According to Jon Baggett,
Dorchester
County’s Economic Development
Director, the county pursued the certified site designation to meet the demand for port-served industrial
sites near the I-95 corridor
and to address the need for
job
opportunities in upper Dorchester County.
"In today’s competitive business environment, companies need to be up and running as quickly as possible," he said. "This certification offers companies requiring both port and interstate access a low risk option to help
them make a fast decision. It also provides Dorchester
County a competitive advantage in attracting quality jobs and investment
for
local residents, especially in the upper
part
of the county."
Winding Wood
Industrial Center is one of 68 certified sites in South Carolina. The state’s certified site
designation applies to industrial sites that
have
been analyzed to assure no major development issues exist, as determined by the S.C. Department
of
Commerce. The certification process typically includes verification of the property’s ownership and availability, documentation of supporting infrastructure, an environmental assessment,
surveys for cultural
and protected resources, seismic classification and other critical analysis.
The process usually takes three to nine months to complete, and provides documentation that
the
property is
fully served by water,
sewer, telecommunications,
transportation and other critical infrastructure and is ready
for development.
County Council
Vice Chairman, Willie Davis, who represents upper Dorchester County’s District 1, provided his perspective: "Residents in the upper part of
the
county are eager for good
paying job opportunities closer
to home. This industrial center is a welcome development and
is coming at a very good time. When the economy
turns and companies start investing in new manufacturing plants, we’ll be able to accommodate them
immediately."
The Winding Wood Industrial Center will complement
the
new St. George QuickJobs Center,
which is scheduled to open in 2010.
This collaboration between Dorchester County and Trident Technical College will
provide 60- to 90-day training programs for
manufacturing,
distribution and other operations requiring specialized skills. The Center is located less than one mile from Winding Wood.
"Today marks an important step forward for
both
Dorchester County and the Town of St.
George," said the
Mayor of St.
George,
Anne Johnston. "With both the new job training center and the certified industrial
site, our town is in a prime position to benefit from new economic development
opportunities. We’re thrilled with both of these new developments."
To certify the site, Dorchester County partnered with the South Carolina Power Team, the economic development alliance of Santee Cooper
and the state’s 20 electric cooperatives. The Charleston Regional
Development Alliance, which promotes the three-county region for new business investment, facilitated a matching state grant to help fund the certification. Engineering firm, BP Barber out of Columbia,
SC, conducted the site certification.
