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Companies around the country are clamoring for industrial space in Charleston, but the demand far outweighs the area’s current supply.
As of early May, the vacancy rate was under 5%, which signals that Charleston needs more space, and fast, said Milton Thomas, managing principal at Lee & Associates.
He believes the S.C. Ports Authority’s leadership and the $220 million Walmart import distribution center in Ridgeville are paving the way for the growth.
“I think with Walmart locating here, that has triggered a lot of interest from other large businesses,” Thomas said.
Manufacturing, distribution and ecommerce companies are actively looking for buildings within 30 miles of major economic drivers, including the Port of Charleston. Speculative buildings range anywhere from 50,000 square feet 1 million. A lot of that interest is coming from companies in New York and New Jersey, Thomas said.
ILA lawsuit throttles South Carolina container terminal traffic
It is unclear whether ocean carriers will avoid a newly opened container terminal in South Carolina until a labor dispute is cleared up. But at least for now, it appears most shipping lines are steering clear of the Port of Charleston’s Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal to avoid being caught up in a lawsuit filed by the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA).
Over the next 15 days, only two container ships are slated to be handled at the Leatherman Terminal. Forty vessels are scheduled to berth at the Port of Charleston’s neighboring Wando Welch Terminal in the same time period.