Opportunity Zones are designatured by the federal government as areas where they would like to see new investment to revitalize communities. The benefit is that if you make the investment and improve the property that meet their guidelines and hold the property for at least 10 years, then you won’t have to pay capital gains on the property when you go to sell it.
There are a number of areas here in the Upstate of South Carolina. You can zoom in on the HUD Opportunity Zone map and take a look.
This is a fun and very informative video about the Ryobi facilities in Anderson, SC. I have driven by this building many times along I-85 south of Greenville. It’s an amazing building that you see from the interstate but that is only part of their overall facilities. According to this video, they have 1.7 million square feet of warehouse and manufacturing. Amazing Give this a watch!
Greenville, SC has been hitting the radars of many companies especially in manufacturing, distribution and supplychain. Located 90 minutes southwest of Charlotte and two and a half hours north of Atlanta, Greenville is right in the flow of goods up and down the East Coast. On top of that, there is the Inland Port Greer which is an extension of the Port of Charleston. This is a direct train line that runs from the coast up to Greer, SC (Upstate South Carolina and a city neighboring Greenville). The Inland Port is just three and a half hours away from Charleston. This is an unparalled combining of relatively easy access to freeways for trucking, trains delivering direct access from a major port city and comparatively cheaper pricing for land and buildings.
Take a couple of minutes and listen to area expert with a long history here, Randall Bentley of Lee & Associates. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Randall and he is a real professional and is a wealth of knowledge and expertise on the market here in the Upstate. In fact he has a great team of commercial real estate brokers providing services, advice and counsel throughout the Upstate.
One of the things I’ve noticed here in the Upstate is just how many different organizations there are when it comes to economic development and growth. Of course with economic growth comes more businesses locating here with the additional housing to accommodate the growth in employees. It’s a terrific place for business – particularly those in manufacturing, distribution and logistics. It seems a bit light when it comes to IT tech and med tech but there are movements afoot to try to bring more of those companies and or divisions to the Upstate. The Upstate Business Journal has an excellent summary of Upstate Economic Development organizations.