Office park to bring jobs to Kershaw County

Thursday, 20 September 2007

By Kristen Poland KERSHAW COUNTY -- Kershaw County residents may soon not have to look any further than their own backyard for white collar employment. Rather than looking to traditional manufacturing and distribution operations to occupy the county’s new Wateree Executive Park, the county is hoping to attract the office sector to the park, which is located on Interstate 20 near northeast Columbia.   While manufacturing and distribution companies are still welcome to locate in the park, it is being marketed as an office park instead of an industrial park. The county is also home to three industrial parks—Steeple Chase Industrial Park, Governor’s Hill Business Park and Heritage Point Industrial Park, each located at one of the county’s four I-20 interchanges. Wateree Executive, located at the fourth interchange, is one of just a few office parks in the state. For the office park, the county will pursue companies like call centers, back office operations, claims and processing services and other similar businesses.  “Most communities target manufacturing and distribution, but we’re diversifying the type of businesses we’re trying to attract,” Nelson Lindsay, Kershaw County economic development director. “We’re doing something a little different in order to capitalize on growth we’re seeing from northeast Columbia and the fact that so many of our citizens travel to Columbia for white collar jobs. We have the work force in Kershaw County for these types of jobs; we just need to create opportunities for our citizens to work closer to home.” The 60-acre Class “A” office park has lots available from one to 10 acres. The county is working on construction of the park’s infrastructure, including building roads, installing water and sewer lines, developing signage and landscaping. The office park was developed as part of a recommendation from economic development strategic planning the county conducted last year. Currently one tenant has committed to move into the park in the first part of next year. Kershaw County Medical Center will build a medical office facility in the park. Initially the company will hire 40 employees.