By Molly Parker and Ashley Fletcher Frampton
SCBIZ Daily Staff

JEDBURG -- After months of prepping the blueprints, real estate developers are readying to break ground on initial infrastructure to support several planned large-scale manufacturing and distribution parks in Jedburg.

The rural, one-stoplight community off Interstate 26’s Exit 194 is eventually expected to house some 17 million square feet of warehousing and manufacturing space. Developers and Berkeley County officials anticipate the growth will draw thousands of jobs and help expand business at the Port of Charleston.

“It’s pure geography,” said Curt Grantham, president and CEO of Trammell Crow Carolinas Development Inc. He noted the location’s availability of open land, its access to the port and proximity to Interstates 26 and 95.

Trammell Crow Co. and Hillwood Development Co., both headquartered in Dallas, and the Rockefeller Group out of New York are all planning to start infrastructure improvements by year’s end and construction of their first buildings by this time next year, company executives said. Johnson Development Associates out of Spartanburg already has two buildings in the area; one housing American LaFrance and the other Continental Terminals, which services Starbucks.

Plans are finally moving forward after the developers reached an agreement with Berkeley County officials on paying for $30.5 million in road improvements. The issue arose when the developers were told the S.C. Transportation Infrastructure Bank was out of money.

Five area developers and the county will fund the road projects jointly, with hopes that the state eventually will reimburse them for the improvements, Berkeley County engineer Frank Carson said.

The Jedburg exit ramp intersection already is failing, according to engineering standards, Carson said. Traffic signals will need to be installed and frontage roads relocated. Eventually, the entire interchange will need to be replaced and expanded, he said.