SC’s hot industrial market shows no signs of slowing down | Business

Unprecedented growth in industrial development throughout South Carolina continued during the 2021 third quarter, with booming retail and e-commerce sales driving construction of speculative warehouses and distribution centers, according to a new report. 

The analysis by the commercial real estate firm Colliers found that about 8 million square feet of newly constructed space was occupied between July and September, with most of that — 5.1 million square feet — in the Greenville and Spartanburg area, where the vacancy rate now stands at 4.3 percent.

In the Charleston region, 2.2 million square feet of new space had tenants, driving down the vacancy rate to 4 percent.

Statewide, Colliers reported that 15.4 million square feet of industrial product is still being built. Among those projects in the pipeline is the 3 million-square-foot Walmart import distribution center scheduled to open Jan. 4 at the Ridgeville Industrial Campus in Dorchester County. Not included in the Colliers figure is a 1 million-square-foot logistics center German automaker BMW announced last week it will build near its sprawling Upstate campus in Greer.

Colliers and JLL, another commercial real estate firm, attribute the industrial growth to success at the Port of Charleston, which is seeing record cargo volumes amid an ongoing import surge that started during the pandemic. Loaded imports were up 9 percent in September, with furniture and other home goods the fastest-growing commodity. Loaded exports increased by 2 percent.

“This dramatic increase is a result of an ongoing surge in e-commerce demand, with Charleston’s low cost of business, strong labor pool and direct access to a major port positioning it as a top player in the national industrial development scene,” JLL said in its report, adding most of the new construction is taking place along the Interstate 26 corridor from Summerville to Ridgeville.

Industrial announcements have continued unabated in the Charleston area, with a three-building deal at Omni Industrial Campus in Summerville among the most recent.

Atlanta-based Stonemont Financial Group, a private real estate firm, said last week it…