BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. — A joint venture partnership between Rockefeller Group Development Corp. and MeadWestvaco Corp. will begin construction on a 1.1-million distribution center in the fourth quarter. Completion is slated for late next year. The warehouse will be located in the Rockefeller Group Foreign Trade Zone/Charleston near the interchange of Interstate 26 and Jedburg Road in Berkeley County. The tire company TBC Corp. will base its East Coast wholesale operations at the property.
“We are excited about the opportunity to consolidate a portion of our distribution network to a new and larger facility in the Charleston area,” Erik Olsen, president of TBC, said in a press release. “The infrastructure and location of the Port of Charleston complements our growth and will allow us to meet the growing demands of our customers.” Access to the port will give TBC easy access to foreign suppliers, and the firm expects to bring thousands of containers through the port each year.
The public/private effort involved participation from a number of government agencies in the Charleston area. Representatives from the state senate, the county government and the South Carolina Department of Commerce all assisted in getting TBC to the county.
“From the state level to the Ports Authority to local leadership to private industry partners, this announcement would not have been possible without the collective efforts of all parties committed to bringing new job opportunities to South Carolina and supporting jobs along the waterfront at the port,” South Carolina Secretary of Commerce Joe Taylor said in the same statement.
TBC was advised by Russ Westlake of Jones Lang LaSalle’s Memphis, Tenn., office and Chris Skibinski of the firm’s Charlotte, N.C., office. Colliers Keenan’s Peter Fennelly represented the joint venture.
— J. Howard Ross