Mid Carolina Commerce Park expansion would cost ~$4.25M; county staff outlines plan to cover roughly $1M

Rick Farmer, director of Newberry County Economic Development, presented the Mid Carolina Commerce Park Phase 3B master plan and described work needed to make additional lots 'shovel ready.' Farmer said the project would pave a red-highlighted section of road (about 1,500 linear feet) and install a 300,000-square-foot pad on Lot 6, with a projected total cost of about $4,250,000.

County staff reported the county secured a $3,000,000 enhancement grant toward the expansion. Staff outlined available local funds: $622,571 in an LGIP interest-bearing account earmarked for the park and $212,658 in a separate economic development holding account. After design credits and other projected adjustments, staff calculated the county's remaining obligation at roughly $1,000,000 and proposed combining the two accounts and using approximately $165,000 of anticipated rural infrastructure authority reimbursements to reach that mark while returning any excess funds to the general fund.

Staff emphasized that the figures are projected estimates and that formal requests and votes will come after design, bidding, and exact cost determinations. "We don't need an official vote of any kind tonight," staff said, asking council to permit staff to allocate and reserve the funds as part of preparing for a bid and a future request.

Why this matters: Completing the road and pad would make the county's industrial site more competitive for private investment, potentially leading to jobs and future tax revenues; however it requires an upfront county contribution and carries the usual risks that project bids and final costs may differ from estimates.

What happens next: Staff intends to pool existing earmarked funds, apply incoming reimbursements as proposed, bid the project, and return to council with a formal funding request once bids define the final cost.