LEXINGTON COUNTY, SC — The Amazon distribution center near Cayce is going to get more neighbors who will bring hundreds of new jobs to the Midlands.

Lexington County Council added 245 acres Tuesday to the industrial area in which the online retailer’s facility is located.

Expansion of the area is “absolutely critical,” council chairman Bill Banning said. “We were running out of space in which to put anybody.”

Adding the new part is “a logical step” that positions the Midlands to land major employers with large payrolls, county economic development director Chuck Whipple said.

The move increases the industrial area by nearly half and gives it a new back door on U.S. 321 near I-26 at the southern edge of the county.

It will be developed in a partnership with landowners, who will be able to market it for sale in cooperation with county and state officials.

Roads and utility services will be added at public expense, with their cost later recovered as warehouses and manufacturers settle in the area.

Adding those features is estimated at $3.7 million, Whipple said.

The plan allows expansion without requiring the county to take the mor costly step of purchasing the area.

That approach is “certainly a plus” in reducing the price tag of public investment, councilman Johnny Jeffcoat of Irmo said.

Besides Amazon, the industrial area off I-77 and Wire Road is home to a Nephron Pharmaceuticals plant under construction and a S.C. Electric & Gas Co. office.

Prior to the expansion, it had room for two more developments.

Increasing the industrial area accomplishes a goal county leaders set at the start of the year.

Reach Flach at (803) 771-8483.