Putting up building ready to pay off, Lexington County officials say

A building that Lexington County constructed to attract an industry may have an occupant soon that will bring at least 100 jobs, county officials said Tuesday.

That prediction came as County Council approved exchanging the structure and 18.5 acres surrounding for 235 acres that adjoin it.

“It’s in play,” county economic development director Chuck Whipple said. “We have prospects interested.”

The facility, which cost nearly $6 million, will be a neighbor of the Amazon distribution center and Nephron Pharmaceuticals’ plant in an industrial area south of Cayce.

The building was constructed after experts advised companies don’t want to wait on a facility to be constructed but “want to move in, set up and go,” Council Chairman Todd Cullum of Cayce said.

The 120,000-square-foot building can be customized for either a manufacturer or distributor.

Building it was an gamble that paid off, Whipple said.

“You’ve got to have product to compete in this environment,” he said.

But there are no plans by county leaders to put up another building to lure employers. Their focus instead will be on providing potential designs online, with construction possibly part of incentives offered to prospects, officials said.

The building was sold to a subsidiary of West Columbia businessman Joseph Blanchard, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Adding the 235 acres will nearly increase the size of the county-owned industrial area near the I-26/I-77 interchange by nearly 50 percent, officials said.

The area gained in the exchange will be offered to other major industries looking to locate in the Midlands, officials said.

This story was originally published April 12, 2016 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Putting up building ready to pay off, Lexington County officials say."