Page 75 - FDI Alliance International Magazine | September 2018 1

The Dillon County Spec building is off the ground and nearing completion. The Pee Dee Spec building is awaiting its first tenant. The 100,000 sq.
This 109,200 sq. ft. building is located just off I-95 at Exit 190 and located ft. building is located in the Pee Dee Commerce Park just off I-95 at Exit
4.5 miles from Inland Port Dillon. 170 and is 25 miles from Inland Port Dillon.

Beyond the actual costs of designing, engineering feet and most have at least 25’ clear heights. As park that had recently completed the South Carolina
and constructing a spec building, communities site selection consultant Mark Sweeney touted Department of Commerce’s industrial park certification
should also be prepared to spend marketing dollars on several occasions, “prepared communities win” program. Because of its location near I-95 and the
and that is exactly the philosophy that NESA has level of due diligence that had been completed on
subscribed and deployed in the region. The NESA the industrial park, the building immediately gained
region currently has available speculative buildings, traction and several companies that would not have
industrial parks, and sites that have completed the otherwise considered Dillon County began visiting
aforementioned engineering reports and due diligence the area. One of the companies to visit the building
and are actively being marketed for industrial users. was Wyman Gordon, an aerospace components
While spec buildings have resulted in several wins manufacturing company. After several visits to Dillon,
for the region over the last several years, one major meetings with regional, local, and state officials,
success story happened in Dillon, South Carolina. workforce training partner meetings, incentives
Dillon County, in conjunction with Marlboro Electric negotiations, meetings with utility companies,
The Williamsburg County Spec building broke Cooperative, constructed a 50,000 SF speculative and other meetings, Wyman Gordon acquired the
ground in July and construction has begun building near I-95 in a newly developed industrial spec building and additional adjacent acreage and
on the 52,000 sq. ft. building located in the announced a $115 million capital investment and
Williamsburg Cooperative Commerce Center 400 well-paying jobs in Dillon County.
South on Highway 52.
Prepared communities win and NESA is prepared.
Contact our business team today to Put Success in
pursuing industrial clients. This effort should Your Corner.
include advertising, online marketing campaigns,
site selector outreach, lead generation campaigns
and, most importantly, follow up with prospective
end users. Winning with a spec building can be a John Sweeney
lengthy process and one that does entail costs;
N o r t h e as t e r n S t r a t e g i c A l l i a n c e
however, the benefits and exposure a community
receives by having a spec building along with the
activity it generates far outweighs those costs. In 121 South Evander Drive, Florence,
fact, it is not uncommon for companies to visit a spec S.C. 29505
building, decide that the building does not meet their
needs for whatever reason, decide that they really Office: 843-661-1665
like the community and its assets and then decide
to build a facility in that community. Fax: 843-661-1293
For these reasons, almost all of the NESA counties
are currently in some phase of spec building
development ranging from design, to financing,
to actual construction, to marketing completed
buildings. The most common sizes currently being
developed range from 50,000 to 100,000 square

FDI ALLIANCE | SEPTEMBER ISSUE 2018 75