SouthernCarolina Alliance, the regional economic development organization representing Bamberg County, held ribbon cutting ceremonies on November 17 for the newly completed CrossRhodes Industrial Building, located at CrossRhodes Industrial Park US Highway 301 in Bamberg.  More than fifty community and business leaders attended the event, where representatives of SouthernCarolina Alliance, Edisto Electric Cooperative, Santee Cooper, Bamberg Board of Public Works, Bamberg County Council, S.C. Department of Commerce, and other economic development partners symbolically cut a large, blue ribbon on one of the supporting interior columns and enjoyed an informal brunch.

Bamberg County Councilman and SouthernCarolina Alliance Board Member, Rev. Isaiah Odom, welcomed the crowd, saying the ribbon cutting ceremony was “a celebration of both hard work and partnership over the last decade.  By working together for a greater purpose-- to improve the quality of life for our citizens and future generations--- we will be blessed and will continue to see our goals come to fruition.”

S.C. Department of Commerce representative States Clawson addressed the crowd, citing the importance of having an existing industrial building to market to companies.  According to Clawson, more than 80% of the projects that the S.C. Department of Commerce handles request an existing facility.

According to SouthernCarolina Alliance Chairman Johnny Williamson, “The new industrial building will serve as a marketing tool to show industrial prospects interested in manufacturing, distribution, or commercial opportunities in the region.  It’s a project that we have been working on with our economic development partners for some time now, and we’re delighted to see its completion.”

Site preparation at the construction site began on Memorial Day for the 30,000 sq. ft. expandable industrial building, often referred to as a "spec building" or a "promotional building.  The building is designed to be finished and tailored to the client’s needs once the prospect has committed to the industrial project.

 “The construction of this building is exciting for Bamberg County because it provides a draw for locating an industry here,” said Williamson.  “The promotional building will help a prospective company save start-up time and cost, hopefully giving us an edge over some of the other locations the company may be considering.”

“We have already talked with several existing industries and prospective industrial clients interested in the building,” said SouthernCarolina Alliance project manager Kell Anderson, who handles Bamberg County. 

According to Anderson, the construction of the building at CrossRhodes provides an additional incentive to prospective industries because of the multi-county status of the industrial park.

“Not only do the four counties in the alliance benefit from the multi-county tax revenue sharing agreement, the company locating here will receive additional tax incentives for locating in a multi-county park,” said Anderson. 

“During these challenging economic times, our region is faced with a great deal of need,” said SCA Vice Chairman DeThane Johnson of Hampton.  “Creating jobs is the best way to build prosperity in our region, and this beautiful industrial building will be an excellent incentive to draw qualified industrial prospects to the region, be it in manufacturing or distribution.”

The CrossRhodes Industrial Park and promotional building are marketed and owned by SouthernCarolina Alliance, the non-profit regional economic development organization representing Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell and Hampton Counties.