Having bid farewell (and good riddance) to one of the most surreal years in U.S. history, your GADC is excited about key 2021 initiatives that we believe will have a significant positive impact on Greenville County and the organization.

A New Strategic Plan

Past accomplishment does not guarantee future success. Business changes brought about by COVID make this a sensible time to reassess GADC’s mission and focus for the short and long term.  Industry transformations like additive technologies, supply chain optimization and worker training challenges accelerate trends that can threaten opportunity for continued economic growth.  This plan is our chance to assess the impact of changes and look for innovative programs that better position us to win new jobs and investment for Greenville County.

Celebrating 20 Years of Impact

Since 2001, GADC has assisted over 300 companies that invested more than $6 billion and created at least 30,000 new jobs here – the size of a small city.  And while we are proud of those numbers, many partners and allies worked with us to deliver those results.  The Moore School of Business at USC is examining the impact these projects have had on Greenville County over the past two decades.   We will use this study as a chance to reinforce how we have helped create a sustainable business environment that co-exists with an incredible quality of life… and set the stage for continued economic success.

New Sites and Buildings

Because of recent growth, Greenville County had almost entirely exhausted its inventory of business and industrial park properties to accommodate demands of new and expanding companies.  Yet over the past two years, significant progress has been made to add new sites — including Fox Hill Business Park and South Greenville Enterprise Park.  While more than 70% of prospective companies look first for available building space, we had very little available.  Today, we have at least five new speculative industrial buildings planned or under construction.  This “product development” focus has yielded at least seven new companies for our area in the past two years and should put us in a more competitive position for the next decade.

As business confidence continues to improve, and an effective COVID-19 vaccine becomes available, GADC looks forward to working with you in creating a more sustainable economy for our community.

There is much to look forward to in the days ahead.  Thanks for your continuing support.

Mark Farris, President & CEO
Greenville Area Development Corporation