Greenville County continues to enjoy economic development successes but opportunities are being missed due to limited industrial inventory.
This was one of the key takeaways from an economic trends update to investors and community leaders by Greenville Area Development Corp. (GADC) at Roam in the Greenville ONE center March 10.
Missing out
GADC CEO Max Stewart said that while Greenville County remains extremely competitive on the global economic development stage, over the past three years the county lost out on potential investments totaling more than $37.2 billion and representing more than 34,000 potential new jobs because it did not have the number or type of sites those prospective companies were looking for.
“Now, we couldn’t land all of those projects in Greenville County … but the possibility of not being able to respond to that big a number is key,” Stewart said. “It’s a pretty big number.”
He said part of the solution to the problem will require strategic thinking and collaboration between economic development groups like GADC and community partners like policy makers, utilities and real estate developers to increase the county’s available industrial sites.
Why such work is necessary and pays significant dividends to the community was addressed by keynote speaker Beth Land, president and founder of Land Strategies, a Greenville-based economic development and site selection consulting firm.
She said part of the logic rests in how property taxes are structured in South Carolina and how differing classes of property generate different levels of revenue.
For instance, she said according to data on averages across the Upstate region, for every dollar of property tax paid on a residence, that residence and its occupants require about $1.30 in services. In comparison, for every dollar paid by an industrial property owner, which is taxed at a higher rate, only about 30 cents in services is required.
The trick is to strike the right balance.
Stewart said the good news for Greenville County is recent trends indicate prospective companies are increasingly looking for smaller buildings on smaller sites that are easy to get up and running quickly. He said about 63% of companies contacting his team are looking for buildings of 100,000 square feet or smaller.
Stewart said of the 137 inquiries GADC received in 2025, about 74% were looking at existing buildings. He added most of those buildings are already largely configured to meet the needs of many companies looking to relocate here. But he also cautioned that the average age of industrial buildings in the county is about 32 years old.
