Not many landlords would consider dropped leases a good thing, but S.C. Technology and Innovation Center president and CEO Jody Bryson sees longtime tenant Lockheed Martin’s decision to vacate a portion – 200,000 square feet – of its hangar and multi-use space as an opportunity.
“That’s good timing because of the growth of the aerospace industry in the state,” said Bryson, who said this type of space is relatively rare, not only in the state, but in the region. “Working with economic development partners to attract new aerospace companies to these facilities is a huge goal for us in the next few years.”
The shift to marketing existing properties is something SCTAC hasn’t done in Bryson’s seven years with the organization, he said, and marks the move to strategic economic development for the Upstate’s aerospace industry.
SCTAC’s economic development shift dovetails with its more significant shift towards automotive research and development, which quietly began when the organization launched a runway-turned-test-track at its campus. The track – now a part of nonprofit organization the International Transportation Innovation Center, or ITIC – is aimed at fostering transportation innovations with tracks that simulate real-world environments.
The center includes a 5,5000-foot-long controlled asphalt straightaway, a 1.5-mile concrete surface straightaway, a six-block urban track with buildings and side streets to simulate city driving and 17.7 miles of multi-lane underpass and overpass interstate test track.
SCTAC invested $1 million in resurfacing, crack repair and other upgrades for the track before quietly opening in July 2013, said Bryson. During the 18 months after it opened, the track generated more than $173,000 in revenue.
“For 15 of those 18 months, we were not really marketing the track, so we’re happy with that revenue number,” he said.
SCTAC hopes to reach $100,000 during the 2015 fiscal year, which ends in September. The organization’s annual operating budget is just short of $2 million, said Bryson.
Though it is co-owned by Greenville County and the City of Greenville, SCTAC doesn’t receive funding or financing from either entity and is self-sustaining, said Bryson.
“We exist on the revenue that we generate, which for the past few years were primarily lease revenues,” he said. “Now we’re diversifying and now we have the track revenues, which will help us grow and reinvest.”
Bryson announced that the organization’s annual economic impact jumped to $1.93 billion based on new estimates for 2014, 38 percent higher than previous 2010 estimates of $1.4 billion per year.
“At the end of the day, we’re trying to create jobs and create capital investment,” said Bryson. “That’s why we go to work every day.”
The nonprofit has announced partnerships with the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) to research and develop wireless charging, as well as with Michelin, Volvo Trucks, the American Trucking Association, Toyota, Cisco, GM, Duke Energy, Evatran and ZF North America.
