National developer to start building Gaffney’s largest industrial park

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A national commercial real estate developer that concentrates on industrial development has secured the funding to begin construction on the first phase of a 3.6 million-square-foot industrial park in Gaffney.

Glenstar said it has secured $38.2 million in construction financing from Cross Harbor Capital Partners to begin the project.

Developed by Glenstar and its capital partner, Creek Lane Capital, the five-building, 290-acre Cherokee Commerce Center 85 is northeast of the intersection of Interstate 85 and S.C. Highway 105 and will be the largest industrial park in Cherokee County when built out, according to a news release from Glenstar.

Glenstar will begin sitework in preparation for the first building at CCC-85, slated to span 555,520 square feet but expandable to 1.3 million square feet, the news release said. The first building is an example of Glenstar’s Spec-to-Suit strategy, which allows the firm to meet customized tenant needs on an expedited timeline. This flexible building, known as 2A, will offer a cross-docked orientation, with up to 232 dock doors, four drive-in doors, 540 auto parking spots and 452 trailer spaces.

Completion is expected in fall 2024.

“We’re pleased to bring our collective experience to this project and partner with such a strong development team,” Matt Klein, director of CrossHarbor Capital Partners, said in the release. “Cherokee Commerce Center off I-85 is in one of the fastest-growing transportation and logistics corridors in the U.S.”

Subsequent phases will potentially include four additional warehouses measuring with collectively nearly 2.4 million square feet, the release said. The facilities will feature best-in-class specifications, such as 40-foot clear heights, 56-foot-by-50-foot column spacing and 60-foot speed bays.

“This ideally located park will meet suppliers’ and manufacturers’ ongoing need for Class A industrial space with easy access to the Inland Port Greer and the Port of Charleston,” Glenstar principal Brian Netzky said in the release. “We’re already receiving interest from companies that support production facilities in the Southeast such as electric vehicle, battery and semiconductor manufacturers.”

The industrial submarket of Cherokee County is home to a 1.4 million-square-foot distribution facility shared by DHL Supply Chain and Mann+Hummel, a German manufacturer of filtration systems, as well as a 1 million-square-foot Techtronic Industries facility and a 1.5 million-square-foot Dollar Tree distribution center.

“Cherokee County is a hotspot for industrial development as vacancy rates remained at less than 1% at the end of the second quarter,” Netzky said. “The county has a growing population and a vast pool of quality-trained assembly and fabrication laborers, which draws users from across the country."

According to Colliers, the Cherokee submarket has 11.6 million square feet of industrial space and recorded a 0.52% vacancy rate in the second quarter of this year, well below the national average. The report also cited several reasons for South Carolina’s growth, including significant investments in the interstate system, the Port of Charleston and the Inland Ports as well as a business-friendly regulatory environment, low unionization rate and labor supply.

“CCC-85 represents Glenstar’s bullish outlook on manufacturing and distribution hubs in the Upstate as well as throughout the Southeast,” Netzky said in the release.

 The Conlan Company is serving as general contractor, while Ware Malcomb is the architect for the project and SeamonWhiteside is the civil engineer. The project will be leased by John Montgomery, Garrett Scott, Brockton Hall and Dillon Swayngim of the Spartanburg office of Colliers.