Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Oconee County gets $3M for spec building

Staff Report //March 22, 2018//

Oconee County gets $3M for spec building

Staff Report //March 22, 2018//

Listen to this article

The Oconee Economic Alliance has received a $3 million loan from Santee Cooper for a 50,000-square-foot industrial speculative building at Golden Corner Commerce Park on S.C. Highway 59, two miles off Interstate 85.

The loan was approved through the Santee Cooper Economic Development Loan Program. Blue Ridge Electric Cooperative will distribute electricity to the site, according to a news release.

“Oconee County has had strong momentum along the economic development front over the last few years and this partnership with Santee Cooper will be a huge catalyst to ushering in a new wave of progress for the southern part of our community,” said Christine Tedesco, board chairwoman of the Oconee Economic Alliance, in the release. “We are extremely grateful to Oconee County Council, Blue Ridge Electric and Santee Cooper for allowing this financing opportunity to come together as it will put forth a much-needed industrial building that will yield new jobs and investment.”

Operating in its sixth year, Santee Cooper’s Economic Development Loan Program acts as a resource for localities served by Santee Cooper and the state’s electric cooperatives or municipal customers, to help those localities build spec buildings and other infrastructure attracting new industry. More than $80 million has been loaned through this program to date, the release said.

“Promoting economic development is a pillar of focus at Santee Cooper,” said Pamela Williams, Santee Cooper senior vice president of corporate services, in a statement. “Our loan program has helped South Carolina attract major manufacturers to the state, growing the job market for our residents and boosting the economy, and we believe the loan to Oconee Economic Alliance will build on that record.”