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California biotech company to open $50M facility in Union County

Jason Thomas //January 23, 2023//

California biotech company to open $50M facility in Union County

Jason Thomas //January 23, 2023//

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will invest more than $50 million to expand and improve an existing warehouse at 260 Midway Drive in Union, S.C. (Photo/Stream Realty Partners)

A California-based biotech company is opening its first facility in South Carolina in Union County.

MycoWorks, which creates luxury-quality leather alternatives using the trademarked Fine Mycelium, has selected Stream Realty Partners, CH Realty Partners, and Gray to help develop its first full-scale production facility in Union, S.C., according to a news release.

CH Realty Partners LLC, a Los Angeles-based developer — in conjunction with Ascendant Capital Partners, a Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm — will invest more than $50 million to expand and improve an existing warehouse at 260 Midway Drive in Union, South Carolina, the release stated. The facility, which MycoWorks will lease with a long-term commitment, will accommodate 135,000 square feet for the company’s first full-scale Fine Mycelium production manufacturing facility

MycoWorks’ new facility will offer approximately 50,000 square feet of manufacturing space, the release stated. It will include controlled environments for mixing, filling, and sterilization; work cells for tending the product as it grows; and areas for product harvesting and finishing.

Within the existing footprint, the facility will utilize approximately 40,000 square feet for an Automated Storage Retrieval System in a highly controlled environment that will house trays of the product as it grows into sheets, the release stated. A two-story expansion of 35,000 square feet for offices will be built adjacent to the existing warehouse. The remaining footprint will be used for storage, utilities, and maintenance areas.

Stream’s National Program Management team will work with CH Realty Partners to manage all aspects of the delivery of the facility, from conceptual design through equipment installation and startup, the release stated. Stream Vice President Tom Porter, who specializes in manufacturing, will lead the project. Stream is a national real estate services, development, and investment firm with a growing office in Charlotte that services the Carolinas.

“We’ve taken a deep dive to understand MycoWorks’ business needs and created a path forward that is critical to their success as an organization,” Porter said in the release. “Together, with our partners, we have developed a strategic approach to fast-track this project and help this unique, innovative client become the world’s first commercially scaled Fine Mycelium™ platform.”

Recognized as a leader in the manufacturing industry, Lexington, Ky.-based Gray will design and build the project, according to the release.

“Gray is excited to play a pivotal role on such an innovative and technologically advanced project,” said Brian Jones, Gray president and CEO, in the release. “This unique facility is a chance not only to advance MycoWorks but also move the industry forward, and that's an incredible opportunity."

Additional exterior improvements will include a bulk unloading area for dry raw materials, storage tanks for liquid raw materials, an expanded parking lot, and a new employee entrance, according to the release.

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