Purchase of Greenwood’s Fujifilm completed by investment firm

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Greenwood’s Fujifilm campus is officially in the hands of investors in a deal that helped the Japanese manufacturer preserve 300 jobs at the once-sprawling plant.

A pending sale of the property was announced in July after Phoenix Investors leased 1.1 million square feet back to Fujifilm.

Phoenix said today that an affiliate of the Milwaukee-based commercial real estate firm has closed the deal for an undisclosed sum.

The property spans more than 2.7 million square feet over 500 acres. Fujifilm, which has been the only occupant of the site since 1988, has leased back approximately 50% of the campus, according to a news release. The investors intend to find tenants for the rest.

Constructed in a tier-one manner over the span of 17 years from 1988 through 2005, the campus is comprised of 11 buildings and has heavy power and infrastructure. Approximately 1.4 million square feet of space will be marketed for lease to new tenants.

"We were pleased to complete our acquisition of Fujifilm's Greenwood Campus," Frank Crivello, founder and chairman of Phoenix Investors, said in the news release. “Fujifilm is a world-class company; the buildings were built to its high standards and impeccably maintained over their lifetime in the same manner. We are excited to make this campus our first of many future acquisitions in South Carolina to support the needs of our growing tenant base."

"We look forward to working with Phoenix Investors to create a productive and enjoyable working environment for our valued employees," Jun Higuchi, president of the Fujifilm Holdings America Corp., said in the release. He also is president and CEO of the Fujifilm North America Corp. and chairman of the Fujifilm Healthcare Americas Corp.

“For over the last 12 years, we have successfully redeveloped single-tenant manufacturing campuses like this one into successful multi-tenant facilities,” David Marks, president and CEO of Phoenix Investors, said in the release. “The result will be a win-win outcome for Fujifilm, our new industrial tenants, the local Greenwood community, and Phoenix Investors. It was a pleasure working with the Fuji team on finding a creative solution to allow Fuji to continue to operate with a smaller footprint within the campus while making high-quality industrial space available to new potential employers within the region.”

The transaction was brokered by James Medbery, Doug Faris and Shaun Kirchin of Binswanger.

Last year, Fujifilm planned to streamline production by outsourcing its manufacturing capacity to sites in Europe and Asia. 

The recent transaction will allow the company to continue manufacturing for its Personalized Photo Products Group, as well as warehousing and distribution and administrative support functions, a July announcement said. 

Fujifilm decided to maintain and increase manufacturing assembly of its QuickSnap one-time-use-cameras, due to the rising U.S. demand driven by Gen Z consumers, according to the release. 

“We are pleased to continue our manufacturing assembly operations of QuickSnap one-time-use-cameras and with the increased demand for color film, we’ve recently added a second shift with 15 additional positions,” Bing Liem, division president of Fujifilm North American Corp.’s Imaging Division, said in the July news release. “We will also continue our personalized photo products operations here, where we provide fulfillment of photo prints and photo gifts for customers across the country. We have built strong relationships with the community to fill nearly 1,000 seasonal positions annually during our busy holiday season and are proud to be one of the largest employers in Greenwood.”