Steven Pearce has been named the new President and Chief Executive Officer of the South Carolina I-77 Alliance and will be responsible for directing the organization’s strategic economic development marketing efforts for the five-county corridor from Columbia to Charlotte. Pearce joins the Alliance with 12 years of economic development experience, most recently as Senior Vice… Continue Reading »

What many think may be the next big thing in manufacturing is already happening in the I-77 Corridor. It’s micromanufacturing, which is just what it sounds like: small- to medium-sized, agile operations that can quickly produce products that traditionally require massive capital and space to achieve anything close to the scale needed to make such… Continue Reading »

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Governor Henry McMaster and the S.C. Department of Commerce today announced that E. & J. Gallo Winery (Gallo), a global wine and spirits company, will build a new state-of-the-art production facility and distribution center in Chester County to support future business growth and its long-term innovation plans. The $423 million investment will… Continue Reading »

Recently, when the New York Times profiled a report from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on revamped job-growth projections in a post-pandemic landscape, we took that opportunity to review what those numbers say about economic prospects here in the five counties comprising the South Carolina I-77 Region. As it turns out, the sectors… Continue Reading »

History is repeating itself as a leading-edge automotive manufacturer plans to start up its first U.S. electric vehicle (EV) production facility in York County. Arrival plans to begin producing electric buses in 2021 in a 193,000-square-foot spec building, the second announcement at the Legacy Park East industrial park in Rock Hill. The U.K.-based company is… Continue Reading »

Around the world, forward-looking enterprises are planning for a post-pandemic future. Communities that continued to invest in their infrastructure, workforce, and quality of life assets will be positioned to land those prospects as they decide the time is right to expand. The five South Carolina counties, comprising the corridor from Charlotte, N.C. to Columbia, S.C.,… Continue Reading »

Jamie Gilbert knew Lancaster County was offering a unique opportunity for businesses; however, it wasn’t until Bloomberg News tabled an article the news agency was planning to do on incentives for onshore production of essential medical supplies that the uniqueness of the initiative was realized. Lancaster County Council in March passed a resolution offering the most robust incentives in its… Continue Reading »

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Ross Stores, Inc. (Ross), a leading off-price apparel and home fashion company in the United States, plans to expand its distribution and warehousing operations in York County. The company’s $68 million investment is projected to create 700 new jobs over a period of five years. Founded in 1982, Ross offers high-quality name brand… Continue Reading »

The I-77 Alliance, in cooperation with GISWebTech, has created an Impact Planning Report for our 5-county alliance. Please click the links below to view the interactive graphs, or download the Planning Report PDF. If you have questions or would like to share your experiences please contact chris.finn@i77alliance.com

In just a few short years, Giti Tire has become a flagship success story for the I-77 Corridor, leveraging a $560 million investment into an enterprise notable for its business, community and environmental sustainability.  The Singapore-based company’s first U.S. plant was a greenfield project that now houses a 1.7-million square foot factory that began production… Continue Reading »