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Columbia Business Monthly

The Business Narrative: Supporting Navy Shipbuilding

Jan 31, 2025 08:34AM ● By Donna Walker
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Bushy Park Welcomes Newport News Shipbuilding

Pacolet Milliken, LLC, and its wholly owned subsidiary Bushy Park, announced that Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS), a division of Huntington Ingalls Industries, has become a major tenant at Bushy Park in connection with NNS's acquisition of W International.

 

Bushy Park is a 1,530-acre industrial park located in Berkeley County just outside of Charleston, South Carolina.

 

The site is home to 10 different industrial and manufacturing companies. 

 

NNS, headquartered in Newport News, Virginia, acquired W International, an advanced metal fabricator that has been a resident at Bushy Park since late 2018. 

 

Officials said the strategic move strengthens NNS's position as a global leader in naval shipbuilding and defense technology. 

 

NNS designs, constructs, and maintains nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines, and has a legacy spanning over 135 years. 

 

Operations at Bushy Park are expected to be largely unchanged.

 

W International employs approximately 500 people, and its campus consists of 45 acres and four buildings totaling 451,000 square feet, all within the larger 1,530-acre Bushy Park site.

 

"NNS' presence will undoubtedly contribute to the vibrant industrial community we are cultivating at Bushy Park," said Kent Fonvielle, president of Bushy Park.

 

With NNS' acquisition of W International, and Leonardo DRS's naval facility under construction at Bushy Park, Bushy Park will be home to two of the largest defense contractors supporting the U.S. Navy's shipbuilding program.

 

Leonardo DRS is building a $120 million manufacturing, integration, and test facility for U.S. Navy submarine propulsion systems at Bushy Park which is slated to be fully operational in 2026.

 

"The decision of Leonardo DRS to establish their operations here and NNS to acquire W International is a testament to the value and quality that Bushy Park offers," said William Crawford, CEO of Pacolet Milliken.

 

Crawford added, "Bushy Park's location, workforce availability, and unique existing infrastructure, including water access, make it an advantageous site for supporting these manufacturers." 

 

Pacolet Milliken, LLC is a leader in the institutional management of private investment capital.

 

Headquartered in Greenville, South Carolina, Pacolet is a family-owned investment firm that owns and manages a diverse set of power and infrastructure and real estate assets located across the United States.

 

Pacolet Power & Infrastructure owns a diverse set of power, renewables and infrastructure assets, including a regulated electric portfolio, an industrial utilities company and a substantial solar and landfill gas portfolio.

 

Pacolet Real Estate has a national portfolio of industrial, multi-family, office, and retail properties, and currently focuses on multi-family and industrial warehouse development in the Southeast, the Southwest and Southern California.

 

Bushy Park provides a suite of utilities to its tenants such as steam, nitrogen, compressed air, electricity, natural gas, and process water in addition to available land. 

 

The site supports logistics through an onsite rail line and barge slip. 

 

Bushy Park is owned by Pacolet Milliken, LLC and is an important asset in the Power & Infrastructure Division. 

Greenville-Spartanburg Industrial Activity Posts 3rd Best Year of Absorption

Greenville-Spartanburg’s industrial market closed 2024 with its third best year on record, posting 7.4-million sq. ft. of direct net absorption, according to the CBRE Q4 Greenville industrial report.

 

Two speculative buildings over 1,000,000 SF were absorbed by a large automotive company and GXO Logistics accounting for over half of the 4.3 million sq. ft. of net absorption in Q4.

 

GSP’s vacancy rate spiked from a low of 2.9 percent at the end of 2022 to almost 10 percent in mid-2024 after 24.3 million sq. ft. of speculative buildings delivered over the past two years.

 

Despite the large volume of speculative deliveries, the GSP market vacancy rate ended the year at 8.6 percent due to strong absorption the second half of the year, according to CBRE. 

 

Increased vacancy rates along with challenging economic headwinds spurred by interest rate hikes over the past two years reduced GSP’s construction pipeline to 2 million sq. ft. for 2025, CBRE said.

 

It said that should continue to put downward pressure on vacancy rates justifying new speculative building starts in 2025.

NFIB Responds to McMaster's Call for Tort Reform, Reducing SC's Personal Income Tax

NFIB State Director Ben Homeyer released the following statement in response to Gov. Henry McMaster's State of the State Address:

 

"Our members were impressed by Governor McMaster's commitment to reforming the state's civil justice system. We agree that our current system is stifling job creation and economic growth.

 

"South Carolina's small businesses are dealing with a host of economic challenges right now, but frivolous lawsuits are making a bad situation even worse. Clearly, individuals have a right to seek compensation if they've been wronged, but some lawsuits are brought simply because someone sees a chance to make money. 

 

"Lawsuit abuse drives up insurance and other operating costs, which only worsens inflation's impact on South Carolina's businesses and families. 

 

"We were also pleased to hear Governor McMaster affirm his commitment to reducing and eventually eliminating the state personal income tax. Most small businesses in the state are organized as pass-through entities, meaning the revenue passes through the business to the owner, who pays taxes at the individual rate.

 

"These are difficult times for South Carolina's small businesses, with rising prices continuing to raise questions about the direction of the economy. Florida and Tennessee already have a managed to build strong economies without a state income tax. Reducing and eliminating ours would ease the financial pressure on local businesses and encourage them to grow and create jobs.”

Myrtle Beach Renews Partnership as Official Travel Sponsor of The Toronto Golf & Travel Show

Canada’s largest golf show announced that Visit Myrtle Beach and PlayGolfMyrtleBeach.com are once again partnering with the Toronto Golf & Travel Show as the Official Travel Sponsor.

 

The Toronto Golf & Travel Show sponsored by Golf Town and The Toronto Star, takes place from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, 2025, at the Toronto International Centre.

 

Said Tracy Conner, interim president and CEO, Visit Myrtle Beach: “This year will mark our 64th CAN-AM Days festival, which is held each March as a celebration of appreciation to our Canadian visitors who have been making Myrtle Beach their home-away-from-home for generations.”

 

Said Kyle Oland, director of marketing at Golf Tourism Solutions in Myrtle Beach: “In two short years we will be celebrating 100 years of golf on The Grand Strand. The first golf course was built here in 1927. Since that time Myrtle Beach and golf have been synonymous. Golf is in our DNA.”

 

Oland added, “Our history, the amount of golf played here, and the number of courses is what has earned Myrtle Beach the title of Golf Capital of the World.”

 

The Grand Strand is home to three of America’s Top 100 public access courses and 11 of Golf Digest’s Top 20 “Best Courses You Can Play in South Carolina.” 

 

VisitMyrtleBeach also will host PGA Tour’s Myrtle Beach Classic from May 8-11 at The Dunes Golf & Beach Club as well as the 64th Annual CAN-AM Days from March 8-16.

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