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Columbia Business Monthly

The Business Narrative: NorthMark Strategies Selects Spartanburg County For First SC Operation

Apr 23, 2025 10:24AM ● By August Spencer

NorthMark Strategies Selects Spartanburg County For First SC Operation

(123rf.com Image)

NorthMark Strategies, a multi-strategy investment firm, announced April 21, 2025,
it selected Spartanburg County to establish the company’s first South Carolina operation.

The $2.8 billion investment will create at least 27 jobs and is expected to use regional businesses and suppliers for regular maintenance and operations support, according to Gov. Henry McMaster's office.

NorthMark provides strategic advice, asset management and value-added services to privately owned companies around the world.

The Spartanburg facility will be the company’s fifth U.S. operation.

"Of the more than 100 locations across the country we considered, Spartanburg stood out for its strong community, skilled workforce, dynamic economy and strategic advantages," said NorthMark Strategies President Jen Byrne.

Byrne added, "Our investment in this high-performance computing center solidifies our commitment to building for future growth and being prepared to meet the growing demand for HPC capabilities among our current and future investment partners head-on."

“NorthMark Strategies’ $2.8 billion investment is a milestone moment for Spartanburg County, and a clear reflection of the confidence companies have in our state," McMaster said.

The governor added, "This project further positions South Carolina as a national leader in technology and innovation. We proudly welcome NorthMark to South Carolina and look forward to the impact they’ll have for years to come.”

Officials said NorthMark’s new operation at 4000 S. Pine St. in Spartanburg, will serve as a state-of-the-art, high-performance computing center designed to support a portfolio of businesses in the engineering and technology sectors.

Once operational, the facility will generate its own power on-site, ensuring minimal impact on the power grid, the officials said.

Initial operations are expected to be online in the third quarter of 2026 with further development phases to follow.

Those interested in joining the NorthMark team should go to the company’s careers page.

Fifth District Manufacturing Activity Slowed Further in April

Manufacturing activity in the Fifth District, which includes South Carolina, slowed further in April, according to the most recent survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

The composite manufacturing index fell to −13 in April from −4 in March. Of its three component indexes, shipments and new orders fell notably and employment fell slightly.

The local business conditions index dropped from -13 in March to -21 in April, while the index for future local business conditions fell notably from -22 to -37.

The future indexes for shipments and new orders fell considerably, with shipments decreasing from 7 to -20 and new orders falling from 6 to -26.

The vendor lead time index decreased in April, while the backlog of orders index fell notably from -1 to -24. The average growth rate of prices paid increased notably.

The average growth rate of prices received increased somewhat. Firms expected heightened growth in prices paid and prices received over the next 12 months.

The manufacturing Index is a gauge of broad activity in the District's manufacturing sector. It is a composite index representing a weighted average of the shipments (33 percent), new orders (40 percent) and employment (27 percent) indexes.

Bain Capital, BlueWater Marinas Acquire Boathouse Marine Center

Bain Capital’s Real Estate team and BlueWater Marinas, led by Joe Miller and Dunston Powell, announced the acquisition of Boathouse Marine Center, a dry-stack marina in Pompano Beach, Florida.

Financial terms of the private, off-market purchase weren’t disclosed.

Bain Capital and BlueWater formed a strategic joint venture in 2024 to acquire and operate storage-centric marina properties in boating markets along the East Coast.

BMC is the second asset in the JV’s portfolio, adding to the joint venture’s acquisition of Harbor at Lemon Bay, a dry-stack marina located in the Sarasota submarket of Englewood, Florida.

“Consistent with Bain Capital’s thematic, customer-oriented investment approach, the marina sector benefits from several long-term secular growth drivers, including very high structural supply barriers, increased consumer spending on experiences, and sustained demand for larger boats,” said Andrew Terris, a partner at Bain Capital.

Strategically positioned, BMC offers, officials said, a convenient location in a dense, affluent market near the Hillsborough Inlet.

Pompano Beach, a submarket of Fort Lauderdale, is a long-established boating market that benefits from heavy year-round boating traffic and features some of the strongest supply-demand imbalances in the country.

The Bain Capital Real Estate team has been executing its strategy since 2010 (formerly as a part of Harvard Management Company), having invested and committed over $9 billion of equity across multiple sectors.

Bain Capital is one of the world’s leading private investment firms with approximately $185 billion of assets under management.

Headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, BlueWater Marinas will acquire, develop and operate coastal marina assets, including both dry and wet slips.

BlueWater Marinas was established by former executives and key team members of PORT 32 Marinas and Atlantic Marina Holdings, alongside several marina industry top performers.

Four Companies Make Major Commitments to Arbor Day Foundation’s Hurricane Recovery Campaign

In a matter of months, the Arbor Day Foundation’s corporate partners have committed a combined $2.35 million to the nonprofit’s campaign, aiming to plant 10 million trees in states impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Truist Charitable Fund, MathWorks, Target, and Bank of America all committed to the hurricane recovery initiative after it was announced by the Foundation in late October.

“We felt a strong pull to make a commitment to long-term recovery after Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and clearly, we weren’t alone. In the face of devastation, these companies have made the bold choice to step up and invest in a better future,” said Dan Lambe, chief executive of the Arbor Day Foundation.

Lambe added, “Thanks to their leadership and the collaboration of our local planting partners, we can accelerate our effort to restore what’s been lost, enhance community resilience, and replant hope.”

The new funding from Truist Charitable Fund, MathWorks, Target, and Bank of America was supplied in addition to the projects these companies already support through the Arbor Day Foundation.

Because of their support, officials said tree recovery work began in the fall and will continue this spring in communities impacted by the back-to-back hurricanes.

The Arbor Day Foundation aims to plant 10 million trees over next four years in communities and forestlands in Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.

The Foundation has been heavily invested in assisting disaster-affected communities and forestlands since Hurricane Katrina made landfall in 2005 and has planted and distributed millions of trees as a result.

The work has aided recovery efforts following hurricanes, tornadoes, wildfires, and floods.

The Arbor Day Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit pursuing a future where all life flourishes through the power of trees.

Learn more at arborday.org.

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