Newberry County committee elects Carl Seese as chair; staff cites site shortages and $3M Locate SC grant for Commerce Park

The Newberry County Council Economic Development Committee elected Carl Seese as its 2026 chair and heard staff warnings that a limited inventory of buildings and sites is costing the county competitive economic development opportunities.

Economic development staff told the committee the county frequently "misses about half the opportunities" the office pursues because it lacks the right product for prospect requirements. "As of right now, we got one industrial building in this community. It's about 43,000 square feet," the staff member said, noting the county struggles to compete on building-only searches that typically require about 50,000 square feet or more.

Staff and committee members discussed workforce constraints and local unemployment, with the staff member saying the county's unemployment is "about 5%"—higher than historical rates around 3%—and observing that workforce shortfalls often cause rural prospects to rule out locations.

A central development update concerned Mid Carolina Commerce Park. Staff said the park has grown from zero tenants to five tenants and from zero jobs to about 550 jobs, with roughly $120 million in private capital investment since development began. To improve competitiveness, Newberry County secured a $3,000,000 Locate SC grant from a one-time $80,000,000 legislative fund. Staff said the award covers about 75% of the cost to finish a road back to the creek and to construct a building pad at the park, which should make the site more attractive to prospects.

On where the pad will sit, staff described two rear parcels—one about 32 acres, the other about 38 acres—and said concept work is underway. The staff member discussed options including a 300,000-square-foot pad on one lot or an even larger pad spanning two lots, but cautioned the latter would be costlier; staff did not finalize the lot number in open session, and the exact location remains under engineering review.

Infrastructure updates included near-completion of the Mawson's Way extension (final surface coat pending and striping in place) and installation and charging of new water lines. Sewer work has encountered significant rock, and staff said the project's contingency budget has been nearly exhausted; they expressed confidence the work can be finished within the stated project budget but said they hope not to return to the committee for additional funds.

Chair Carl Seese presided over the meeting after being nominated and approved by voice vote. The committee adopted the meeting agenda and reported no public comments were signed up for this session. Several committee members publicly thanked staff for work on community events and ongoing projects.

Staff said several potential economic development projects were discussed in a subsequent executive session under state statute, but the committee returned to open session and "no action was taken."