Beaufort County economic development director outlines projects, grants and a call for strategic review

O'Toole, executive director of the Beaufort County Economic Development Corporation, presented an overview of the corporation's recent activity and future prospects to the Finance, Administration and Economic Development committee on June 16.

He told the committee the EDC has received just over $2,000,000 in county funding since its 2017 inception and urged commissioners to judge results by return on that investment. "I want you to hold on to that number because I want you to look at spending $2,000,000 and what it what it what you got in the way of return," O'Toole said during the presentation.

Why it matters: the EDC's work ties to job creation, capital investment and county incentives that can affect the tax base and service demands. O'Toole laid out current prospects that would add private investment, real estate absorption and new jobs if they move forward, and he recommended a facilitated strategic planning session with towns and county staff to realign the use of site-and-job funds.

Among projects O'Toole described were county land purchases and offers around Parker Drive; a proposal for a second spec building in the Commerce Park (about 72,000 square feet) potentially supported by $1–2 million in partner contributions; and a prospective tenant at 302 Parker Drive O'Toole said could bring a $17.2 million investment and roughly 161 jobs with an average compensation he cited at about $56,980 — a project he emphasized had not yet been counted in the EDC's totals because it was not finalized.

O'Toole also said the EDC had secured a $1,000,000 state grant tied to a prospective entrepreneurial and cultural-heritage project on Saint Helena Island and that the EDC would hold community meetings later in July to seek local buy-in. "The project would be, hopefully, for an entrepreneurial center on Saint Helena along with the cultural arts center," he said when asked to clarify the grant's purpose.

He described other active leads and private investments across the county: what he called Project Cloud (a roughly $23 million project with about 51 jobs averaging higher wages and a proposed FBO), a $35 million laundry/manufacturing investment coming online at the Commerce Park, and a cited $3.8 million private investment tied to Gay Fish Company on St. Helena supported by a roughly $500,000 Department of Agriculture grant.

Committee members pressed O'Toole on the EDC's use of site-and-job funds in recent months, with one member asking whether a nursing grant that drew from that fund was "out of step" with the EDC's stated priorities. O'Toole acknowledged the criticism and defended the judgment in that instance, saying some discretionary decisions are taken to pursue broader community benefits.

Members also asked how the county could better leverage its $120,000 membership with the Southern Carolina Alliance (SCA). O'Toole said Beaufort County also participates in affiliated SCA funding and that county and EDC leaders have been discussing steps to improve the county's marketing through SCA.

O'Toole closed by urging a coordinated strategic session to reaffirm goals, clarify the use of incentive funds and evaluate results, and he offered to return to the committee on a regular (quarterly) basis. The committee thanked him and scheduled follow-up community meetings and further staff work on environmental and funding questions tied to several sites.