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Kim Statler is executive director of the Lowcountry Economic Network. Several times a month she will blog on local issues pertaining to economic development and the work of the Network.
CareCore
CareCore brings jobs to the Lowcountry
Lowcountry Economic Network
CareCore ground-breaking
CareCore expansion will be a boon for our region
The following was published in the March 9 edition of the Neighbors section of The Beaufort Gazette
If you happened to drive through Buckwalter Place in Bluffton the afternoon of March 1 the sight of backhoes and dump trucks moving around an open dirt field probably didn’t seem too out of the ordinary.
“Likely another store going in,” you probably thought to yourself; or another building awaiting a tenant in what’s still a slow market.
The reality is that only hours earlier a group of local officials and business leaders stood together to mark the groundbreaking of what will be an economic boon for our region. CareCore National, one of the nation’s leaders in specialty benefit healthcare management, began the expansion of its presence in the Lowcountry.
Beaufort Creatives
Area creatives take center stage
An insert by the Municipal Association of South Carolina in the most recent issue of SC BIZ highlights the state's Creative Class and Creative Cities.
Beaufort received prominent recognition.
Check out the images or download the pdf here.
Boeing in the Lowcountry
Boeing is frequent topic in the Lowcountry
As discussed in this morning's Island Packet/Beaufort Gazette, Boeing has become a popular topic among Lowcountry residents and officials. Over the past week or so economic development officials along with Nexsen Pruet, a key player in the Boeing deal, have been touring the Lowcountry talking about the deal and how it can translate into new opportunities for our region.
(from the Island Packet story)
Kim Statler, head of a public-private partnership that recruits businesses to the region, was slated to speak at another event Wednesday at Belfair in greater Bluffton.
The session -- titled "BOEING SC: Dreams Take Flight" -- was about how incentives can boost business in South Carolina.
Statler said Boeing's plant dovetails with fellow aircraft manufacturer Gulfstream's existing facility in Savannah and the arrival of the Joint Strike Fighter, a next-generation military jet. Some of the jets are expected to be based at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort by 2014.
CareCore
CareCore National breaks ground on Buckwalter Place expansion
Groundbreaking for the new 31,200 sq. ft. CareCore National, LLC corporate headquarters was held Monday morning (March 1) at 11:30 a.m. at Bluffton’s Buckwalter Place near the intersection of Buckwalter Parkway and Bluffton Parkway.
Donald R. Ryan, Chairman and CEO of CareCore National, LLC, presided at the groundbreaking together with Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka, Bluffton State Legislator Bill Herbkersman, and Beaufort County Council Chairman Weston Newton.
CareCore National’s Ryan said, “we are pleased about this groundbreaking because it not only means we are making a capital investment in our community and creating needed knowledge-based jobs."
AT&T Broadband
AT&T Investment in South Carolina Network Aimed at Enhancing Mobile Broadband Service across the State
Plans Call for Addition of 3G to More Than 200 Cell Sites and the Expansion of Backhaul to Increase Wireless Network Capacity
Columbia, South Carolina, February 18, 2010
AT&T* today unveiled its South Carolina wireless network investment plans for 2010, which include the addition of 3G to more than 200 new and existing cell sites throughout the state.
The planned wireless network enhancement strategy is part of AT&T's 2010 wireline and wireless capital investment, which is expected to be in the $18 billion to $19 billion range companywide, an increase of between 5 and 10 percent over 2009. This planned amount also includes an increase of about $2 billion in capital expenditures for wireless and backhaul related to AT&T's wireless network. This planned level of investment is framed by the expectation that regulatory and legislative decisions relating to the telecom sector will continue to be sensitive to investment.
FastTracSC
Entrepreneur training program tops 1,000 grads
Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Staff Report
CHARLESTON -- FastTracSC, an organization designed to help entrepreneurs hone the skills needed to create, manage and grow successful businesses in South Carolina and supported in the Lowcountry by the Technical College of the Lowcountry, reached a statewide milestone last month.
Port of Port Royal
Prospective buyer found for Port of Port Royal
By JULIANN VACHON
jvachon@beaufortgazette.com
843-706-8184
With a signed letter of intent, hope has risen again that the idle Port of Port Royal has found a buyer.
S.C. State Ports Authority chairman Bill Stern signed a letter of intent Friday to sell the approximately 51-acre port of Port Royal property to a prospective Charleston developer.
Although the sale is not final, the authority will take the property off the market while it finalizes a contract with the buyer, Stern said.
Officials would not release the name of that buyer nor the sale price, citing ongoing negotiations. NAI Avant, the broker listing the property, reduced the price tag from $27 million to $20.4 million last year.
A group of Hilton Head Island investors tried to get financing for the parcel in 2007, but the deal fell apart in 2008.
Lowcountry Economic Outlook
Lowcountry banks on more than tourism to survive economic downturn
By JOSH McCANN
jmccann@islandpacket.com
843-706-8145
Travel down Innovation Drive in Bluffton and you will hear bulldozers and dump trucks roaring and clanging away at the site of a planned 32,000-square-foot second building for CareCore National.
The company, whose 400 employees manage cost, quality and safety for national health insurance plans, is expanding after moving its corporate headquarters in 2007 from Wappingers Falls, N.Y., to the Buckwalter Place mixed-use development and technology park.
To many who seek to diversify the Lowcountry's economy, the construction noise -- and the 150 new CareCore employees it promises -- is the sound of much-needed progress.
For the most part, Beaufort and Jasper counties don't have much in the way of high-tech industry.
Rare exceptions include XRDi, a Beaufort firm that makes small engines for unmanned aerial vehicles, and Vetronix Research, a Hilton Head Island firm that designs and builds electronics used by the military.
Industry Appreciation Week Ambassadors
Network & Alliance announces Economic Development Ambassadors for Beaufort and Jasper counties
The Lowcountry Economic Network & Alliance on Tuesday announced its 2010 Ambassadors for Economic Development as part of South Carolina’s celebration of Industry Appreciation Week.
Canada Smith, manager of Turkey Hill Plantation, has been named Economic Development Ambassador for Jasper County while Craig Schauss, president of Hilton Head Island-based Vetronix Research Corporation has been named Ambassador for Beaufort County.
Industry Appreciation Month
Beaufort County welcomes a new business during Industry Appreciation Month
As we dive head first into a new year it’s important that we stop to recognize what our businesses and professionals contribute to our county while also understanding what makes this region such an attractive destination for companies.
In conjunction with the S.C. Department of Commerce, Beaufort and Jasper counties and Palmetto Electric Cooperative, the Lowcountry Economic Network & Alliance is celebrating this month – Industry Appreciation Month – by sharing several stories about the Lowcountry’s strengths and successes.
Industry Appreciation Month is an opportunity to say thank you to area companies for their many contributions to our community as well as a chance to build awareness among our residents that existing business is a fundamental driver of our local economy.
Pratt & Whitney's F135 engine
Footage of F-35B
Here's footage of Pratt & Whitney's F135 engine and Rolls-Royce LiftFan® successfully powered the Lockheed Martin F-35B Lightning II short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL) fighter through the first in-flight engagement of its STOVL propulsion system.
Industry Appreciation Month on Facebook
Industry Appreciation Month
The Lowcountry Economic Network & Alliance is working with S.C. Commerce, Beaufort and Jasper counties and Palmetto Electric Cooperative to highlight the Lowcounwhtry during Industry Appreciation Month.
We've established http://www.facebook.com/IndustryAppreciation which will be a clearinghouse of infromation about what makes industry in our region tick.
We'll also post a bunch of blogs and information here.
Joint Strike Fighter report due out in April
Report to reveal Joint Strike Fighter's effect on Beaufort
By PATRICK DONOHUE
pdonohue@beaufortgazette.com
843-706-8152
Published Sunday, December 20, 2009
The new year is likely to provide a glimpse into the future of Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort.
Having gathered public comment during meetings last February, the Marine Corps is expected to release the first draft of its environmental impact statement in April about the arrival and operation of the Joint Strike Fighter at the air station, said Capt. Josiah Nicely, air station spokesman.
TCL Enterprise Campus
Bills would make TCL an enterprise campus
By KATE CERVE
kcerve@beaufortgazette.com
843-706-8177
Published Sunday, December 20, 2009
Twin bills pre-filed in the S.C. legislature would allow the Technical College of the Lowcountry to develop a public-private enterprise to foster entrepreneurship.
Creating an enterprise campus would encourage economic development by making it easier for private firms to cooperate with the college's academic operations, said TCL president Tom Leitzel. He said he thinks the area is ready for the opportunity.
"We have a very pro-business climate here," he said. "It truly does fit in with what (TCL) does and what we're about. That's supporting job growth and development."
Commercial Realtors Hilton Head
Economic developers reach out to commercial agents
I typically end my columns thanking you, the reader, for helping us spread the word about our economic development initiatives.
But I figured it best to use this column to explain how we’re actively working with different segments of our Lowcountry population and asking them to become ambassadors for economic development.
It’s important to understand that only a portion of our prospect leads come through the state Department of Commerce and that several are cultivated via members of our community.
On Dec. 10, the Lowcountry Economic Network & Alliance, in conjunction with the Hilton Head Area Association of REALTORS, held the first in what will be a series of seminars designed to engage and educate the local commercial brokerage community about our efforts.
Real Estate Economic Development Seminar
Lowcountry Network & Alliance Hosts Economic Development Seminar For Commercial Real Estate Agents
HILTON HEAD ISLAND – The Lowcountry Economic Network & Alliance, in conjunction with the Hilton Head Area Association of REALTORS, on Thursday held the first in what will be a series of seminars designed to engage and educate the local commercial brokerage community about the Network’s economic development efforts.
The session focused on the basics of the economic development incentives available in the Lowcountry as well as the Network & Alliance’s four focus areas of economic development: distribution/logistics, defense/aeronautics, knowledge-intensive, and green industry.
Southeast venture capitalists
Venture capitalists optimistic about state of Southeast investing
From the Tech Journal South
December 9, 2009
TYSONS CORNER, VA - Venture Capitalists are optimistic about investing in the Southeast according to the results of a survey of active venture captialists released today by the Southeast Venture Conference and Morris Manning & Martin.
Despite the decrease in worldwide venture funding over the past year, survey respondents, consisting of active national venture capital investors, were highly positive about future investing in the Southeast region.
Over 90 percent of those VCs surveyed anticipate increasing or at least maintaining their current pace of investing in the Southeast over the next 36 months.
Additional highlights of the survey include:
- 65 percent of respondents rate the Southeast technology industry as vibrant or healthy.
- 92 percent were very likely to invest in a new Southeast technology company provided it meets all of their other investment criteria.
- Almost every survey respondent (96 percent) viewed the current climate for raising a venture fund as very difficult or tougher than usual.
Boeing contractor sets meetings for subcontractors
Boeing general contractor sets meetings for subcontractors
Staff Report
Published Dec. 3, 2009
Boeing’s general contractor, BE&K/Turner, is hosting two informational sessions for subcontractors who want to participate in construction of the Dreamliner assembly plant in North Charleston.
Progressive Beaufort
Great article in Charleston City Paper about Beaufort. Love that we're being called "a surprisingly progressive little city."
Small-town charm, sleek surprises, and good eatin' in Beaufort
An Easy Weekend
Charleston's a beautiful place, but sometimes even paradise can get a little monotonous. When the ennui hits, it's time to head out on a road trip — and you don't have to go far to enjoy a satisfying getaway. Our destination? Beaufort, S.C., about an hour and a half south of Charleston. Our expectations? Small-town charm and romantic relaxation. Our findings? A surprisingly progressive little city.
Sure, it's small enough that you can take in downtown's main drag in a matter of minutes. But Beaufort boasts a strong artistic community where Pecha Kucha, gallery strolls, and even a film festival fill the calendar. This artsy vibe is reflected in many of the town's establishments — you'll find big-city style all over this little place.
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