Company leases Richland County speculative building to expand operations

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A Chicago-based maker of specialty packaging films is expanding its operations in Richland County.

Charter Next Generation is leasing a 210,600-square-foot speculative industrial building at 10741 Farrow Road, located in the Carolina Pines Industrial Park in Blythewood, according to a news release.

The facility is located next door to CNG’s existing manufacturing operation and will serve to expand the company’s regional distribution footprint.

CNG is North America’s leading independent producer of high-performance specialty film, flexible packaging solutions and other end-use products. The company has 1,900 employees at 14 facilities in 10 markets.

Colliers South Carolina brokers Chuck Salley, Dave Mathews, Thomas Beard and John Peebles represented Collett Industrial in the lease, the release said.

“It’s always a wonderful day and a testament to the county’s exceptional business climate when a speculative building secures a tenant,” said Jeff Ruble, director of economic development for Richland County. “It’s doubly exciting when that tenant is an existing industry with established roots in our community.”

Collett Industrial and its partner Humphreys Capital broke ground in the second quarter of 2022 and completed the building in the first quarter of 2023. The construction team included Matthews Construction serving as the site contractor, Vannoy Construction as the building contractor, MCA Architecture as the architect and Thomas & Hutton as the civil engineer.

“We set out on every speculative project with the goal of attracting high caliber users exactly like CNG and we’re excited to assist in expanding their operation at Carolina Pines,” said Teddy Hull, principal at Collett Industrial. “We appreciate all the effort and collaboration by CNG, Colliers, Richland County and our entire construction team in bringing this project to fruition.”

This lease takes the last available existing class A industrial space in all of central South Carolina, according to the release. The vacancy rate in the market is at record low of 2.4% and is 1.96% in the northeast Columbia submarket, according to statistics from Colliers South Carolina.

“The need for the supply of industrial buildings in central South Carolina is greater than ever,” Salley said. “The demand in our market is rapidly increasing and in order to serve expanding and new businesses in the area, the market will need to develop more properties to meet the need.”

The Carolina Pines Industrial Park is also home to Belk Distribution Center, Intertape Polymer Group, Husqvarna Outdoor Products, Patterson Logistics Services, Amcor Rigid Plastics and more.