Retail giant Walmart will build a massive import distribution center near Ridgeville, giving the State Ports Authority an anchor tenant for an industrial park aimed at diversifying cargo shipments through the Port of Charleston.
At 3 million square feet, the distribution center will be Walmart's third-largest in the country, trailing import warehouse hubs in Texas and Illinois. Groundbreaking on the $220 million project will take place in March and the facility will be in operation by April 2022. At buildout, it will employ 1,000 people full time and boost the port's cargo volume by 70,000 containers a year.
"At a time when job creation is so vital, and — more than ever — our customers are relying on Walmart for the essentials they need during this unprecedented time, we are excited about the impact this new facility will have on the regional economy and how it will help us better serve customers across the Southeast," Greg Smith, executive vice president of supply chain for Walmart, said in a statement.
It's a major step in the authority's goal of diversifying its cargo base, which has been largely dependent on manufacturing shipments over the past decade.
"The distribution center announcement is tremendous news for the area, and the South Carolina Ports Authority, representing a major strategic success and putting South Carolina on the map for large retail companies," said Jim Newsome, the authority's president and CEO. Newsome said the two sides have been negotiating since 2017 and the authority's purchase of the Ridgeville property along Interstate 26 helped swing the deal.
The authority bought the 950-acre site for $16.2 million in 2018. The Walmart distribution center will sit on 250 acres and will include two buildings, 2,200 spaces for trucks and 500 loading docks. It will support roughly 850 stores in a 150-mile radius and will also fulfill e-commerce orders. For comparison, the distribution center will be the size of 52 football fields or more than eight times the size of Boeing Co.'s towering paint hangar along International Boulevard in North Charleston.
Walmart will receive property tax breaks from Dorchester County Council, which gave final approval to the deal during a special meeting Monday. The state's Coordinating Council for Economic Development is providing job development tax credits to Walmart and a $5 million grant to Dorchester County to help pay for public infrastructure for the project. The authority's board is expected to approve transferring the 250 acres of industrial park property to the retailer.
"We found a great partner in the state of South Carolina and we’re grateful for the support we received from Dorchester County, the South Carolina Ports Authority, the Department of Commerce and so many others who helped make this project a reality," Smith said.
The import distribution center will be Walmart's 11th in seven states, most of them located close to major seaports, according to logistics consulting firm MWPVL. The import centers receive containers of retail goods made in Asia and then redistributes them to regional warehouses that move the merchandise to individual stores.
Bentonville, Ark.-based Walmart is by far the nation's largest importer, according to the Journal of Commerce, bringing nearly 450,000 cargo containers of goods through U.S. ports each year. By comparison, No. 2 Target imports roughly 300,000 containers per year. Walmart does not specify the percentage of its goods that are imported, but said 85 percent of overseas merchandise is processed through its import distribution centers.
Newsome has said the agency hopes to lure more retail-based import distribution centers to the industrial park as well as warehouses that will use the site's Norfolk Southern rail service to transport agricultural and forestry products as well as plastic pellets for export.
Walmart will occupy buildings 4A and 4B at the Ridgeville Commerce Park, located on S.C. 27 at its intersection with Interstate 26 at Exit 187 near Ridgeville. State Ports Authority/Provided
Walmart has 10 supercenter stores in the Charleston area as well as five Neighborhood Market locations and a Sam's Club store.
In addition to the planned distribution center, Walmart currently operates a 550,000-square-foot import distribution hub for its Sam's Club stores on Charleston Regional Parkway in Charleston and ships some goods through a transload warehouse operated by TradePort at the authority's Wando Welch Terminal in Mount Pleasant.
"Walmart is the recognized leader in supply chain innovation and performance," Newsome said. "Having this world-class company choose our market for their distribution center is the ultimate vote of confidence in South Carolina Ports and in South Carolina."
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Walmart to build $220M import distribution center near Ridgeville, giving Port of Charleston a cargo boost - Charleston Post Courier
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