COLUMBIA, S.C. — In 2023, dozens of new businesses and manufacturers chose to call the Midlands home. However, there were also businesses that said goodbye for good.
The largest was Scout Motors, an electric vehicle company, which announced plans to open a plant in Blythewood in Richland County with the promise of 4,000 jobs. Over in Sumter, a German magnet company called E-Vac will build a $500 million facility and could create up to 300 jobs.
While big companies came in, we also saw the arrival of smaller businesses as well.
Iron Hill Brewery opened on the Bull Street in Columbia, Uncle’s Willie’s grocery store started up on North Main Street, and Ruby Sunshine moved into the old Yesterday’s spot in Columbia's Five Points.
Liz Deese, a commercial real estate broker for Coldwell Banker, and says with all the new business sometimes it’s not easy to find a place to set up shop.
“We are at the lowest vacancy rates that we have been in in the history of the city of Columbia and the Midlands," she said. "We’re just around 2%. the national average is about 5% of good retail vacancy. I've got a lot of people that want to come to Columbia and it’s hard to find places to put them."
While some businesses chose to move to the Midlands other chose to part ways. Deese said many factors contribute to this, one of them being higher rent rates.
"In the retail sector, rent is $11 to $20 a square foot depending on the building and you’re looking in the $30-50 for a new build now," she said. "We’re looking at Greenville type rates."
Some businesses that closed this year were River Rat Brewery on Bluff Road in Columbia, Al’s upstairs in Lexington. and Tyson's Food which will be closing their location in Richland County next month.
Leese says this next coming year should be a great one for development for the Midlands.
“Whichever way you look, whether you’re looking up to Newberry or Blythewood or out to your Leesburg and Batesville it just doesn’t stop. It just going and going and growing and growing,” she said.