Here’s a recap of Greenville County Council’s Dec. 3 meeting:
Approved: Incentives for automotive projects in Piedmont
Council approved third and final reading to a series of ordinances authorizing economic incentives for Drive Automotive Industries of America LLC for a pair of projects in Piedmont totaling an expected investment of $194 million.
The company is a manufacturing division of Magna International Inc. and produces automotive body panels and assembles body systems for the automotive industry at its facility at 120 Moon Acres Road near U.S. Highway 25 and Interstate 185 in Piedmont.
The expansion of this facility involves an expected investment of $102 million and will create about 50 new jobs.
A second set of ordinances involves a $92.9 million project at 923 Matrix Parkway which is expected to create another 150 jobs.
Related: Greenville County Councilman Butch Kirven receives Order of the Palmetto
This project involves a new 625,000-square-foot facility, which is expected to begin operation in early 2025. The expansion of the existing Magna facility on Moon Acres Road and the new facility on Matrix Parkway will manufacture automotive parts for cars, light trucks and commercial vehicles.
Council also approved incentives for Project Blackbird, a still unnamed auto manufacturing facility, involving an expected investment of $215.9 million and creation of about 700 jobs, also in Piedmont.
The project involves construction of a motor vehicle production facility on about 210 acres near the intersection of Ray Road and U.S. Highway 25 south of Interstate 185.
Approved: Incentives for Amazon fulfillment center in Fountain Inn
Council approved a pair of incentive measures for a new Amazon fulfillment center at 206 Fairview Road Extension in Fountain Inn. The project is expected to create 200 jobs and involve an investment of $47.5 million on two properties totaling 106 acres.
As part of the incentives package, council adopted an ordinance placing the property in a multicounty industrial park in Greenville and Anderson counties.
Approved: Unified Development Ordinance
Council passed third and final reading of the Unified Development Ordinance, a measure designed to streamline and update the county’s land development and zoning regulations.
Council’s discussions on the UDO revealed dissatisfaction with elements within the more than 600-page ordinance, but the consensus among council members was the UDO is better than the regulations it replaces.
Council’s deliberations also pointed to the likelihood the ordinance will be amended in the coming year.
