Jim Fair
The nearly $50 million Inland Port was built just short of eight months.
Municipal Association of South Carolina
City officials join Jim Newsome (third from right), President and CEO of South Carolina Ports, for the presentation of the Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Award for Economic Development of the inland port. Left to right are councilmen Wryley Bettis, Wayne Griffin, City Administrator Ed Driggers, Newsome, Mayor Rick Danner and councilmen Lee Dumas.
The City of Greer received the state's top economic accolade, the Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Award for Economic Development, from the Municipal Association of South Carolina for the development of the inland port. City officials received the honor at MASC's 74th annual meeting last weekend.
City officials expedited reviewing plans, processing permits and performing inspections to keep the project on track. City entities like Greer CPW aided in the infrastructure that was ahead of all deadline requests.
Greer was among 26 cities and towns that submitted their projects and initiatives.
The nearly $50 million port was built in less than eight months – groundbreaking was March 1 and the first containers were serviced Oct. 25 – despite losing more than 35 work days because of record rains last summer.
Norfolk Southern added two miles of track, extending its main rail line west on Moore Street including tracks into the port for loading and unloading containers.
“Seven months after breaking ground, the Inland Port offloaded its first cargo partially because of the swift work of city officials from Greer. This is tremendous work on the part of city officials,” said Miriam Hair, executive director for the Municipal Association.
The City of Greer communications staff submitted the project to the MASC including a video presentation. It reported Greer’s tax base was expanded and BMW’s $13.4 million, 400,000-square foot warehouse was built adjacent to the port to facilitate its export sales.
BMW’s $1 billion expansion announced in March was attributable to the inland port that speeds its units to the Port of Charleston, 220 miles, overnight for export. That expansion will make the Greer plant BMW’s largest in the world when it assembles 450,000 units a year by 2016.
The Greenville-Spartanburg Airport District began marketing large parcels of land for industrial and commercial use and Greer Economic Development has received record inquiries from companies interested in the use of the inland port.
The SC Inland Port (SCIP) in Greer also received the Economic Development Impact Award at the Upstate Alliance's annual meeting in March.
The City of Greer Police Department won the 2012 MASC Achievement Award for Public Safety for its Alive at 25 program and SIDNE go-kart training tool.
The Municipal Association of South Carolina initiated the Achievement Awards in 1987 to recognize and encourage innovations and excellence in local government. The award was named in honor of Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr. in recognition of his decades-long commitment to the economic development of South Carolina.