The SPA came out with its heavy artillery today – issuing a formal statement, a proclamation and resolution – explaining why it is pursuing the power of eminent domain to end a lease with 11 years remaining with the storage company.
Jim Newcome, CEO of the Port Authority, reportedly said the rail yard at the 80-acre inland port cannot operate unless the Nordic warehouse is removed. The inland port project was announced in July and its groundbreaking was held March 1.
The legal maneuvering only puts the opening of the port further beyond the Sept. 1 opening ambitiously set last year. “We need to get moving,” Newsome said in a news report.
Meanwhile, Nordic continues to service Blue Bell Ice Cream as a storage and distribution facility.
Below is a statement from the SPA Board sent to media today.
“Nordic Cold Storage entered into a 40-year lease with the Ports Authority in 1983 and constructed a cold storage facility on 3.36 acres in Greer, SC. The facility reverts back to the Ports Authority at the end of the lease term at the end of 2023.
“The Ports Authority explored all options and determined that the existing warehouse must be relocated in order to complete the inland port project. We have searched alternative sites for the company to relocate and discussed buying out the remaining years of their lease, valued by appraisal at $900,000.
“Several months of negotiations with the port’s tenant reached an impasse, so the Ports Authority Board unanimously approved Tuesday an eminent domain action to condemn the remaining years on the tenant’s lease. We will continue to work with the tenant to resolve the lease termination even after the filing of the action. The Ports Authority is committed to completing the inland port project as expeditiously as possible and plans to be operational by September 1.”