RIDGEVILLE, S.C. — Portman Industrial has broken ground on Phase II of Campus 4 within Camp Hall Commerce Park in Ridgeville, a suburb of Charleston. The second phase comprises a 1.1 million-square-foot industrial facility situated on 110.6 acres near the Port of Charleston and adjacent to Volvo Cars’ manufacturing plant. The cross-dock facility will feature tilt-up concrete walls, a structural steel frame, TPO roof, 40-foot clear heights, 215 dock doors, four drive-in doors, 759 car spaces and 851 trailer spaces.

The design-build team includes general contractor Frampton Construction, architect McMillan Pazdan Smith and civil engineer Thomas & Hutton. Lee Allen and Kevin Ross of JLL’s Charleston office are handling leasing for the project. Phase II is set for a summer 2023 delivery. Phase I, which comprises three buildings spanning 940,000 square feet, is currently under construction and is more than 60 percent preleased.

PLAINFIELD, ILL. — Marcus & Millichap has brokered the $1.9 million sale of a Chili’s ground lease in Plainfield, about 40 miles southwest of Chicago. The restaurant building spans 6,150 square feet. The property at 12740 Illinois Route 59 is situated near Target, Ross Dress for Less and Five Below stores. Austin Weisenbeck and Sean Sharko of Marcus & Millichap represented the seller, an individual trust. The duo also secured and represented the buyer, a Chicagoland private investor and limited liability company. The property sold at the full list price.

ADDISON, ILL. — Clear Height Properties has acquired a 34,700-square-foot industrial building in Addison, a western suburb of Chicago, for an undisclosed price. The property at 1404 W. Fullerton Ave. features convenient access to I-355 between I-290 and Route 83. The facility features six exterior docks, seven drive-thru service bays and an additional 1.5 acres of secured land for outdoor storage or trailer parking. Nick Saraceno and Howard Caplan of CTK Chicago Partners represented the undisclosed seller. Robin Stolberg and Dominic Carbonari of JLL are marketing the property for lease.

GAHANNA, OHIO — PEBB Enterprises has sold Hunter’s Ridge Shopping Center in Gahanna near Columbus for $10 million. WB Ventures LLC purchased the 84,724-square-foot retail center, which is 93 percent leased. Planet Fitness and Goodwill are the anchor tenants. PEBB acquired the asset in 2018. The property was originally built in 1975. Evan Halkias and Hank Davis of Cushman & Wakefield represented PEBB in the sale.

QUAKERTOWN, PA. — New Jersey-based investment firm First National Realty Partners (FNRP) has acquired Richland Marketplace, a 162,000-square-foot shopping center in Quakertown, about 50 miles north of Philadelphia. Built in 2009, the center houses tenants such as Aldi, Best Buy, PetSmart, Planet Fitness, Staples, Ulta, Visionworks, Sally Beauty and Skechers. Colin Behr, Jim Galbally, Chris Munley and James Graf of JLL represented the seller, KPR, in the transaction.

0

RIDGEVILLE, S.C. (WCBD)- Researchers have confirmed the discovery of fossils belonging to a 24-million-year-old whale in Dorchester County.

The newly discovered bones belonged to Eomysticetus, an extinct ancestor of baleen whales, according to experts. A team from Palmetto Fossil Excursions unearthed the fossils earlier this month along the Chandler Bridge formation near Ridgeville.

“It was extremely exciting knowing how rare Eomysticetes are and knowing that’s what we were pulling out of the ground,” Founder Skye Basak said.

Basak and Thomas Gilpin first located the posterior end of the Eomysticete’s skull around 6:00 p.m. on March 29.

The following day, Basak and Gilpin were joined by Joshua Basak, Dr. Elizabeth Kane, David Ryan, Ken Pullen, Mike Bona, and Dr. Robert Boessenecker to continue the excavation process.

By nightfall, the team had expanded the hole to nearly 25 feet wide and 10 feet deep and discovered several more bones—one lower mandible, the sternum, 10 vertebrae, including the atlas, multiple ribs, a flipper bone, and multiple throat bones.

“That’s all that we were able to locate in the bottom of the hole as of last week, but the hole needs to be expanded…so we can look for the rest of the animal,” Basak said.

The lower mandible was finally freed from the hole by about 9:30 p.m. on March 31 and a few hours later the 6-foot-long, 2,000-pound block containing the skull was also freed, according to Basak.

Dr. Boessenecker, a research fellow at the College of Charleston’s Mace Brown Museum of Natural History and one of the world’s leading experts on Eomysticetes, called the specimen a rare find as less than 20 complete skulls exist worldwide.

“It is likely to be more complete than the original specimen of Eomysticetus that was discovered in the 1970s,” he explained. “The more complete a fossil is, the more you can tell about its functional anatomy and how it may have behaved in life.”

Eomysticetes were the largest living whales during the Oligocene Epoch which dates back about 33.9 million to 23 million years ago, according to the American Museum of Natural History. They are believed to have been between 25 and 35 feet long, which is much smaller than modern baleen whales.

Researchers also believe that while the whales may have already had baleen, a filter-feeding system, which allowed them to eat zooplankton. There is also evidence to suggest that Eomysticetes may have also had a few residual teeth, according to experts.

Remains of the extinct whales have primarily been found in South Carolina, New Zealand, Japan, Washington, and Oregon. But, Dr. Boessenecker said the first named specimen of Eomysticetus was discovered in Ladson.

“There’s some isotopic evidence that they perhaps underwent seasonal migration,” he said.

After experiencing machinery-related setbacks, Basak said she hopes the team will continue the excavation efforts in the coming weeks.

“Knowing what this specimen will do for science is kind of mind-blowing, especially if we’re able to locate the rest of the animal and bring it to a point where it’s the most complete specimen of its kind,” she continued.

If you find a fossil in the ground or on the beach in the Charleston area, you can reach out to the Mace Brown Museum for identification.

RIDGEVILLE, S.C. (WCBD) – A boil water advisory for the town of Ridgeville was lifted Tuesday.

The Ridgeville Water Department said that “test results showed no signs of contamination and [the water] is safe for human consumption.”

The advisory was put in place Saturday after a “complete loss of pressure on the water system caused by unforeseen circumstances.”

Copyright 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

The TikTok-famous Ninja Creami ice cream maker lives …

Grocery / 16 hours ago

You’ve seen it on TikTok — now try it for yourself in your own home. Learn more about why the Ninja Creami ice cream maker is making waves in home kitchens.

These 10 kitchen gadgets are worth making space for …

Food / 15 hours ago

Our team of experts has selected the best steam irons out of hundreds of models.Don’t buy a steam iron before reading these reviews.

A folding phone and other big reveals at Google I/O …

Cell Phones & Accessories / 16 hours ago

Google revealed lots of exciting new products at the Google I/O keynote event on May 10. Learn more about the products they’re releasing and where to find them.

Construction on Interstate 26, widening it to three lanes each way in parts of Berkeley and Dorchester Counties will begin soon.

Published: Tue Oct 11 2022

RIDGEVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Construction on Interstate 26, widening it to three lanes each way in parts of Berkeley and Dorchester Counties will begin soon.

State officials gathered Tuesday to announce the official start of construction on seven miles between Jedburg Road and SC-27. SCDOT says the stretch initially was set to cost $218 million. But thanks to the legislature approving $320 million in June, the project is being moved up an estimated six years.

Gov. Henry McMaster addressed the officials gathered saying South Carolina is booming in terms of business and tourism.

“In a nutshell, this is the product and the result of a vision, common sense, talent and determination by the people that are here today. That commerce is thriving in South Carolina and there really is no end in sight. We’re doing it right,” McMaster says.

SCDOT estimates more than 22 million vehicles use I-26 every year. That includes tourists, families, trucks and commuters. Rick Todd is the President & CEO of S.C. Trucking Association, a 90-year-old alliance of businesses. He calls I-26 the central nervous system of the State of South Carolina for tourism, commerce and commuters.

“Our transportation distribution and logistics sectors thrive on efficiency. Efficient use of time, equipment and fuel, all of which is very costly. So when this corridor opens up and spreads out, that velocity will become even greater. And that is the competitive advantage and the quality of life improvement that our leaders are investing in,” Todd says.

McMaster and others noted that as South Carolina grows as a hub for major business and manufacturing headquarters, the infrastructure needs to grow at the same rate. Sara Hazzard is the President & CEO of the S.C. Manufacturers Alliance. She says more than 5,000 call South Carolina home creating an estimated annual economic impact of more than $200 billion.

“As manufacturers continue to confront and tackle global supply chain disruptions, it is more important than ever that South Carolina to improve and modernize our state’s transportation infrastructure system which is critical to manufacturers’ success,” Hazzard says.

The stretch from mile marker 187 to mile marker 194 is all part of a nearly $2 billion investment widening from Charleston to Columbia. Bob Morgan is President & CEO of the S.C. Chamber of Commerce. He says South Carolina is the 10th fastest growing state in the country and projects like widening I-26 are an essential part of continuing to grow.

“This will help companies address the supply chain challenges that are so critical. It will help them get product to market faster. It will help all companies who enjoy the river of commerce here and elsewhere in our state.”

SCDOT awarded Banks Construction the bid for work. SCDOT Secretary of Transportation Christy Hall says the company is pledging that $13 million in work on this project will be done by small and minority-owned businesses with the majority of materials being sourced from South Carolina.

“All of that is homegrown and is amplifying the impact of a single road project. Think about that. The ramifications of what that investment does to our economy,” Hall says.

Hall says the state is looking forward to announcing more portions of the project next year.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

RIDGEVILLE — The relocation of the Dorchester Heritage Center is slowly beginning, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the REV Pavilion.

The Leadership Dorchester class, hosted by the Greater Summerville/Dorchester County Chamber of Commerce, helped by raising $60,000 to build the first structure of the new center: the REV Pavilion, which opened to the public Oct. 22. It was named for the REV Federal Credit Union, one of the sponsors for the project.

The leadership class requires each year’s participants to do a project that leaves a lasting impact on the county, said class member Rebecca Collett of Collett Media.

Collett said the class of 24 unanimously decided to help with the relocation and construction of the pavilion.

Justin Lee, a member of the class and executive director of operations at Gilbert & Lee Construction, said part of the reason the class chose the project was to feature nonprofits.

“We wanted to bridge the gap between western Dorchester County and the Greater Summerville area,” Lee said.

The leadership class had $7,000 left over from what it raised for the pavilion. It gave to the Heritage Center, which will honor the people in Dorchester County and help with historic grave preservation, Collett said.

“The center being located somewhat in the center of the county, I think it will gain lots of foot traffic since it’s in a very convenient place for everyone,” Lee said.

Lee anticipates breaking ground around March, and hopes to finish construction in the summer of 2024.

The Dorchester Heritage Center is a nonprofit that opened in 2014. Currently in the Dorchester County Courthouse in St. George, the center started small with just an archives genealogical library but grew to open a 4,000-square-foot museum in 2017.

Within 5½ weeks of the museum opening, over 3,000 people had visited. The center’s goal is to preserve the county’s history, said Phyllis Hughes, chairman of the Dorchester Heritage Center.

Over time, people began bringing in artifacts and all sorts of pictures, papers and rare books. After obtaining over 500,000 historical items, Hughes said they’ve outgrown the space, which led to a search for a new location.

They found and purchased an 81-acre site in Ridgeville, which is more convenient to the county as a whole and includes lots of space for new additions.

The new site will include a 20,000-square-foot center with indoor and outdoor event space, state-of-the-art archives, multipurpose conference rooms, a genealogy library, a museum and a green room, which will be used as a recording studio so “anyone can come in, sit down and tell their story.”

Outside of the heritage center, Hughes said there are other plans for the property. There will be walking trails, owl posts and birdhouses. The Boy Scouts will be involved with the wildlife aspect, with the opportunity to possibly monitor birdhouses on a monthly basis and earn merit badges, Hughes said.

“We want to become kind of a gateway to the county where people can come in and we can direct them to all the historic sites in our county,” Hughes said.

While waiting for the new facility to be built, the Dorchester Heritage Center will host classes throughout the county. On Nov. 17 at the community center in Ridgeville, it will kick off a new lecture series about the first Carolinians and will include the chiefs of the Edisto Natchez-Kusso and Wassamasaw Native American tribes as guest speakers.