CHESTERFIELD Breaks Ground on Carolina Pines International Commerce Center in Blythewood, S.C.
BLYTHEWOOD, SC – New Class A industrial park sits minutes from Scout Motors’ $2 billion Blythewood production campus, adding much-needed speculative supply to one of the tightest industrial markets in the Southeast.
Chesterfield today broke ground on Carolina Pines International Commerce Center, a new industrial development located at 1101 Carolina Pines Drive in Blythewood, South Carolina, just off Interstate 77 in Richland County. The groundbreaking marks the next phase of development at the site, which already includes a ±162,176-square-foot Class A building (Building 1) and plans for a second ±212,420-square-foot speculative building, Future Building 2. The project boasts immediate access to I-77 from two different interchanges, exit 24 Hwy 21 to the north and exit 22 Killian Road to the south.
The project sits roughly 3.7 miles from Scout Motors’ 1,100-acre Blythewood production campus, where the automaker is investing more than $2.3 billion to build a facility expected to employ more than 4,000 workers in Phase-1, plus an additional 1,000 supplier jobs tied to its on-site Supplier Park. At current build-out, the campus is expected to total ±5.6 million square feet. Vehicle testing and hiring are already underway, with production targeted to begin as the plant ramps toward its late-2027 launch. Carolina Pines is positioned to capture any manufacturing suppliers, logistics providers, and distribution users that a project of Scout’s scale typically pulls into a market.
“Scout Motors has fundamentally changed the trajectory of the Blythewood/I-77 corridor, and Columbia as a whole,” said Chance Raehn, Senior Vice President of Development for Chesterfield. “We chose this site in part because of its natural extension of the original Carolina Pines industrial park and its multiple access points to I-77 as well as its proximity to Scout, extremely low vacancy along the I-77 corridor and its low development costs.”
A Market With Little Room Left to Grow
Carolina Pines International Commerce Center arrives at a moment when Columbia’s industrial market has almost no available space to offer growing companies. Class A industrial vacancy in the Columbia metro stood at roughly 4.5% to 6% in early 2026, among the tightest readings in the Southeast, with more than 90% of the market’s limited vacant space concentrated in functionally obsolete buildings built before 2000. Rents for Class A product have climbed alongside that scarcity as tenants compete for a shrinking pool of modern, well-located buildings.
Columbia’s roughly 81-million-square-foot industrial base benefits from a central position at the intersection of Interstates 20, 26 and 77, putting it within a few hours’ drive of Charlotte, Atlanta, Raleigh and two major East Coast Ports of Charleston and Savannah. South Carolina has ranked among the nation’s fastest-growing states for several consecutive years, and that population growth, combined with the Scout Motors investment and a broader wave of manufacturing relocations to the Southeast, has outpaced the market’s ability to deliver new speculative industrial space.
Recent leasing activity in the Carolina Pines submarket itself underscores the level of demand already converging on this area, including large commitments from national logistics and consumer goods users in the immediate vicinity of the project.
Project Details
Carolina Pines International Commerce Center is accessed via two entrances, one off Carolina Pines Drive, and one off Farrow Road. The project is flanked by its neighbors Intertape Polymer Group and Spirax Sarco. Building 1 totals approximately ±162,176 square feet and includes a 32’ clear height, 35 dock doors, 49 trailer parking spaces, 107 car parking spaces, 7” building slab, 7” concrete truck court and 3000-amp power supply. Future Building 2 is planned at approximately ±212,420 square feet. Delivery of Building 1 is expected in Q1 2027.
“We’ve seen firsthand how much demand is out there for well-located, ready-to-go, Class A space,” said John Gregory of NAI Columbia. “Carolina Pines offers real solutions, whether it is a company needing to act now or a custom build-to-suit tailored to its operations. It is a good moment to be able to say yes to tenants in this market.” John Gregory, Bill Lamar of NAI Columbia and Grice Hunt of NAI Earle Furman are serving as the exclusive leasing agents for Carolina Pines International Commerce Center. For more information, please visit naicolumbia.com.
About Chesterfield
Chesterfield specializes in the development of class A industrial, manufacturing, and office projects throughout the southeastern United States. Clients include numerous Fortune 100 companies and has successfully delivered over 18 million square feet totaling over $1B in total development costs since its founding in 2006.
About NAI Columbia
NAI Columbia, headquartered in Columbia, South Carolina, stands as a distinguished full-service commercial real estate firm offering a spectrum of specialized services, including brokerage, property management, project management, development, research, and consulting. As a broker-owned entity, NAI Columbia leverages over 200 years of collective local expertise among its seven-partners.
Founded in 2019, NAI Columbia represents a strategic alliance between NAI Earle Furman in Greenville, S.C., and local partners who formerly served as senior brokers at NAI Avant. Originating from the national real estate developer Edens and Avant, NAI Columbia emerged with revitalized energy, leadership, and a refined organizational structure.
Proudly affiliated with the NAI Global commercial real estate network, NAI Columbia extends its reach globally, providing real estate solutions across 375+ offices worldwide. For additional details on NAI Columbia and its comprehensive suite of services, please visit www.naicolumbia.com
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Contact: Robb McCarter, Director of Marketing
rmccarter@naicolumbia.com | 803.744.9891