Bushy Park is one of the largest industrial facilities in the Southeast with both deep water and rail access. It is bordered on the west by the Back River, which is an important source of fresh water to the Park. It is bordered on the east by the Cooper River, which is a brackish, tidally influenced river, providing the Park with deep-water access to the Port of Charleston. The main portion of Bushy Park consists of 1,528 acres. Of these, roughly 581 acres is “upland” (developed or developable) and 947 acres is wetlands or marsh. The former Jacobs Facility (now called Bushy Park North) is a contiguous 90 acre parcel that adjoins the main Park to the north.
Bushy Park’s Business
Bushy Park provides a variety of utility and other services to industrial users from its central utility platform. Bushy Park owns and operates facilities that deliver over 35 services and utilities, including steam, nitrogen, refrigeration, compressed air, process water, warehouse and emergency response services. Bushy Park’s tenants are global manufacturers and advanced materials companies that, collectively, have invested over $2.3 billion in their Bushy Park facilities. Each of these tenants have long term leases and utility contracts with Bushy Park.
Acquisition by Pacolet Milliken
Pacolet acquired Bushy Park in 2014. Since its acquisition, Pacolet has invested tens of millions of dollars in additional Bushy Park infrastructure, expanding both the scope and capacity of its services. Such expansions include adding rail and barge dock services, as well as increasing steam generating capacity and process water capabilities.
Bushy Park North
Bushy Park North, a former General Dynamics and Jacobs Engineering fabrication facility, is a 90 acre expansion to Bushy Park that is contiguous to the northern border of the traditional footprint. It was acquired by Pacolet Milliken in 2017. Bushy Park North has a fully functional deep-water dock and access to rail. Two tenants, W International (heavy industrial fabrication) and Med-Ally (implantable medical devices), occupy over half a million square feet of manufacturing space. Additional construction-ready pads have been graded and prepared for further expansion.
History of Bushy Park Industrial Complex
Bushy Park was created in the 1970s by Verona Color and Bayer Corporation. Over next 3 decades, it flourished as one of Bayer’s most important US manufacturing facilities with five operating businesses built around a core central delivery utility platform – a construct that is fairly common in Europe, but not found in the United States. Between 1999 and 2006, Bayer spun out its various companies in the Park to third parties, while keeping the central utilities delivery platform intact. The utility business was divested from Bayer in 2009 and after a period of interim ownership, Pacolet acquired Bushy Park in 2014. Since then, Bushy Park has added seven new businesses to the Park with over $350MM of investment, and as such is one of the most important economic development drivers in the Charleston region.
More Information
For more information, please see https://bushyparksc.com/
