Java to Give the Area a Jolt!

Aside from the general, conversational interest of Starbucks' entrance into the state, it's exciting to watch Charleston's economic development travelling along the interstate highways so to speak. Better and better! This is a wonderful time to live – and invest – in the Lowcountry!

"With plans to fill a huge depot with pre-roasted green coffee beans, a New Jersey-based warehouse company specializing in cocoa and coffee is bringing an economic jolt to Jedburg.

Continental Terminals Inc. recently announced plans to lease a food-grade warehouse of nearly 250,000 square feet from Johnson Development Associates Inc. The facility is in Jedburg Commerce Park just off Interstate 26.

The warehouse will serve as a holding tank for coffee en route from tropical nations to Starbucks’ new roasting facility in St. Matthews, about 60 miles away in Calhoun County.
The company signed a contract with Starbucks earlier this year.

Continental Terminal’s entrance into South Carolina marks the first major coffee warehouse and distribution company to set up shop in the state, raising hopes that a new industry could be brewing.

Johnson Development took a gamble on the Jedburg property nearly a decade ago, speculating the area would eventually become a warehousing mega-center. This deal goes a long way in proving that assumption, said associate Josh Jones.

'It’s really the first big speculative distribution house leased in the Jedburg area,' he said. 'We’re bullish on the area. A lot of people are talking about it.'

Continental Terminals is leasing 245,166 square feet of the building, leaving an additional 100,000 square feet for expansion, which the company is openly eyeing for another food-storage related venture. Johnson Development owns an additional 90 acres nearby where it eventually plans to build another speculative warehouse center.

Located just a few miles off Exit 194, the property sits on Newton Way near Business Park Road. Its neighbors are American LaFrance’s new manufacturing plant and Piggly Wiggly’s distribution center, as well as Southeastern Freight Lines and a Fruit of the Loom warehouse.

'It’s going to happen here,' Baldwin said.

The Jedburg area covers parts of unincorporated Berkeley and Dorchester counties near I-26 and halfway between the Charleston ports and I-95. For Starbucks, the location made sense because it is in a low-traffic area that is halfway between the port and the St. Matthews plant.

'We could have gone anywhere,' Baldwin said. 'We felt this location was wonderful and part of that has to do with travel.'”

For the full Charleston Regional Business Journal article: http://www.charlestonbusiness.com/pub/14_12/news/12190-1.html