Stonemont breaks ground on 3 buildings in Summerville

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Work is underway on three new industrial buildings at a 100-acre parcel of land at Omni Industrial Campus in Summerville. Developer Stonemont Financial Group says it was drawn to the market because of its access to ports.

Stonemont Financial is a private real estate investment firm specializing in industrial development and net lease assets, according to a news release. Through a partnership with Clarius Partners, Stonemont is developing a build-to-suit manufacturing facility and two more speculative buildings on the land. The buildings, with 1.3 million square feet of industrial warehouse space, are expected to be substantially complete next fall. 

Omni Industrial Campus is a 221-acre business park located along Omni Industrial Boulevard within Charleston’s Interstate 26 distribution corridor, less than 25 miles from the Port of Charleston.

Stonemont acquired the land in June, the news release said. Stonemont then signed a lease with Thorne HealthTech Inc. to develop a 360,320-square-foot build-to-suit facility. The additional two speculative industrial facilities, at 364,700 square feet and 606,880 square feet, are designed for e-commerce or logistics users, according to the release. 

The project is the first venture for Stonemont in the Charleston metro area as the firm prioritizes markets with direct access to ports and a heavy infrastructure base, the release said. Stonemont projects are also underway at the Georgia International Trade Center, a 1,150-acre industrial park near the Port of Savannah, and Southwest International Gateway Business Park, a rail-served industrial park in El Campo, Texas, close to the Port of Houston.

“Our projects in Savannah and El Campo provide a playbook for success in Charleston, which is a market that will continue to strengthen its reach and influence in the decade ahead,” said Zack Markwell, managing principal and CEO at Stonemont Financial Group, in the release. “We are already fielding interest on both speculative buildings and look forward to maintaining this positive momentum as Stonemont continues to leverage its investment and planning expertise for developing world-class facilities that are equipped to handle the fast-changing needs of today’s e-commerce and logistics users.” 

The Port of Charleston is the fourth largest port on the East Coast, handling 4% of all U.S. container volume, according to the release. The port is seeing its most active year yet in 2021, a result of an ongoing surge in e-commerce demand, with Charleston’s low cost of business, strong labor pool and direct access to a major port positioning it as a top player in the national industrial development scene, the release said.