Innovative Plant Eyes Spartanburg for $2.8 Billion Investment
- Charles Reams
- Apr 22
- 2 min read
Spartanburg County Council okays historic $2.8 billion investment deal
Unknown to the public, a long and intriguing discussion about a mystery company considering a $2.8 billion investment in Spartanburg.
On Monday evening, the company was named as Spartanburg County Council approved tax incentives for its plans to redevelop the old Kohler Co. factory on South Pine St.
NorthMark Strategies selected the site as the home of a future state-of-the-art high-performance computing center.
“Of the more than 100 locations across the country we considered, Spartanburg stood out for its strong community, skilled workforce, dynamic economy and strategic advantages,” said NorthMark President Jen Byrne in a prepared statement.
Byrne described NorthMark Strategies as “a leader in high-performance computing, driving innovation across artificial intelligence, data science, and advanced simulations.”
Following Monday’s meeting, David Britt, who chairs the council’s economic development committee, compared NorthMark’s investment in Spartanburg County to the 1992 announcement that BMW would locate its North American manufacturing facility in Greer.
“This is a statement that Spartanburg County and South Carolina are committed to technology and engineering in the way that the BMW plant let the world know that we could be a leader in the automotive industry,” Britt said.
In a news release, Gov. Henry McMaster added, "NorthMark Strategies' $2.8 billion investment is a milestone moment for Spartanburg County, and a clear reflection of the confidence companies have in our state. This project further positions South Carolina as a national leader in technology and innovation."
NorthMark won’t be a major employer in the county -- it is planning to hire 27 full-time staff members.
Britt stressed that these will be high-paying jobs.
He’s glad to see the Kohler plant, which closed in 2024, repurposed in a way that will boost the tax base. “It gives me a great feeling of satisfaction when we can repurpose a facility – like the old textile mills that have repurposed as apartments or retail,” he said.
Without NorthMark’s investment, he thinks the Kohler might have sat vacant “for years to come.”
The fee-in-lieu of taxes agreement approved by county council brings NorthMark’s property tax burden from the regular 10 percent level to four percent. “But they’re still going to pay a lot of property taxes,” Britt said.
The deal will provide a particular boost to Spartanburg County School District 7, which is home to the 271-acre Kohler property.
It will take a little more than a year for NorthMark Strategies to renovate and upfit the facility, Britt said. The project is expected to support between 400 and 600 engineering and construction jobs, and over the long term, contract with regional suppliers to provide maintenance and operations support.
The facility will generate its power and will house cutting-edge computing equipment to “enable the development of new algorithms, optimize performance, and explore groundbreaking applications across various industries,” according to a news release.
Britt said he expects NorthMark to be a good corporate citizen. “They didn’t come to us and ask, ‘What are you going to do for us?’” he said. “They asked about how they could ingrain themselves into the community.”
Company leaders have specifically talked about supporting STEM education and cultural programs, Britt said.
