Welcome to: Seapoint Industrial Site in Savannah, GA

Prefer to read the conversation? No problem! See below for the full transcript.

Jason Coley:
Hello everyone. Jason Coley with Georgia Power's Community and Economic Development for the Savannah area. And I'm here today at SeaPoint with a couple of great partners with us. So if we could, I'll ask Jen and Carmen if you would introduce yourself, and we'll get started.

Jen Bonnett:
Hello everyone. I'm Jen Bonnett, and I'm with the Savannah Economic Development Authority. My role is Vice President of innovation and entrepreneurship, and I'm growing a tech scene in Savannah, Georgia.

Carmen Bergman:
And I'm Carmen Bergman. I'm with Dulany Industries, which is the parent company of SeaPoint Industrial Terminal Complex, which is where we are today.

Jason Coley:
Great. Well, you got a great place here, Carmen. So do you mind telling us a little bit about SeaPoint?

Carmen Bergman:
Happy to. Happy to. So SeaPoint is the prime location for companies and manufacturing logistics, and now clean technology as well. So it is 600 acres of developable land with one mile of deepwater river frontage along the main shipping channel in Savannah, Georgia, and lots of exciting activities happening here.

Jason Coley:
That's awesome. So we took a tour this morning. Y'all really have a great facility here. So tell me, are there certain types of industries specifically that you guys are looking for, or are there specific synergies that a company locating here may have that you offer?

Carmen Bergman:
Absolutely. So, we mentioned just a moment ago that there's 600 acres of developable land with a mile of deepwater river frontage. But there's also a lot of other existing assets on site. So with Georgia Power and our partners at Georgia Power, there's some significant infrastructure for electricity and large power consumers. There's rail access, CSX, and Norfolk Southern on-site, as well as other assets that would be appealing, specifically to companies in a heavy industry, manufacturing, have a really heavy reliance on logistics because of that rail and water component. We would love to talk to anybody that's interested, but we typically see their synergies in that manufacturing and logistics industry.

Jason Coley:
Awesome. So Jen...

Jen Bonnett:
Yes, sir.

Jason Coley:
Carmen mentioned innovation and what they're doing out here a little bit. So can you kind of expand on that for us?

Jen Bonnett:
Sure. So I'm really excited about what's going on out here, specifically around the Cleantech Incubator Space. I've formerly run an incubator. So I ran the Advanced Technology Development Center, the incubator at Georgia Tech for seven years and relocated to Savannah about two and a half years ago with this idea of cultivating a tech ecosystem. And really, what I see here is just kind of all the cards are coming together here. We were named a Tech Corridor, a Logistics Tech Corridor, in May of 2018. We've received some funding from the state. $400,000 from the state matched by $100,000 in local funds to do some research around that. The initial study done by Georgia Southern University's Parker Business School and Economic Program came back and said that we should be focused on logistics, innovation in particular in this region. And so, there's just a ton of opportunity specifically to clean tech. I'm really interested in clean tech because Savannah lives on the water, right. And we live in this natural habitat that is just absolutely gorgeous. So Savannahians are very conscious of consumption of resources and want clean tech.

Jason Coley:
That's awesome. So Carmen, tell me what kind of industries are you guys looking for for the SeaPoint site?

Carmen Bergman:
So the SeaPoint site is going to be a multi-use site with a lot of different types of industries, co-located in one location. And so, typically we see that companies in manufacturing, heavy industry, advanced manufacturing, chemical manufacturing, and also companies that have a really heavy reliance on logistics seem to be a natural fit for the SeaPoint site.

Jason Coley:
So, the SeaPoint site really has a lot of assets to meet a lot of those needs for those types of customers that you're looking for. So that's great.

Carmen Bergman:
That's absolutely right. And it's very multifaceted. So in addition to the logistics components, the water access, the rail access, the highway access., you've also got the infrastructure for power, for wastewater treatment, for other civil needs that they might have. And then, from SEDA's perspective, you've got great incentives packages. You've got a really strong local workforce, local economic development partners, and all of those pieces are coming together to make it happen.

Jason Coley:
That's great. Sounds like a bright future for SeaPoint for sure and Savannah. And it's great having partners like SeaPoint, and SEDA, and working with Georgia Power and helping us grow Savannah and the State of Georgia.

Carmen Bergman:
And let me add, Jason, that Georgia Power is a fantastic partner. It is always nice to be sitting across the table from a prospect and a future tenant on-site and having some of the most competitive power rates in the nation.

Jason Coley:
Well, we really appreciate that, and partners like you make it easy for us around the state too. So thank you. So, Jen, Carmen, and you have talked about the Cleantech Innovation Center that's on-site here. So what is SEDA doing to help attract those type of companies to come and possibly use that center?

Jen Bonnett:
Sure. So SEDA has its more traditional economic development incentives for any manufacturing partner or logistics focused partner that would want to come out here. A lot of that's around job creation and specifically around real estate investment, right. So building out a property, and that's standard economic development fair. But in the last couple of years, SEDA's actually hired an outside partner to help us think about how to be really creative in incentivizing technology-related firms. And so, beyond that, we have what we call the Creative Technology Incentives for any creative and or technology firm. And those have relocation assistance for either remote tech workers and or workers that move for a company. We have facility assistance. So we'll pay up to a portion of their rent, typically up to $1,000 a month for the first year that they relocate a tech company here.

Jen Bonnett:
So we could help offset the cost of rent in the new incubator. And then, we have grants related to job growth. The one I'm most excited about right now is for growth-stage companies. And so, just like you incentivize a manufacturing company that relocates here for X dollars per job created, we're now able to do the same thing with the creative technologies jobs. So for a series A stage company or later moves here and say wants to create 40 jobs. As long as they're at least 10% above average county wage, we can incentivize them with a cash grant of five or 10K per job, depending on the size of the company moving here and the number of jobs created.

Jen Bonnett:
One of the biggest initiatives within the logistics tech corridor is education. We literally are working with Georgia Southern University experts trying to figure out what the jobs look like in the future in logistics, such that we can put training programs in to retrain the current workers to the jobs of the future. And so we are working hard to future-proof the industries that we're focused on and make sure that we have great jobs here in the future.

Carmen Bergman:
One of the things that Jen and I have talked about before, specifically around clean tech, is that these jobs are future proof. As we've been engaging with prospects and tenants on-site, we see many of these companies have really aggressive sustainability goals and are very focused on renewable energy sources, sustainable technologies, clean technologies. And what I love about what you've said about that, Jen is that not only are these future-proofed jobs, they're often high-wage, high-skilled jobs, and that's helpful to everybody. That's helpful to the Savannah community. That's helpful to the region. And we're excited to see those jobs brought here.

Jason Coley:
I know this just didn't happen overnight, that SEDA and your partners in the Savannah area really been working on attracting and retaining that talent on that technology side and those startups. So that's great that you guys are putting your money where your mouth is, right, and moving that forward.

Jen Bonnett:
And strangely enough, these unusual times have actually expedited some recent relocatees and/or individuals that will really help us grow the community in the future. So I jokingly said earlier, "The future is so bright we got to wear shades."

Jason Coley:
Absolutely.

Carmen Bergman:
To add to what you were saying about the different assets that are already on-site. One of those assets is a 60,000 square foot research and development facility. That is to your right right now. And it was actually the world headquarters for one of the former owners' research and development initiatives. And so it is a state-of-the-art building, and frankly was being underutilized at the time. And so, there's about 40,000 square feet of lab space, 20,000 square feet of office space. And we wanted to find a way to help meet some of those tenants and companies' really aggressive sustainability goals. And also, contribute back to a sector, the clean tech sector that is helping drive some of those innovations and renewables, green energy, sustainability. And so we've worked with Jen, and with SEDA, and other partners to help repurpose that space and take this under-utilized asset, repurpose it into an incubator and bring startups, non-profits, educational institutions who are advancing transformative technologies and clean tech specifically in manufacturing and logistics under one roof so that they can go do good work together.

Carmen Bergman:
So this is a Brownfield site. There have been previous industrial users on this site. And at one point, this location was one of the largest power consumers in the Chatham County area. One of the largest employers in the Chatham County area, and over time that waned. And now that we are revitalizing the SeaPoint site, there's an opportunity to bring back huge numbers of jobs and investment. Bring back that large power consumption base. And the way we do that is through our partnerships with Savannah Economic Development Authority, the State Economic Development Authority, through Georgia Power, and the coastal community, especially has magnificent partnerships. It's a really strong team. I think the three of us sitting here together is evidence of that. And the ability to bring back this crown jewel of the coastal region with SeaPoint, and all that means for economic development. All that means for job growth, for innovation, for the tech community. It's a really exciting thing.

Jason Coley:
Now, so that's great Carmen, that you could utilize an underutilized asset, right, and convert that into an innovation center. So when tenants locate on-site, how do you think that innovation center will help them?

Carmen Bergman:
Oh, it's really exciting possibilities there. So I consider a spectrum with two ends. On one end, you've got startups that have innovations, technologies, ideas that would, in some way, be a clean technology and would help lower a company's environmental footprint. On the other end, you've got a really large industrial tenant that needs that technology, but might not know it exists, might not know how to access it, and to be right next door to each other, to be able to cross the street and be in innovation center where these technologies are being advanced, where these ideas are being hatched is really exciting. I also think there's a great workforce component here. You've got companies that need highly-skilled, talented workforce, both the startups and the larger industrial users. And if you're partnered in the same place as economic development authorities, as power companies, as educational institutions, only good things can happen there.

Jason Coley:
Well, it sounds exciting. Awesome.

Carmen Bergman:
Thank you.

Jason Coley:
So tell me, what do you think... Well, how do you see SeaPoint in the next five to 10 years, let's say?

Carmen Bergman:
We are in a very exciting phase of the SeaPoint development, and you're seeing a long history and a long period of work culminate in this SeaPoint complex. Everything from the solar farm that you saw when you entered the campus to the Cleantech Campus to large 600 acre, ready to locate there today, tracks of developable land along the Savannah River. And it gets me incredibly excited to think about what this site looks like in the next five years. So our model is a multi-use, co-located model. And so, in five, 10 years, I see a site bustling with activity. You've got a large manufacturer who's bringing in vessels on the water, bringing in their bulk material, raw material from the water. They're utilizing rail. They're shipping their outbound material by vessels. They hop over to the Cleantech Campus to go see Jen and others and see what's happening there. And it is a vibrant ecosystem of industrial users. And it gets me fired up thinking about what SeaPoint is going to be in the very, very near future.

Jason Coley:
That's great. So talking about future, we know that industry is changing. Sounds like you guys are really poised to meet that head-on. So from an innovation standpoint, I know that the Savannah area really has a lot of things going on from an innovation perspective. So, Jen, can you just mention what maybe is going on in Savannah?

Jen Bonnett:
Yes. So I think SEDA is really focused on building out our product, right. And that's the Savannah Advanced Manufacturing, Savannah Chatham Manufacturing Center over on kind of the far, far West, Southwestern corner of Chatham County. We've got this as an anchor for industrial logistics and clean tech here. We've got the new marketplace, former waterworks building that's being renovated near the arena. We've got some other incubators coming up in the digital space in Starland District. And so, when I think about SEDA's role around this innovation in the future, it becomes to be that connector between these multiple innovation neighborhoods that will help the entire City of Savannah rise.

Jason Coley:
Well, that's awesome. So it sounds like the infrastructure's here for industrial growth, which kind of creates those jobs and investment, but also has that opportunity for technology to look into the future and see what those future jobs are, meet those needs, and really bring all that together and bring it all together at clean tech, right.

Carmen Bergman:
Absolutely.

Jason Coley:
And the other opportunities around Chatham in Savannah. All right. So great conversation today. The SeaPoint site is a fantastic site. Unique to any other site, really on the East coast with a mile of water frontage on the Savannah River, the existing infrastructure it has, and the opportunity through innovation and those opportunities that Savannah offers, right. So again, thank both of you for coming out today and spending a little time with our Georgia Power team and talking about SeaPoint and the great opportunities that Savannah offers and the SeaPoint site offers.