Batesburg-Leesville, SC (Paul Kirby) – Lexington County Councilmember Larry Brigham was beaming with pride this week as the finishing touches were put on the entrance sign to the Batesburg-Leesville Industrial Park just outside the town. In and of itself, a sign might not be that exciting, but what it represents is years of hard work and a bright future yet to come.
On his social media account Brigham wrote, “I’m excited to share the methodical progress of the Batesburg-Leesville Industrial Park. Here are some before and after pictures. The sign looks great! Thanks to my fellow Lexington County Council members for supporting me during the process. Thanks also to Mayor Lancer Shull and B-L Town Council for their support. More to come. Stay tuned.”
Back in April of last year, Batesburg-Leesville’s Mayor Lancer Shull said on the LIVE show Good Morning Lexington County that C.R. Jackson, a well-known heavy construction and paving company headquartered in Columbia, had made an offer to Lexington County on property near Fisher Tank. They planned to build a new asphalt plant there. An affiliate of C.R. Jackson eventually closed on over 25 acres in the park for the plant to be built. Lexington County sold them the acreage for under $900,000. The new plant will join the five already existing plants Jackson has. They're in Myrtle Beach, Florence, Varnville, Jefferson, Columbia, and Sumter.
Now with the finishing touches on the park, and new businesses looking at the westward growth of Lexington County, Brigham knows that the best is still yet to come. Just the presence of the new Vulcan rock quarry and the Jackson owned asphalt plant is a good indicator that the best is still ahead. “Often, businesses and how they are investing are the best indicators of what’s expected in an area,” according to Bradley Taylor, a retired professor of economics who has taught at a local university's School of Business. “Governments can study and plan for growth with a certain amount of accuracy,” he continued. “However, when business and industry leaders start investing large sums in an area that’s just beginning to see growth start, you can be assured that they’ve done their homework and are confident more, bigger and better is still to come. Their studies are backed up by the research of financiers with lending institutions that have done their own extensive research. Business investments are one of the best indicators of the economic stability and projected growth there are.”
You can follow Brigham on Facebook by clicking this LINK or simply Googling Larry Brigham for more updates on what’s happening in the area.
