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Little progress has been made on the 1,000-acre Agriculture Technology Campus planned for Hampton County. Plans for the project include 200 acres of greenhouses — like the one shown — where lettuce, tomatoes and other produce will be grown year-round for consumers in the Southeast. File/Provided
Little progress has been made in bringing a highly touted “Agriculture Technology Campus” to one of South Carolina’s poorest counties, but those who back the deal insist it will become a reality.
“We’re still marching forward and should see significant work done in the next few months,” said Danny Black, CEO of the Southern Carolina Regional Development Alliance, which owns the Hampton County industrial park where the $350 million project is to be built.
When the project was announced in September 2020, it drew state and federal officials to tiny Early Branch. Billed as the nation’s largest Opportunity Zone investment, it was projected to bring more than 1,500 jobs to the 1,000-acre site that would grow tomatoes and leafy vegetables in a high-tech greenhouse operation.
But since then, there has been nothing but setbacks.
The three original partners in the deal — Mastronardi Produce, Clear Water Farms and LiDestri — pulled out soon after the deal was announced. They did not respond to requests for comment.
Initial job estimates were cut by more than 11 percent, prompting the S.C. Department of Commerce’s Coordinating Council for Economic Development to cut its commitment to $8 million from the original $9 million. It also extended the timeline for the project to qualify for incentives through 2030.
The S.C. Department of Agriculture blamed the coronavirus for further delays but said last September that a new tomato grower — Harvest House of the Netherlands — had been secured to build 10 greenhouses. Construction hasn’t started, and the Dutch company did not respond to requests for comment.
Black said Harvest House is still involved but the project “has been stymied a little by issues with the wetlands delineation and infrastructure financing.”
Even with the delays, he added, the project is “still on track to have the first phase completed by the end of the year.”
That’s when the first employees are expected to be hired, he added.
Zeb Portanova, whose Columbia-based GEM Opportunity Zone Fund is developing and securing investors for the project, said his group has been focused on design and preparing for construction, which will likely take the next six months.
Black said the local water and sewer authority has applied for a grant to pay for upgrades at the site, and he’s confident the application will be approved soon. Road construction grants have been approved, and engineering is underway, he said.
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The Southern Carolina alliance last month paid $438,350 for the roughly 90-acre first phase of the project, which Black said will provide right-of-way access for roads, broadband and water and sewer lines. He said the developer will buy the property in the next week or so, but the deed will remain in the economic development group’s name until $25 million has been invested in the site.
“They have five years to reach their investment and employment commitment, but have milestones to reach before any incentives kick in,” Black said. “The first payout will be for sitework reimbursements, which won’t happen until late summer.”
A $7 million state rural infrastructure grant that’s supposed to go toward the project has not been distributed, according to a Commerce Department spokeswoman. A separate $1 million grant that was to help LiDestri establish a co-packing facility has been withdrawn because the company is no longer part of the project.
The lack of progress has also delayed a deal announced two years ago in which cryptocurrency mining firm Core Scientific was to provide blockchain and artificial intelligence services for the Ag-Tech project.
The Austin, Texas-based company filed for bankruptcy protection to reorganize its finances in December. As part of that case, the firm is embroiled in a dispute with another company that Portanova helps lead called GEM Mining — a Greenville-based cryptocurrency firm.
Portanova said the Ag-Tech campus still plans to use Core Scientific for its services, though that could change depending on the outcome of the bankruptcy case.
“Our plan is to pick back up with the blockchain design with Core Scientific when we know our construction and completion dates,” Portanova said. “If there are issues, like the reorganization from their bankruptcy over the next few months, we have multiple other providers that can provide that service in place of Core Scientific.”
When it was announced, the Ag-Tech campus was advertised as a first-of-its-kind project where pesticide-free berries and vegetables would be grown year-round in greenhouses using sustainable practices, such as capturing rainwater for irrigation. Supporters said the development would reduce reliance on food imports from Mexico and allow consumers to buy fresh vegetables regardless of the growing season. Located in an economically depressed part of the state, the project qualifies for tax breaks under the federal Opportunity Zone program.
“This is the exact sort of investment we expected in creating Opportunity Zones and is a classic example of the potential for zones across the country,” U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, a Republican from Charleston, said when the project was announced.
Scott, who is now exploring a run for the White House, helped create the Opportunity Zone legislation under the 2017 tax reforms.
