Construction projects keep rolling in Richland County.

• Author: Knauss, Christina Lee

By Christina Lee Knauss

When the first hard seltzers rolled off the lines at the massive Mark Anthony Brewing facility off Shop Road in November 2021, it marked the culmination of more than a year of feverish work and collaboration between Mark Anthony and Richland County officials.

Construction on the site started in November 2020, and almost exactly a year later, production started on the first cans and bottles of White Claw, Mike's Hard Lemonade and Cayman Jack produced by the Chicago-based company.

That's what many in the industry would consider a jaw-dropping turnaround time on a construction project that massive, and a result that Richland County officials count as one of the major highlights of their second-best economic development year in history.

The 2021 annual report released by the Richland County Economic Development Office last month showed the county attracted $359.6 million in investment, the second-highest level on record. That milestone is eclipsed only by a record 2020 which saw $638.7 million in investment, the bulk of that coming from the $400 million Mark Anthony project.

Jeff Ruble, director of economic development for Richland County, said the recent successes are the result of more than a decade of hard work, strategizing and planning. The RCDEO did not exist until 2011, but since its formation, the county has benefited from having an office dedicated completely to attracting investment and development to the region.

Ruble said future large-scale projects considering coming to the county could look to the Mark Anthony project as an example of how to get things done quickly.

"Mark Anthony did a good job negotiating with the contractors, Clayco out of St. Louis. It was amazing how fast the progress was from the contractor side of things," Ruble said. "Mark Anthony also worked closely with the county and the state. Alliance Consulting Engineers did a terrific job of getting the project permitted and built. Overall, it was just their level of organization."

Danielle Diaz, director of people operations at Mark Anthony, said the company chose Richland County because of its strategic location, support from local leadership and plenty of readily available acreage for the new plant.

"The fast turnaround between groundbreaking and the first product happened because of a lot of teamwork, partnership with the community and the ability to have the proper utilities in place," Diaz said.

While 2021 didn't bring any new...