9 benefits of choosing a commerce park over other location alternatives

For any business looking to relocate or expand, choosing a location is a critical decision. Several important factors come into play, of course, when trying to identify the ideal spot. And while a traditional office building, retail space or industrial park can check all the boxes for some businesses, a commerce park can offer substantial benefits that most of these spaces simply can’t provide — whether the business is industrial, retail, or service-oriented, and whether its employees are primarily blue collar or white collar.

Offering a true “best of both worlds” scenario, a commerce park can provide both the high-demand infrastructure typically needed by industrial operations, as well as the sense of community (and the heavy foot traffic) that retail and service-oriented operations need to thrive. (And for businesses with a mix of white-collar and blue-collar workforces, a commerce park can even deliver a setting where both the plant or distribution center and the corporate headquarters can coexist on the same campus — and where the workers in each can enjoy the range of added amenities and conveniences that a commerce park can provide.)

Whether your business is in need of an industrial property, a traditional office space or a high-traffic retail space, consider the following nine commerce park incentives and commerce park amenities that a next-generation business property like Camp Hall can deliver:

• Boosted bandwidth: Although most traditional office buildings, industrial parks and retail spaces offer internet connections, the speeds provided can be hit and miss. Modern commerce parks, on the other hand, are nearly always equipped with high-bandwidth internet capabilities. At Camp Hall, for example, the campus is equipped with a spine infrastructure and five strategically placed fiber connection points in public rights of way to ensure fast, strong connections throughout, as well as Local Area Network (LAN) capability to meet business needs.

• Cellular connectivity: Although the strength of the wireless signals reaching traditional office buildings, industrial parks, retail spaces and even commerce parks typically depends on the individual user’s carrier and the number of nearby towers, commerce parks are much more likely to have supporting infrastructure in place to deliver enhanced signals. Camp Hall is no exception — plans call for boosting the wireless signals from its three nearby cellular towers with network-enhancing streetlights, an Outdoor Distributed Antenna System (ODAS) and a hub at the Village Center.

• Workforce-friendly amenities: Traditional office buildings and retail spaces are often located in areas teeming with nearby amenities that enhance workers’ quality of life, such as restaurants, shops, banks, fitness centers, and businesses providing an array of other activities and services. On the other hand, they can be placed a good distance from all of these things, complicating workers’ efforts to run outside-the-office errands and take care of the necessities of daily life during the work week. (And many industrial spaces, of course, are located in industrial zones where community-focused amenities are lacking, to say the least.)
  
  

• Commerce parks, on the other hand, often have such community-focused amenities built in thanks to forward-thinking and master-planning. Camp Hall’s Village Center, for example, will be home to a thriving collection of small businesses and conveniences, surrounded by trails for exercise and exploration, and including open spaces for gatherings and celebrations — and plans call for adding an event lawn/park, a play field, and additional conveniences such as food, healthcare, dry cleaning, a fire station, a convenience store and more. And when a business is located on such a campus — whether the business is industrial, retail or service-oriented — its employees can easily take advantage of all of these perks (not to mention an enhanced quality of life) without having to stray far from the workplace.

• Enhanced electric: Most standard office buildings and retail spaces are equipped with the electricity needed to run an average business, of course. But the industrial real estate, office buildings and retail spaces found in commerce parks are all typically equipped with the type of high-power electrical infrastructure needed to run larger plants and manufacturing facilities, saving such businesses the trouble of having to implement their own grids — and giving smaller businesses the luxury of knowing they have easy access to all the electrical infrastructure they’ll ever need … and then some.

• Ready (and ramped-up) gas supply: In traditional office buildings and retail spaces, businesses that require natural gas are often forced to source it themselves, raising their costs. But commerce parks typically have a central supply available to all park residents — whether they’re industrial, retail or service-oriented — leading to simplified procurement and reduced costs for businesses requiring access to gas. Such is the case at Camp Hall, where an 8-inch Dominion Energy gas-distribution line is in place onsite, providing easy access to all park occupants.

• Superior water supply: Although typical office buildings, retail spaces and office parks provide the water supplies needed for indoor plumbing, air conditioning, etc., commerce parks regularly offer the large-volume water supply that many manufacturing facilities need for more intensive uses such as production, cooling and other industrial purposes. And while operators of smaller operations may never need this high level of water supply, they can rest easy knowing that they can easily access it if they ever do.

• Proximity to rail service and ports: Rail service is not typically a consideration with standard office buildings or retail spaces, but commerce parks are often located in close proximity to the rail lines and seaports industrial tenants need for distribution purposes. At Camp Hall, for example, future rail access is planned via Palmetto Rail. The rail’s new industrial line will directly connect the campus to the CSX railroad. And the Port of Charleston — the Eastern Seaboard’s deepest port and the fastest-growing major container port in the nation — is just 30 minutes away.

• Ample roadway access: Although typical office buildings and retail spaces are easy enough for employees and customers to reach, larger enterprises and traffic-dependent retail- and service-oriented businesses often benefit from direct access to major roadways — a feature often found at commerce parks. At Camp Hall, a brand-new I-26 interchange offers direct access to the campus, providing industrial tenants with a distribution artery that can be reached within minutes.

• Added flexibility: Although standard office buildings and retail spaces are typically complete and offer as-is spaces to prospective tenants, commerce parks often offer business park opportunities such as ready-to-develop lots that allow incoming businesses to build whatever facilities are required to meet their specific needs. At Camp Hall, for example, a range of site-development opportunities are available via open parcels ranging in size from 7 to 600 acres, all pre-equipped with the infrastructure, entitlements and permits businesses need to succeed. Further, the Village Center will be home to a range of flexible retail and office space, all in a location with a built-in consumer community and a long list of nearby conveniences and amenities.

As a next-generation commerce park, Camp Hall offers the technological infrastructure needed to power the most modern of today’s businesses, as well as the businesses of tomorrow. And with the amenity-focused Village Center located at the heart of Camp Hall, the commerce park also offers a range of available retail spaces — along with a built-in community of consumers eager to enjoy the benefits of their offerings. To learn more about our main infrastructure and campus availability for your business plans, view our available sites. And if you have any questions at all about our master-planned commerce park, contact us today.