SwampFox

Charleston Extends its & quot;& quot;Digital Corridor& quot;& quot;

Submitted by: John Warner on May 08, 2001 at 5:00 am Tagged with: General Archives Source:

Swamp Fox

High-tech target enlarged
Tuesday, May 8, 2001
BY JASON HARDIN
Of The Post and Courier staff
The city of Charleston already provides special incentives for high-tech
businesses that want to move to the heart of downtown. Now the city plans to
extend its "Digital Corridor" to the suburban frontier.
The expansion of the corridor aims to tempt high-tech businesses to the
fast-growing Daniel Island/Cainhoy peninsula area, already home to software
giant Blackbaud, said Ernest Andrade, the city's assistant economic development
director.
The corridor, an initiative designed to bring in high-wage, high-tech
jobs, provides several incentives.
Benefits, some of which are in place throughout the city, include reduced
property taxes and business license fees, a fast-track permitting process,
preferred parking in city garages and access to a group health insurance plan.
Andrade said adding parts of Daniel Island and the Cainhoy area could help
foster a perception that Charleston is becoming a hot spot for high-tech
businesses. About a dozen currently call the city home.
The city is marketing the corridor in other ways, including press releases
being sent to national media outlets and on a Web site
(charlestondigitalcorridor.com).
The corridor, image-wise, also could be bolstered today with the addition
of Cambar Software, which recently moved its headquarters from North Charleston
to Cainhoy.
City Council will consider a request to annex the company's campus, now
under construction just off Clements Ferry Road.