Merger of Bluffton economic groups targets ‘one-stop shop’ for development

Bluffton’s two public economic development organizations are becoming one.

The Don Ryan Center for Innovation is merging with the Bluffton Public Development Corporation in order to create a “one-stop-shop” dedicated to growing, retaining and attracting businesses, center director David Nelems said earlier this week.

The Don Ryan Center — created in 2012 as a collaborative effort between the town and the Clemson University Institute for Economic and Community Development — provides resources, education, and work spaces to help nurture local start-up companies.

Since it’s inception, 28 new companies have graduated from the center’s formal program.

The Don Ryan Center, which is headquartered in Bluffton’s Buckwalter Place, is opening an satellite office in Beaufort later this month to provide an incubator for entrepreneurs operating north of the Broad River.

Also established in 2012, the Bluffton Public Development Corporation is a quasi-governmental nonprofit organization designed to attract and retain businesses in ways the town officials cannot.

Under state law, the town is prohibited from entering into certain kinds of joint ventures or partnerships and commercial deals. The development corporation has more leeway to work in the areas of economic development where the local government is restricted.

Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka said earlier this week that the merger “just makes sense.”

“One plays off the other,” she said of the two groups. “So, (town leaders) thought, ‘Why don’t we put them together and streamline the whole economic development process?’”

Nelems said the new organization, called the Don Ryan Center for Innovation, Inc., will “take what each group did best and combine forces.”

The new entity will require a new board of directors, the make up of which is currently under consideration by town leaders.

Nelems said he expects it to be made up of a combination of former board members from both organizations as well “some new blood.”

The new organization won’t require an injection of taxpayer money to get started, Nelems said.

“We feel like we are going to be able to give citizens more services for same budget,” he said,

In fact, because the merger eliminates some redundancies, “we actually plan to be able to save a little money,” he said.

In addition to the goal of providing a streamlined, one-stop-shop for economic development efforts, another factor played a role in the merger.

Over the past several years, the Bluffton Public Development Corporation’s main focus was the negotiation of a deal for the development of Buckwalter Place.

In late 2015, the corporation brokered a public-private partnership with Southeastern Development Associates, which owns a large swath of the shopping area.

The developer is in the process of building a 113,000-square-foot Kroger Marketplace surrounded by other retailers and apartments — a far cry from the town’s original plan to turn Buckwalter Place into a medical and technology industry hub anchored by the national headquarters of healthcare benefits management firm EviCore.

With that deal done, the need for the development corporation to operate as an independent entity was reduced, Nelems said.

That need was further eroded last year when Beaufort County formed it’s own non-profit economic development corporation.

That group — whose board of directors includes representation from Bluffton — is designed to serve a similar function as the Bluffton Public Development Corporation.

Nelems said the board of directors for the newly minted Don Ryan Center for Innovation, Inc. will likely be in place by March.

“It’s going to be a busy couple of months” establishing roles and responsibilities, and hiring a handful of new staffers, he said.

“There’s a lot to do, but that’s a good problem to have — it’s all positive,” Nelems said.

This story was originally published January 20, 2017 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Merger of Bluffton economic groups targets ‘one-stop shop’ for development."