Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits plans to move its South Carolina warehouse from  Richland County to Lexington County.

The beverage company, which bills itself as the largest distributor in the country operating in 45 states, is in talks to purchase nearly 85 acres in Saxe Gotha Industrial Park. The county-owned park is located off Interstate 77 near the Interstate 26 interchange.

The Post and Courier Columbia initially reported the possibility of Southern Glazer’s Lexington County move last month.

Contacted by the Chronicle, Southern Glazer’s Senior Communications Officer Lee Schrager confirmed reports that the company is contemplating the move.

“We are in the process of buying a parcel of land to build our future warehouse that will replace our current one,” Schrager said. “We will service the entire state from the warehouse.  The design build will take two to three years to complete.”

Lexington County Council held a public hearing Feb. 28 on the $3.6 million property sale and associated tax breaks. A third and final vote is scheduled to be taken on March 14.

Asked to comment on the project, Council Chair Beth Carrigg referred the Chronicle to Economic Development Director Sarah Johnson, who said it’s too early to comment since council has not yet given final approval. 

She did say the project appears to be on a positive track. 

The proposed $80 million warehouse will replace Southern Glazer’s current site at 7600 Richard St. in Columbia.

The Columbia warehouse sits on 11 acres in the southeast corner of the city within Lexington neighbor Richland County and is nearly 300,000 square feet in size.

If finalized, the deal with Lexington County would lock in the rate used to calculate the company’s property tax payments for the next 30 years and would offer special credits allowing Southern Glazer’s to buy down its tax bill another 10%.

Southern Glazer’s would join a number of other distribution centers in the Saxe Gotha park, including Amazon and an $80 million deal inked in 2022 for a Chick-fil-A distribution center.