BLOOMINGDALE — “It only gets bigger from here.”
Those words uttered by MerchSource CEO Carl Warschausky are impressive considering he cut the ribbon on a 1.1 million square foot distribution facility at Savannah Portside International Park on Monday.
Warschausky predicted that 75 percent of MerchSource’s volume will pass through the new warehouse. MerchSource handles products for FAO Schwarz, Sharper Image and more.
“The course that we set out on has been working beautifully,” Warschausky said. “We had a play in 2019 to roughly double our sales in five years. As of right now, we have doubled our sales in three years.”
MerchSource realized a larger East Coast presence was necessary to achieve its sales objective. It is based in California.
“The site’s unique location with frontage on Interstate 16 has garnered a lot of attention over the years from large-scale operations,” said Jessica Hood, ECIDA vice president. “In 2017, the first company, then known as Port Fresh Logistics and now Americold, announced a 100,000 square foot cold storage facility, which is located across the interstate from where we are now.”
The Effingham County Industrial Development (ECIDA) acquired 1,500 acres for Savannah Portside International Park in 2005. It immediately began preparing the site for development.
In 2020, the ECIDA partnered with Panattoni Development Company, an international real estate developer, to development 160 acres of speculative space at the park. Less than a year later, the partners, in conjunction with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Georgia EMC and the Georgia Ports Authority secured MerchSource for the 1.1 million square foot building that was still under construction.
“On behalf of the (ECIDA) board and staff, we sincerely appreciate everyone’s hard work to make this project a success and we thank MerchSource for choosing Effingham County for your new distribution facility,” Hood said. “We appreciate your commitment to our community, the investment that you’ve made here, and the 90 full-time jobs that you will be creating here.
Hood offered additional thanks to the Effingham County Board of Commissioners for assisting with the deal.
“We couldn’t be here without the hard work that you have put in over the years,” she said.
District 3 Commissioner Jamie DeLoach, the board’s vice chairman, briefly addressed an audience that included MerchSource employees and local officials. County
“It’s really good to see the uniforms, to see the employees out here,” DeLoach said. “This is when our plans come together. As our community partners, we work with our local industrial development authority, and they work with other partners — and this is what happens.
“This is a great facility. We look forward to having a great relationship with MerchSource.”
