SUMMERVILLE, SC—A joint venture of the Rockefeller Group and WestRock Land and Development has launched construction on a 477,000-square-foot distribution center for Gerber Childrenswear LLC, a leading marketer of children's apparel. The new facility will double the size of Gerber Childrenswear's Greater Charleston footprint with the new facility within the Rockefeller Group - MeadWestvaco Foreign Trade Zone/Charleston industrial campus here. The campus itself is a JV of Rock Group and WestRock, formerly known as MWV Community Development and Land Management.

“This is one of the largest industrial deals in Charleston in the past two years and we are confident that increased port traffic will continue to drive growth in the region,” says John Petricola, regional development officer for the New York City-based Rock Group's Southeast region. Adds Gary Simmons, president and CEO of Gerber Childrenswear, “The Rockefeller Group's ability to deliver Foreign Trade Zone benefits was a differentiating factor in our selection of the site.”

The Greenville, SC-based apparel maker, whose licensed brand portfolio includes the flagship Gerber brand along with Jockey, New Balance and NFL, plans to spend $33 million to construct the new DC, which is scheduled for completion in January 2016. Located in close proximity to Interstate 26, the new facility will provide Gerber Childrenswear with access to the Port of Charleston, as well as South Carolina's network of five Interstates.

Noting that “South Carolina's transportation, logistics and distribution industry continues to thrive,” state commerce secretary Bobby Hitt says the announbcement by Gerber Childrenswear offers proof. “With this facility, Gerber Childrenswear will be joining an impressive roster of globally-recognized firms that have recently decided to do business in the Lowcountry, and I look forward to watching them succeed there for many years to come.”

Peter Fennelly and Simons Johnson of Colliers International Charleston represented Gerber Childrenswear in the transaction. Evans General Contractors is the general contractor for the project.