Michelin outcome not end of world, county leaders say

No Michelin distribution center at the Golden Corner Commerce Park at leats for now is a disappointment, but county leaders say they are moving on.  County Administrator Scott Molulder says Oconee is likely to push forward with the potential that an Atlanta area company, Patillo, is interested in building a spec building at the undeveloped industrial park on SC 59.  The once-extended Michelin option expired Wednesday with the company unwilling to commit to Oconee at this time and the county unwilling to extend the lease a second time. Oconee had been dangling GCCP property since August 2014 in hopes that Michelin would make the park its home for what some saw as a potential major employer and an economic infusion into a part of the county that has missed out on similar kinds of development.  In a statement, Moulder also said, “We are disappointed as a lot of effort was put into this economic development opportunity, but we won’t pout and sit on our hands….”  Both Moulder and Paul Cain, the county council chairman, say they are going to continue efforts to bring development to GCCP, which still sits empty on highway 59 between Fair Play and Earles Grove.