745,000-Square-Foot Expansion Underway at Cherokee Commerce Center for First Solar Plant

GAFFNEY, S.C. — Crews are building out a 745,000-square-foot expansion at Cherokee Commerce Center 85, the industrial park where First Solar Inc. plans to onshore final production of its Series 6 solar modules, with delivery targeted for fall 2026.

The expansion enlarges Building 2 at the 290-acre park from 555,000 square feet to roughly 1.3 million square feet, according to park developer Glenstar Logistics and capital partner Creek Lane Capital. The building’s first phase delivered in January 2025 and is now fully leased. Evans General Contractors is serving as general contractor on the expansion, with Ware Malcomb as architect and SeamonWhiteside handling civil engineering, according to Glenstar.

First Solar’s $330 million commitment

First Solar announced in November that it would spend approximately $330 million to build the Gaffney facility, creating more than 600 jobs. The Arizona-based company, one of the largest solar manufacturers in the Western Hemisphere, already operates a distribution center in Duncan and has a longstanding relationship with the Inland Port in Greer. Operations at the Cherokee County site are expected to begin in the second half of 2026.

“As the United States experiences historic demand for abundant, affordable electricity, we’re proud to meet the moment by expanding our domestic energy technology manufacturing capacity with a new facility in South Carolina,” First Solar CEO Mark Widmar said in a statement distributed by the governor’s office.

“This investment by First Solar will further strengthen South Carolina’s growing reputation in the clean energy sector, and we are excited for the economic opportunities it will bring to a rural part of our state,” S.C. Secretary of Commerce Harry M. Lightsey III said in the same statement.

Cherokee County’s largest industrial park

Cherokee Commerce Center 85 sits along the I-85 corridor between Greenville-Spartanburg and Charlotte and is Cherokee County’s largest industrial development to date, with room for up to 1.65 million square feet in a single building once fully built out. Colliers is leasing the park on Glenstar’s behalf. Cherokee County Council Chairman Tim Spencer called the First Solar project a “milestone” for the county when the investment was announced, noting roughly 15,000 county residents currently commute elsewhere for work.

Part of a broader industrial buildout

The park’s growth mirrors a wider run of industrial investment along the Cherokee County side of the I-85 corridor, an area developers have targeted for its access to interstate infrastructure, available land and lower tax rates relative to more built-out Greenville and Spartanburg county submarkets. First Solar’s arrival adds a major manufacturing tenant to a county that has increasingly marketed itself to logistics and advanced-manufacturing users seeking large-scale, build-to-suit space along the I-85 corridor.