EASLEY, S.C. — The engines that once roared at Greenville-Pickens Speedway have gone quiet for good, but a different kind of horsepower is now humming on the site: forklifts, conveyor belts and warehouse racking inside a 267,000-square-foot distribution hub that anchors what developers say will become a 600-acre industrial park.
Carolina Handling, a Charlotte-based material handling and logistics company, has consolidated four separate Upstate operations into its new facility at 285 Speedway Boulevard, the inaugural tenant of Speedway Business & Technology Park. The $23.2 million project, a partnership between Carolina Handling and developer RealtyLink, is expected to create 100 new jobs in Pickens County over the next five years.
“Carolina Handling has experienced extraordinary growth in the past few years,” said Brent Hillabrand, the company’s president and CEO. “The location in Pickens County, size and features of our new facility will position us for future growth as we continue our evolution from a forklift-only provider to an integrated material handling solutions company.”
The facility includes technician bays for new, rental and refurbished equipment, along with parts, distribution and logistics operations, training space and a customer experience center showcasing automation technology. Carolina Handling, which is celebrating its 60th year in business in 2026, has grown to more than 900 employees across a five-state footprint.
Greenville-based RealtyLink purchased 115 acres behind the old speedway and has said it plans to invest $100 million in the park’s first phase alone, delivering roughly 1 million square feet of industrial space. At full build-out, the site could hold up to 4 million square feet of industrial and technology space across 600 acres, with sidewalks and walking trails woven into the design. Brokers with CBRE are marketing additional sites to prospective tenants.
Gov. Henry McMaster, whose administration helped recruit the project, called Carolina Handling’s expansion “a major victory” for the state. “Carolina Handling’s decision to create 100 new jobs in Pickens County is great news for our people and reinforces that South Carolina has the talented workforce businesses need to thrive,” McMaster said.
The redevelopment adds to a wave of industrial and logistics investment reshaping the Upstate’s western edge, an area long dominated by textile mills and, more recently, auto-parts suppliers feeding BMW’s Spartanburg plant. For commercial real estate professionals, the Speedway park illustrates continued demand for large-format industrial space along the U.S. 123 corridor between Greenville and Clemson, even as some Upstate submarkets report tightening vacancy for big-box warehouse product.
With one tenant now operating and hundreds of acres still available, brokers expect Speedway Business & Technology Park to draw additional manufacturing, distribution and logistics users looking for large sites close to Interstate 85 and Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport — a sign that Pickens County’s industrial ambitions are only getting started.
Upstate Commercial Real Estate News 
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