seda annual report 2022
On Christmas Eve 2021, Savannah Economic Development Authority President and CEO Trip Tollison received a phone call from KPMG Managing Director Robert Boehringer.
KPMG had a project and the Bryan County Megasite was on the list of potential sites. The call was short and sweet, only telling Trip to get ready for the Request for Information (RFI) that would be coming soon. Trip figured Robert probably made 15 similar phone calls to varying sites that evening.
On January 6, the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) and the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority (Savannah JDA) received the RFI. It was due the next day, Jan. 7.
Let’s back up for a moment and give a little history. In 2014, the Savannah JDA, which includes the economic development authorities of Bryan, Bulloch, Chatham and Effingham counties came together with the GDEcD to work a regionally significant project.
The four economic development authorities (led by Development Authority of Bryan County’s Anna Chafin, Development Authority of Bulloch County’s Benjy Thompson, SEDA’s Trip Tollison and Effingham County Industrial Authority’s Brandt Herndon) realized that they had something special with the Bryan County Megasite. Over the years, the four counties came together to market the site and courted prospects. But the property wasn’t owned by the Savannah JDA, making it challenging to market.
It was during COVID that Anna called Trip and said, “If we don’t do something now, this property is going to be purchased by others piece by piece.”
So, the plan was in motion.
On May 25, 2021, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced the purchase of the Bryan County Megasite in a partnership between the State of Georgia and Bryan and Chatham counties. The strategic purchase of the site was the largest megasite purchase in state history.
“If we don’t do something now, this property is going to be purchased by others piece by piece.”
– Anna Chafin
The purchase allowed for more due diligence to be completed including completing the necessary wetland permits, boundary surveys, threatened and endangered species report, rezoning the property and other processes to be started to have the site ready to market.
That’s enough history. Let’s get back to this project. The RFI had to be turned around in one day, which is an incredibly fast turnaround in the world of economic development. We passed that hurdle and on January 27, KPMG and the company’s advanced team landed in Savannah. We did not know who the company was until a gentleman stepped off the plane with a backpack with the word Hyundai on it.
“A quick Google search and I realized that the person was Hyundai Motor Group Global Chief Operating Officer José Muñoz. That’s when we knew we had something really big,” says Trip.
The group liked what they saw, and plans were made for the engineering team to visit in mid-February. Then came word that Hyundai Motor Group (HMG)’s Executive Chairman Euisun Chung was coming to visit us and the other three competing sites and would be in Savannah February 23, 2022. We had 24 hours with the Chairman and the HMG executive leadership team to convince them this was the right location.
Over the next 14 days with the assistance of SEDA Senior Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations Angela Hendrix, Development Authority of Bryan County Vice President Justin Farquhar and Effingham County Industrial Development Authority Vice President Jessica Hood, more than 50 scenes from kayaking to Gulfstream jets were filmed in Bryan, Bulloch, Chatham and Effingham counties to create a 360-degree virtual experience.
The virtual experience, the visit to the Bryan County Megasite site along with a meeting with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp were a hit. We were still in the running.
More meetings followed. On March 22, the GDEcD and Savannah JDA traveled to HMG’s headquarters in California and did the same March 28-30 in New York City.
Many other meetings and sleepless nights occurred over March and April. In mid-April, we learned that we were the preferred site and on April 25, at 10:32 p.m. the letter of intent was returned signed by HMG, the State of Georgia and the Savannah JDA. As SEDA Chief Operating Officer Jesse Dillon put it, “It was just this overwhelming feeling of all the hard work and groundwork we had laid out coming to fruition. It was just a magical moment.”
“We had just won 10 Super Bowls.”
-Trip Tollison
In their remarks at the announcement ceremony, HMG cited speed-to-market, workforce and the state’s ability to meet the company’s neutrality standards among the reasons they chose the site.
May 20 signaled a new chapter. There was a lot of work to be done. Hyundai Motor Group had announced they would be operational by early 2025.
The Savannah JDA was responsible for the first step, preparing the site. In early August, site clearing started, and as of June 2023, more than 1,700 acres have been cleared and 12 pads turned over to HMG. Other tasks began including the hirings of Project Director Eric Johnson, Director of Workforce Maria Whitfield and relocation specialist Karen Krupp. It was also announced that the Savannah JDA had tapped Wadley Donovan Gutshaw Consulting, LLC to conduct a Regional Workforce Study and Comprehensive Strategic Plan for new and existing companies in the region.
October 25 signaled a celebration for Hyundai Motor Group and the Savannah region community. HMG Executive Chairman Euisun Chung returned to Savannah for the groundbreaking for the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) and a community celebration for more than 1,000 people.
Chung said at the groundbreaking, “We chose the right site, the right partners and the right state for progress.”
While so many organizations played a role in landing Hyundai Motor Group and since the May 20 announcement, we would like to thank the following partners who worked tirelessly in the efforts to land Hyundai Motor Group:
As part of the agreement, the Georgia Department of Transportation will complete a new interchange at I-16, a site frontage road, widening of Hwy 280 from two to five lanes and construction of a new frontage road and upgrading the 280 interchange.
In December 2022, the Savannah JDA announced they had engaged Wadley Donovan Gutshaw Consulting, LLC to provide a market analysis, strategic workforce plan and a marketing plan for the Savannah JDA to support existing industries as well as future workforce needs by HMG and their suppliers. Additionally, Maria Whitfield was hired as Workforce Director. She is responsible for implementing the plan and working with existing industries on their workforce needs.
The State of Georgia will provide a dedicated Quick Start Training Center at the Bryan County Megasite. A customized workforce recruitment program will also be created and the Georgia Quick Start Advanced Manufacturing Training Center will be expanded to accommodate future training needs.
Water and wastewater infrastructure will be provided to the site by the Bryan County Water and Sewer Department.
In addition to Hyundai Motor Group’s investment, an additional $1 billion from non-affiliated suppliers was announced. Before 2022 could end, Hyundai Mobis had announced they would be locating in Bryan County, creating 1,578 new jobs and $926 million in capital investment and Joon Georgia announced they would be locating in Bulloch County with 630 new jobs and $317 million in capital investment. As of July 19, 2023 10 suppliers have announced totaling 5,176 new jobs and $2.093 billion in capital investment. To learn more about those visit savannahjda.com.
Through Hyundai Hope and Genesis Gives programs, Hyundai Motor Group jumped in to give back to the community. By the end of 2022, they had donated nearly $1 million to programs like Richmond Hill Middle School, America’s Second Harvest Food Bank, Frank Callen Boys & Girls Club, Girls on the Run, SCAD, Memorial Health’s Dwaine and Cynthia Willet Children’s Hospital and more.
