Innovate Fund provides Ingevity Corp. $7M for new headquarters

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The Innovate Fund, a community development entity managed by Tax Advantage Group and Greenville Local Development Corp., has allocated $7 million in New Markets Tax Credits to provide flexible, below-market financing to Ingevity Corp. for the buildout and upfit of its new, 84,283-square-foot headquarters in North Charleston.

Located in a low-income community with 36.6% poverty and 43.6% median family income, Ingevity's new headquarters is projected to support 250 permanent jobs and 43 construction jobs over the New Markets Tax Credits compliance period, according to a news release.

"Ingevity has been a longtime supporter of our community," North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said in the release. "We're happy to see they've chosen to remain headquartered here in North Charleston."

Ingevity provides specialty chemicals, high-performance carbon materials and engineered polymers that “purify, protect and enhance the world around us,” according to the release. Ingevity operates from 25 locations around the world and employs approximately 1,750 people.

The new headquarters will allow for employment growth and consolidation of employees into one location, while also allowing for the current Ingevity Technical Center, also located in North Charleston, to return to its original purpose as a research laboratory.

In addition to the $7 million Ingevity investment, the Innovate Fund has closed $17.5 million of additional New Markets Tax Credits investments in North Charleston for Limehouse Produce and Restaurant Depot, which have created 287 direct jobs and constructed or renovated 239,045 square feet of real estate, according to the release.