A major foreign defense manufacturer has been operating in Charleston County for more than six months, but it has disclosed very little about the nature of its work since the facility first opened for business.

Elbit Systems America — a subsidiary of Israeli-owned Elbit Systems Inc., which has 10 sites in the U.S. mostly located on the East Coast — officially started operations in Ladson in May. As a whole, the company supplies up to 85% of land-based military equipment to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). Elbit has recently seen growing demand from the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMOD) for its “solutions,” according to a Dec. 18 press release. The company’s American subsidiary also offers products and services related to commercial aviation, homeland security monitoring and night vision technology.

The S.C. manufacturing facility stands at the end of Sightline Drive, a short road just off Ladson’s Palmetto Commerce Parkway. The building is buffered from the parkway by a line of trees, equipped with a traffic light. In other words, it doesn’t stand out as a defense manufacturing plant. And yet, Elbit’s Ground Combat Vehicle Assembly and Integration Center of Excellence is exactly what it sounds like — a plant that builds truck-mounted artillery systems and command post support vehicles.

Longtime Charlestonians might remember General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) — known before a buyout as Force Protection, Inc. — as a defense plant also in the Ladson-area industrial zone. The company, once a major Charleston manufacturer, supplied millions of dollars of contracted equipment to the U.S. Department of Defense and foreign armed forces, profiting from high demand for Iraq and Afghanistan war-era battlefield vehicles. GDLS spokesperson Robin Porter told the Charleston City Paper the plant was sold to Pegasus Steel, LLC., a company first established in South Africa in 1994.

Elbit America planned to invest approximately $31 million into its project, including construction costs, according to its Charleston County contract, which the City Paper obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Elbit’s facility uses 135,000 square feet of a 175,500-square-foot building. The remainder of the space is currently available for rent. The $31 million also accounted for machinery and site design, consisting of “36-foot cast-in-place, tilt walls … [and] 14 overhead cranes used to add armor to military vehicles,” wrote Choate Construction, the group contracted to build the plant.

Charleston County first became involved in Elbit’s relocation project in 2019, when it entered negotiations with Elbit under the company’s requested code name, “Project Thunder.” Code names are a common statewide practice of assigning a made-up project name to keep relocation deals anonymous. Charleston County Council described Project Thunder as a “leading global source of innovative, technology-based systems for diverse defense, homeland security, and commercial applications.” Elbit America would use this name to “begin its tax incentives process.”

In September 2021, the S.C. Coordinating Council for Economic Development authorized Charleston County to use a $700,000 set-aside grant to assist Elbit in business operations. The county and the state’s Department of Commerce also created an “attractive package” for the project. Incentives included a fee in lieu of tax credits, known as a “FILOT,” and Special Source Revenue Credit (SSRC), two tax-lowering incentives regularly applied to major businesses.

The Elbit site qualified for FILOT, which is available to companies that invest at least $2.5 million. The FILOT can save 40% or more in property taxes. FILOT savings are even greater when, as applies to Elbit, a business is designated inside an industrial park.

The SSRC incentive is taken from FILOT revenue: Counties “award credits to taxpayers to be applied against their property taxes.” Essentially, companies get more tax credits from the tax credits they already have. Dollars saved provide a competitive advantage to relocated businesses, but at a price. A 2019 fiscal year report disclosed that companies’ extra revenue diverted $423 million from public schools across the state, disproportionately low-income schools with mostly Black and brown students.

Elbit publicly announced its 135,000-square-foot Ladson site in November 2021. Project Thunder was not revealed as Elbit until a March 2022 “public hearing prior to final action.” This was several months after the county’s economic development director had committed to granting the subsidiary tax incentives.

In earlier council discussions, county officials projected that Project Thunder would bring 302 full-time jobs to the area “during annual operation,” but Elbit America Communications Specialist Amy Hartley told the City Paper on Dec. 6 that the site had only around 50 full-time workers.

Hartley declined a City Paper request to tour Elbit’s Ladson plant “given heightened security concerns.” In recent weeks, there have been pro-Palestine demonstrations outside some of its locations. A security guard, however, said the South Carolina plant hasn’t had any recent issues.

Another statement from Hartley explicitly mentioned the site’s contract with the U.S. Army to manufacture Command Post Integrated Infrastructure trucks, despite recent press releases indicating that its main operation was fulfilling contracts from the Israeli Ministry of Defense (IMOD) to build an automated vehicle mounted with an artillery system called a howitzer.

Elbit advertises the South Carolina-built howitzer vehicle as having “high firepower and long-range lethality.” The IDF reportedly has used the vehicle to launch white phosphorus artillery strikes in “densely populated areas of Gaza,” which Human Rights Watch says “violates the requirement under international humanitarian law to take all feasible precautions to avoid civilian injury and loss of life.”

In March 2019, Elbit America received $125 million from IMOD to build “automatic self-propelled howitzer gun systems” for the IDF over a 12-year period, and the group secured a $200 million “further to” the 2019 contract one year later. In November 2023, Elbit announced that it was increasing deliveries to IMOD from various sites, including U.S. subsidiaries, to support the IDF’s invasion of Gaza.

That same month, a United States Field Artillery Association news release reported that, while the Ladson site is continuing production and delivery of U.S. Army vehicles, “Elbit America has recently started production of the Sigma-Next Generation Howitzer at their Charleston, South Carolina facility and will begin deliveries to the Israeli Defense Force in 2025.”

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LADSON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Charleston County School District is one step closer to getting a new elementary school in Ladson.

The Charleston County School District’s Audit and Finance Committee approved funding for a new Ladson Elementary School Tuesday afternoon. The Charleston County Board of Trustees will have a final vote on the building next week.

The project is just now in the beginning stages, but the new Ladson Elementary School will cost over $47 million for materials and labor to build the school that will hold 900 students.

Ladson Elementary School is currently located at 3321 Ladson Rd., with the current building being completed back in 1976.

“I think the biggest thing is always to make sure they’ve got enough bids to find the best price,” parent Joy Brown says. “It is a huge ticket item, but it’s expensive to build a school.”

The existing Ladson Elementary School has seen steady growth over the last four years according to data from the South Carolina Department of Education 45-day school headcount numbers.

This year the school has 893 students compared to 843 students back in 2020.

Going even further back to 2012, Ladson Elementary had 801 students.

As the Charleston County School District continues to grow with more people moving to the area, Brown says it’s important for the district to spend money in the right places.

“I think for me as a parent, I feel like it’s important to have the right amount of schools,” Brown says. “School size matters, class size matters. You can’t have tons of kids packed into one school; Charleston’s a high growth area.”

The committee also approved over $66 million for 12 projects throughout the district ranging from renovations, replacements, and new buildings. Some projects of note include:

“I think it’s important for people to realize this money has been allocated specifically for schools,” Brown says. “We just want to make sure that it is efficiently used when you’re looking at growth.”

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

In Charleston’s bustling holiday season, parents gear up to bring kids to the traditional Santa at the mall. But for parents of autistic kids, that vibrant scene could be a potential sensory overload.

That’s why the Medical University of South Carolina’s SPARK research group and Tri-County Therapy are hosting a Sensory-Friendly Santa event on Dec. 2 in Ladson at 3851 Commercial Center Drive from noon to 5 p.m.

Autism families often have to forego the traditional photo of kids with Santa, said Dr. Laura Carpenter, professor of pediatrics and psychiatry and chief of psychology for SPARK.

“Going to a crowded Christmas event can be really hard because those are usually lots of lights, lots of noise and lots of crowds that can be really overwhelming,” Carpenter said. “We’re trying to give them that typical childhood experience, but in a way that is actually enjoyable for the child.”

According to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in 36 children have been identified with autism spectrum disorder at age 8, a significant rise from past years. The CDC also found that autism diagnoses increased 30 percent from 2018-2020 in minority communities.

“For the first time, the percentage of Asian, Black and Hispanic children identified with autism was higher than among 8-year-old White children,” according to an article published by the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The Ladson event will not only give kids a chance to experience Santa Claus in a less-crowded and overwhelming environment, but families are also able to contribute to autism research.

SPARK is a nationwide community of families, autistic adults and researchers working to understand autism and improve lives. The organization is researching autism across the lifespan to better understand what makes each person with autism unique — and how each child, adult and family can get the support they need to thrive. There are approximately 50,000 people included so far.

NORTH CHARLESTON — To continue efforts to become the Coast Guard’s “operational center of gravity” on the East Coast, officials broke ground Jan. 26 on its new $160 million campus.

This 64-acre site along the Cooper River — just south of the former naval base that closed in 1996 — will house an administration building and redesigned 1,100-foot concrete pier.

Construction is expected to begin later this year and be completed in 2026.

“This Charleston campus will have improved infrastructure that translates into more productive personnel and more efficient operations,” said Capt. Neal Armstrong, the commanding officer of facilities design and construction.

The 51,500-square-foot administration building will provide training and conference room space, and additional rooms dedicated to cutter ship support.

Sustainability is a priority, so the new facility will achieve net-zero energy usage and a net-zero carbon footprint, Armstrong said.

The current Pier November will be replaced with a pier more than three feet taller to enhance durability during coastal storms. It will provide utilities to support five national security cutters and a 90-ton crane, which is critical for dockside maintenance, Armstrong said.

During the design and construction phases nearly 60 subcontractors will support the two main contractors on the project, Whiting-Turner Contracting Company and RQ Construction LLC, providing work for nearly 900 people.

Commandant of the Coast Guard Adm. Linda Fagan, who spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony, said every Coast Guard mission begins and ends at a shore facility. When the ships are not at sea, they need a base that can provide necessary maintenance, she added.

The missions conducted at Base Charleston are vital to protecting national security and economic prosperity, Fagan said, adding that the new campus will aid in “lifesaving work,” including patrolling the waters for smuggled narcotics.

The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after a shooting in Ladson left one person injured.

The shooting occurred on Miami Street, off College Park Road.

Just after 1 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 10, Berkeley County Communications received a 911 call about a shooting that occurred with one person injured. Responding deputies located the victim in the parking lot of Food Lion after the victim attempted to have someone drive them to an emergency room.

The victim was transported to an area hospital for treatment.

The Berkeley County Sheriff’s Office continues to investigate this case.

Dar Shokri and Fred Robinson each hit a hole-in-one in January to start 2024 off with a bang at Goose Creek’s Crowfield Golf Club

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Goose Creek Mayor Greg Habib, left, was joined by John Matthews of the Goose Creek NAACP at city hall to officially proclaim Monday, Jan. 15, as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the city of Goose Creek. King was born Jan. 15, 1929, and the day has been celebrated as a federal holiday for 38 years. The proclamation praises King for “working alongside people of all ages, races and backgrounds” and encouraging Americans “to come together to strengthen communities and empower the impoverished.”

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LADSON, S.C. (WCBD) – Are you frustrated with traffic backups in Ladson? One resident has what they feel would be a simple fix to help alleviate a major intersection.

The traffic pattern and potholes at the intersection of Lincolnville and Ladson roads have been a source of frustration for many drivers in the Ladson area. The area sees backups during the morning and afternoon rush hours often.

One News 2 viewer who drives through the intersection daily believes a turn lane could make all the difference.

Karen Fonkert said that with so many neighborhoods on Lincolnville Road – and even more being built – backups in Ladson are only getting worse. Especially at the Lincolnville/Ladson Road intersection. She said what is normally an eight-minute commute with no traffic, is often much longer.

“Usually, it’s about a 20-minute wait, just at the light. It backs way up, about a half mile, normally. And so if there’s an accident anywhere along there, it’s even worse,” said Fonkert.

As it stands now, cars move left to leave space for those turning right. But instead of a right turn lane, cars have to traverse a mess of dirt and potholes where the road drops off.

In fact, Fonkert said she once saw a truck break its axle when its tire fell into a pothole. But she says some new pavement could solve the problem.

“What I really think would help, and a lot of people have said this too, if there were a right turn lane. That would allow traffic to keep going through, and it maybe wouldn’t back up so far back on Lincolnville Road,” she said.

The roadway is maintained by the state. News 2 asked officials with the South Carolina Department of Transportation if they would be willing to look into paving a legitimate turn lane – but unfortunately, they only came up with this response:

“There are not any upcoming projects planned for this intersection.” They encouraged any concerned residents to reach out to their customer service center.

If this intersection drives you crazy, you can let SCDOT know. And if there’s any other roadway issue, you’d like for us to look into, send an email to [email protected].