Broad River Furniture opens $15M Fort Mill HQ, distribution center

When business partners Jonathan Ishee and Charlie Malouf were looking to expand, they traveled south from Charlotte to Columbia.

Crossing the Broad River, the two discussed how “Broad River” could make a good company name.

After looking at the river’s path through northern South Carolina and western North Carolina, the two agreed that “Broad River” would become their corporate name, since it ran through territory they envisioned serving.

Ishee and Malouf opened their second Ashley Furniture Home Store in Spartanburg in 2005.

They now operate 18 stores, in South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia. Eight of their stores are in the Charlotte region, which also was the home for its headquarters and distribution center. The firm employs more than 500 people.

On Monday, they opened a $15 million corporate office and warehouse for Broad River Furniture at the Lakemont Business Park across from the Carowinds theme park.

With the move came about 200 employees. More job growth is likely, Ishee said.

The 150,000-square-foot warehouse was built to serve the dimensions of Ashley’s furniture, Ishee said. It was also built with 32-foot high ceilings, expanding Broad River’s storage capacity by four times. The ceilings are 40 percent higher than at the company’s previous warehouse.

The move also allows Broad River to bring all its employees under one roof. Malouf hopes having everyone at the same site will increase collaboration.

That teamwork likely will come together in the Broad River Conference Room or six other conference and break rooms named for tributaries of the Broad – the New, Sandy, Enoree, Green, Tyger and Pacolet.

To recruit Broad River Furniture to South Carolina, York County offered an agreement that reduces how much the company would pay in property taxes by about 43 percent over 30 years.

The S.C. Coordinating Council for Economic Development has approved job development credits related to the project. Because the company is relocating workers from the Charlotte region, it will not get full credit for each job, according to the state Department of Commerce. The department did not specify how much the credit will be reduced.

This story was originally published December 14, 2015 at 3:44 PM with the headline "Broad River Furniture opens $15M Fort Mill HQ, distribution center."