A federal contractor working on the clean-up of one of the largest nuclear sites in the United States expanded its presence in Aiken, South Carolina, in a deal that earned a 2024 CoStar Impact Award for lease of the year in the Augusta/Richmond County market, as selected by an independent panel of local industry professionals.
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, a joint venture between Fluor and Huntington Ingalls Industries, leased space at Centennial Corporate Center, an office complex about 20 miles east of Augusta, Georgia.
The federal contractor expects to assign about 400 workers to the new office. It previously occupied space at 203 Laurens St. SW in Aiken, a historic former post office converted to offices.
Savannah River Nuclear Solutions manages the Savannah River Site between Aiken and Barnwell, South Carolina. The U.S. Department of Energy-owned property was developed in the 1950s to manufacture nuclear materials used in nuclear weapons. The site contains five deactivated nuclear reactors, and the private contractors are leading an effort to clean the site’s extensive nuclear waste.
The Savannah River Site is about 22 miles south of downtown Aiken.
About the Deal: Savannah River Nuclear Solutions signed a five-year lease for 77,000 square feet in Building 3 of Centennial Corporate Center. The lease includes options for one-year extensions through 2029. Construction firm Aecom, another federal contractor at the Savannah River Site, also leases space in the office park. The property opened in 1991.
What the Judges Said: “The biggest driver for this vote is the economic impact that 400 employees will have on Aiken, South Carolina,” said Jacob Glover at Douglas Lane Real Estate Group in Augusta.
“It was a large, long-term lease offering significant impact on the local economy,” added Shaun Roberts, a commercial adviser at NAI G2 Commercial in Augusta.
They Made It Happen: Jonathan Crawford and Luke Coffey at Southeastern Real Estate Group in Augusta.