Commercial Lease Market Overview

Union is the seat of Union County in South Carolina's Piedmont region, and its population has been declining for more than fifty years -- from a 1970 peak of 10,775 residents to 8,174 in 2020, a 24% drop, while Union County overall fell 5.9% between 2010 and 2020 to 27,244. The county's economy was built on textiles: the first cotton mill opened around 1894 at Lockhart, followed quickly by mills in Union itself and in Jonesville, and textiles still accounted for roughly 94% of the county's economy as late as 1970. That industry began closing and relocating overseas starting in the 1980s, with the final departures complete by the 1990s -- though no source ties Union's ongoing population decline directly to that departure, and the two should not be conflated as cause and effect. Today's named employers, per South Carolina Department of Commerce data, are Adecco Staffing, CSL Plasma, Dollar General, Gestamp, Milliken & Company, Sonoco, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System, Timken Company, University of South Carolina Union, and Walmart -- a mix of manufacturing, healthcare, and county-seat government rather than a diversified commercial base. USC Union's small campus adds some institutional presence downtown. The city's 110-acre, 48-building downtown historic district, built mostly between 1878 and 1940, is listed on the National Register but generates no CoStar-, JLL-, or CBRE-grade market report of its own. No independently published office or retail rent benchmark for Union exists at all, which, combined with the sustained population decline and thin employer diversity, points toward a tenant-friendly rather than landlord-heavy market.

Union's commercial market is thin enough that no independent brokerage report publishes an office or retail rent benchmark for the city, so a prospective tenant has to negotiate against a landlord's asking rate with no external market reference point at all.

Top Lease Risks in Union

Commercial tenants in Union most frequently encounter these problematic lease provisions:

1. Union's population has fallen from a 1970 peak of 10,775 to 8,174 in 2020 -- a 24% five-decade decline -- while Union County as a whole dropped another 5.9% between 2010 and 2020, shrinking the customer and workforce base a commercial tenant is leasing space to reach.

This clause creates significant financial exposure. In a tenant-friendly market like Union, landlords have leverage to include provisions that shift cost and risk onto tenants. Review any such clause carefully with a commercial real estate attorney before signing.

2. The current employer base named in South Carolina Department of Commerce data -- Gestamp, Milliken & Company, Sonoco, and Timken Company among them -- is concentrated in a small number of manufacturing plants, so a lease whose foot traffic or demand assumptions lean on that workforce is exposed to a single employer's layoff or closure decision in a way a more diversified local economy would not be.

This is a common risk in Union's commercial lease market. Tenants often overlook this provision during negotiations, only discovering its impact after the lease is executed. Negotiate a carve-out or modification before you sign.

3. CAM Expense Transparency

Common area maintenance charges in Union vary widely by submarket and building class. Landlords in this market sometimes include vague CAM definitions that allow broad cost inclusions. Commonly requested: 3 years of historical CAM statements, alongside an annual cap (3–5%) on increases.

4. Personal Guaranty Scope

Personal guaranty requirements in Union range from reasonable to extreme depending on landlord, submarket, and tenant credit profile. Know your leverage: established businesses with strong financials can often negotiate shorter guaranty terms or a guaranty burndown provision.

Negotiation Priorities for Union Tenants

  1. Request comparable-lease data or a broker opinion of value specific to Union rather than relying on a broader Upstate or Spartanburg-area figure that does not actually cover Union County.
  2. Confirm how much of a prospective location's customer or workforce draw depends on a single named manufacturing employer -- Gestamp, Milliken, Sonoco, or Timken -- before treating current demand or foot-traffic figures as stable.
  3. Commonly negotiated: shorter initial lease terms or built-in renewal options rather than a long lock-in, given the five-decade population decline and the complete absence of any independently published Union-specific commercial rent benchmark.
  4. Request 3 years of historical CAM reconciliation statements — reveals pattern of expense escalation and unexpected charges.
  5. Require subordination, non-disturbance, and attornment (SNDA) agreement — protects your lease if the building is sold or the landlord defaults on their mortgage.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the commercial lease market posture in Union?

The Union market is currently Tenant-Friendly, driven by manufacturing-anchor employers (Gestamp, Milliken & Company, Sonoco, and Timken Company), county-seat government and USC Union's campus presence, and a 48-building, 110-acre National Register downtown commercial core dating to 1878-1940. This means tenants should use current market conditions to negotiate favorable terms — multiple concessions are often available in a tenant-friendly environment.

What are typical office rents in Union?

Office rents in Union are not widely published; no CoStar, JLL, CBRE, or NAI Earle Furman-grade market report was found covering Union County specifically, and Union sits outside the six-county Upstate "Greenville MSA" footprint those regional reports track. The city's employer base is manufacturing- and healthcare-driven (Gestamp, Milliken & Company, Sonoco, Timken Company, Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System) rather than office-driven, so a local commercial broker's current data is the more useful benchmark than any published citywide average.

What are typical retail rents in Union?

Retail rents in Union are not widely published either. The city's 48-building, 110-acre downtown historic district (National Register-listed, built mostly 1878-1940) is the retail core, but no commercial-listing aggregator or brokerage report breaks out a reliable Union-specific per-square-foot figure -- a local commercial broker's current asking-rate data for that corridor is the more useful benchmark, particularly given the county's sustained population decline.

Should I use a tenant-side broker in Union?

Yes — always. Tenant-rep brokers are paid by the landlord through commission splits, so their services are effectively free to you. A local tenant-rep broker brings current market data, comparable lease terms, and negotiation experience that can save you far more than their commission. In a tenant-friendly market, professional representation is especially valuable.