RINCON, Ga. — OpenAI will establish a more permanent office presence in Effingham County, leasing and building out the third floor of the Effingham County Industrial Development Authority’s office building in Rincon rather than at the site of Project Camellia, its proposed 1,400-acre data center campus.
The ECIDA board voted unanimously Oct. 15 to approve a three-year lease for OpenAI to rent space in the building at 100 Enterprise Drive. Board Chairman Matt Saxon was absent.
The lease has not been finalized, but ECIDA CEO Brandt Herndon asked the board to approve the agreement Thursday to avoid delaying the decision until its November meeting.
“They (OpenAI) really want to get started on this build-out,” Herndon said. “If we can just work through the final point of the lease and get it signed, that way they can get started. They’ve already toured the facility. They’ve already got bids from two general contractors.”
The board agreed on the importance of getting the space built out and leased. Although the agreement is for three years, ECIDA staff expect OpenAI to renew.
Build-out to begin
Herndon described the third floor as a “shell” that will need to be finished before OpenAI can occupy it. The lease is scheduled to begin July 1.
“That’s a pretty quick build-out,” he said. “But they’re eager to get in there.”
The Class A office building broke ground in 2024 and officially opened in late 2025. The 30,000-square-foot building includes 13,000 square feet of leasable office space and was designed to address growing demand for premium office space in Effingham County.
“We are confident this facility will serve as a cornerstone for economic development, providing local businesses and new enterprises with a modern and efficient location to thrive,” Herndon said at the time of the groundbreaking.
Since the building opened, True North Legacy Group, a financial and legacy planning firm, has been the only tenant to lease office space. The ECIDA announced in January that the firm was moving its offices from Bluffton, South Carolina, to the Rincon building.
Herndon said OpenAI is the second company to express interest in the third-floor space.
Lease and build-out costs
OpenAI will pay $27,525 a month in rent, with a build-out allowance of $75 per square foot. For approximately 9,000 square feet, the allowance would total about $675,000.
Herndon said the allowance would not extend throughout the full three-year lease term.
“The rent that we’ll collect over three years will be more than the build-out cost, but at the same time it’s closer to the break-even,” Herndon said. “This is in order to get the space built out, and my guess is they’ll be in there longer than three years.”
Herndon said True North Legacy also received a build-out allowance when it moved into the building, but OpenAI’s allowance is higher because of the complexity of its space.
The lease includes two renewal options. The ECIDA will renegotiate the rental amount after the initial three-year term.
Office for traveling employees
Herndon expects OpenAI’s third-floor space to function as a traditional office, likely serving employees traveling to and from Effingham County rather than housing operations at the proposed data center site.
“They’re going to be people coming and going,” he said. “Their hours are going to be very different from ours. It’ll probably be a lot of different faces.”
