Rock Hill wants developer for ‘Bleachery’

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ROCK HILL, S.C. — The city of Rock Hill is seeking developers to propose projects on a site known as “the Bleachery,” according to a website city created to tout the 23-acre area.

Formerly the home of The Rock Hill Printing and Finishing Co., which opened in 1929 and went out of business in 1998, it is believed to have been at one point the world’s biggest cloth printing and finishing plant.

Last year, the city took ownership of the site — in Rock Hill’s “Old Town” district — and demolished several of the structures. The city left standing a powerhouse, the Lowenstein office building, a filter plant and a water tower.

The city began trying to drum up interest from developers by launching rockhillbleachery.com.

The website, which lists tax credits and financing incentives, notes that the site is between downtown and Winthrop University. The land could be a strategic location for the “under-served university market of 7,500 students, faculty and staff that could grow by as much as 50 percent over the next decade,” according to the website.

The Bleachery would also be along a proposed rail line to Charlotte, according to the website.

Katie Quinn, spokeswoman for the city, hinted that there might be soon be news about the Bleachery.

In the near future, “I’m sure we’ll have lots to talk about,” she said.

Tony Brown can be reached at [email protected], (704) 247-2912 or on Twitter at @tonymecktimes.