TIME LINE: The Bleachery through the years

The Herald

A time line of the Bleachery:

1916-1925: Anderson Motor Co. operates a car company at the site that will eventually become Rock Hill Printing & Finishing Co. Production of its cars stops in 1925.

1929: M. Lowenstein and Sons purchases the vacant property and transforms it into a cloth bleachery factory.

1960s: The Rock Hill Printing & Finishing Co. plant, known locally as the Bleachery, becomes one of Rock Hill's leading employers, with a peak of 4,800 workers.

1985: Springs Industries acquires the site as part of its $265 million purchase of M. Lowenstein & Sons.

June 1998: Springs closes the Bleachery, putting about 480 people out of work.

September 1998: Former Bleachery worker Bonnie Watts of Lake Wylie purchases the site from Springs for $6.1 million with a loan from Rock Hill Bank and Trust.

July 2001: Watts is unable to make payments on the property, and Rock Hill Bank & Trust files foreclosure paperwork.

January 2003: Rock Hill developer Lynn Stephenson, businessman Will Simmons of Lake Wylie and four others purchase the property for $600,000 in a foreclosure auction.

2003: The city of Rock Hill pays a Maryland consulting group $452,000 to develop a master plan for redevelopment of the Textile Corridor, including the Bleachery. It is the first of several studies on redevelopment.

March 2007: Owners unveil a plan to turn much of the site into upscale townhouses and condos for older adults to be built by K. Hovnanian Homes.

June 2007: A fire at the Bleachery keeps firefighters busy for 12 hours. No one is injured. The cause is undetermined.

August 2008: Leaders say progress on the Bleachery redevelopment project has been slowed by unforeseen delays, but Stephenson hopes demolition of the property can begin by the end of the year. Plans are for the city to pay for it, which is expected to cost more than $2 million.

July 2009: Fire engulfs much of the structure on the July 4th weekend, occupying firefighters for several days. A second fire erupts a week later. Both are ruled arson.

August 2009: Police arrest a homeless man and a high school student and charge them with arson.

Compiled by Jennifer Becknell