Knowledge Park master plan gets Rock Hill City Council approval

Developers and city officials have spent years envisioning what will replace a burnt-out mill in the middle of Rock Hill. Now a detailed plan for the new Knowledge Park has received the official stamp of approval.

The Rock Hill City Council on Monday voted 6-1 to approve rezoning the property at the heart of the redevelopment plan. The new classification will allow developers to build a mix of commercial properties and urban housing in the area under a proposed blueprint.

The area around the former site of the Rock Hill Printing & Finishing Co. – also known as the Bleachery – had been zoned for a mix of neighborhood and industrial use. But the new “master plan-commercial” approved by the council allows developer Sora-Phelps more flexibility to develop the area, in line with a plan reviewed by the council.

The master plan spells out the details of the expected development for the first time. A 26-acre site would soon be filled with new businesses and places to live, providing a bridge between the downtown business district and the campus of Winthrop University.

Planning Director Bill Meyer said the office space in the planned area would be geared toward “knowledge-based businesses,” but the site could also include “college support functions,” including public buildings like a library.

The architecture for multiple buildings to be constructed alongside the existing smokestacks on the site will mimic “historic mill architecture” with a mix of modern design elements and varying building heights.

“It will give it an organic look that most downtowns have, where buildings were put up at different times by different designers,” Meyer said. “Others (like this) can look kind of Disneyesque.”

Councilman Kevin Sutton cast the sole vote against the plan, out of concern it would limit the council’s control over decisions like building height within the Bleachery area.

The development site is located between West White Street, Stewart Avenue, Laurel Street and a set of railroad tracks. Developers with Sora-Phelps first shared the master plan with a neighborhood meeting Dec. 17, and the plan received approval from the city Planning Commission on Jan. 5.

Sora-Phelps estimates the $200 million investment will create 1,200 jobs. Many of those will be in the former Lowenstein building, which will be converted into office space. Another 42,000 square feet of office space and 118,000 square feet of restaurants and retail shops will be spread over nine buildings across the Bleachery site.

Those businesses will serve people staying in a 60-room, three-story hotel, in 434 beds for Winthrop students spread across two buildings, and three apartment or condominium buildings with 226 units, at least some of which will be designated as senior housing.

For those coming from outside Knowledge Park, there will be 1,687 parking spaces in four on-site garages, including the basement of the Lowenstein building. At least one will have first-floor, retail storefront space.

Among other plans, the former water treatment plant at the site will become an art gallery and museum.

Work on the site will begin later this year and should be completed by 2022.

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 9:03 PM with the headline "Knowledge Park master plan gets Rock Hill City Council approval."