A prime steakhouse, brewery and unique apartments to power next Rock Hill development
From the newest downtown brewery to the highest-end steaks to some of the most unique apartments, plans are sky high for the almost century-old brick building that once powered an iconic Rock Hill business.
“Hopefully it’s just a hub of a lot of great times to come,” said Tara Sherbert, CEO of The Sherbert Group and developer of the The Power House.
The 378 Technology Center Way address is a 60,000-square-foot redevelopment of the building that once powered the 2.5 million-square-foot Bleachery site in Rock Hill. It’s best known for its two tall brick smoke stacks. The Power House will have 37 apartments from studio to three-story.
Earlier this year Pineville-based Middle James Brewing Company signed as an anchor tenant. Since, restaurant additions include Ms. Lillian’s Kitchen, Flip Out Burger, Gordo & Chuli Taqueria and Naroodle Chibi. The newest signing is Epic Prime, an upscale steakhouse concept from the same group that brought Epic Chophouse in Fort Mill.
There’s also Charlotte-based ice cream shop The Local Scoop and Javesca Coffee Roasters. Bareknuckle Barbershop is part of the project, too.
Middle James is under construction in what was the old turbine room. It will overlook new event space on the Power House side nearest the Rock Hill Sports & Event Center. Epic Prime will be below Middle James, with a private patio along one one of the smoke stacks.
Sherbert said her team worked eight months with Epic Prime partner Elliott Close on the restaurant concept. The steakhouse will have an intimate feel and offer an experience unlike others in the Rock Hill area.
“Having that very high-end, prime component of every steak was very important and very fitting for this building,” Sherbert said of Close’s vision, “and we very much agree.”
Apartments should show up on rental sites within a couple of weeks. New residents should move in mid-February. The eight-stall food hall in under construction and should have equipment coming in February, with a planned March opening.
“To open up one use we really need other uses,” Sherbert said.
Early planning for The Power House included a fully commercial concept. The COVID-19 pandemic and time since changed those plans to the mixed-use concept in place now.
“The Power House was always intended to be the entertainment hub for the entire University City area,” Sherbert said.
The developer has some experience. Drayton Mills in Spartanburg is almost 400,000 square feet with 289 luxury apartments and 60,000 square feet of retail. To date, Sherbert said, it’s the largest textile mill redevelopment of its kind in the state. The Power House will have the same elements, just fit into 60,000 square feet of space.
Sherbert’s company has a few more prospects throughout the region for redevelopment. Keeping the old steel and historic frames in place set apart projects like The Power House. A three-bedroom apartment there, for instance, utilizes the old coal trough as an open atrium.
Which can cause challenges.
“This is anything but a square box,” Sherbert said.
It took eight months to clear the site full of old boiler equipment, then another eight for construction. New residents and guests at business sites will see the same steel bones and brick accents that have long been part of the city’s landscape.
Yet it’s also the newness of downtown that will help The Power Plant. Along with the sports arena there’s new business in the Lowenstein Building, 144 new apartments right behind The Power Plant, student housing, a hotel and The Thread bringing more new business.
“Rock Hill is obviously on fire,” Sherbert said. “It’s a great place to be. The timing of this project, we feel, is just about perfect.”
This story was originally published December 29, 2022 at 7:51 AM.
