Two decades after its Springs Mill closed, Lancaster is poised to take new ownership
The city of Lancaster appears ready to take ownership of a once-thriving economic downtown hub and turn it back into one.
The city will vote Tuesday night on whether to accept ownership of the former Springs Mill site. It’s nine properties that combine for 35 acres, between Old Landsford Road and Brooklyn Avenue. The city’s ownership would end years of legal and environmental wrangling over a site that once employed much of the city.
A mill that opened in 1896 was part of the Springs Industries textile mill operation that once defined communities in Fort Mill, Lancaster and Chester. The Springs Mill in Lancaster closed in 2003, after employing more than 300 people. By 2004 several buildings had been demolished on the Springs property while others fell into disrepair.
Ownership of the Springs Mill property
In 2004, the city and Alabama-based KMAC Soil and Environmental Services reached an agreement to demolish the former mill, clean the site and transfer it to the city. The company didn’t do the environmental work or pay property taxes, according to the city, so the city started paying taxes to keep it from being sold at a tax sale.
The city filed suit against KMAC in 2014 for breach of contract. Five years later, a court ordered the property title be transferred to the city. The problem was environmental.
State law allows for financial incentives to clean up brownfield sites, or places like former mills where contamination issues are likely.. Those rules have been key for large redevelopment jobs in downtown Rock Hill, Clover and elsewhere. Lancaster wants industrial development, but needed brownfield grants at the Springs location.
The 2019 court decision required the KMAC to pay the city more than $46,000 for property taxes and $750,000 for site cleanup. But the city couldn’t take the title to the property without risking its status to accept state cleanup incentives. Two years ago, a judge confirmed the 2019 decision once the city could take ownership. A Catawba Regional Council of Governments grant is ready to fund the cleanup, but it requires city ownership.
City plans for mill redevelopment
In 2020, the city and its economic development arm, Red Rose City Development Corporation, received an award of up to $25,000 for consulting services to develop a plan for the property. Options included government services and light manufacturing. Uncontaminated areas could include residential, retail or restaurant uses.
The city’s vote Tuesday doesn’t name any specific uses, but states it would aid in attracting industrial development. Taking ownership is necessary, according to the city vote, in starting the cleanup process.
