Rock Hill nabbed a new HQ project. Here’s what could come next in the region
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- York and Chester counties work out multiple tax deals to attract new industry.
- Riverstone and other firms announced $148.7M in investment and 621 new jobs.
- Codenamed projects and council sessions hint at more deals in negotiation phases.
Riverstone Logistics is the latest large company to pick the Rock Hill region to set up shop. So, which companies will be next?
Clues lie in the ongoing work of county economic development staffs and county councils to attract businesses. Most large-scale corporate moves into the region come with tax incentive deals. York County Council, for instance, finalized an incentive deal on Sept. 15 for a company codenamed Project Cross.
The next morning brought a company name, when Charlotte-based supply chain management company Riverstone announced $16 million plans to bring 159 jobs to The Thread in Rock Hill. The Riverstone announcement came a month after The Herald reported initial tax incentive details for Project Cross.
Several more incentive deals are ongoing across the Rock Hill region. Counties list projects by code names until they’re final, and vary in how many details they release. Here’s a look at some of the projects that could lead to business across the region:
Project Cornice eyes Rock Hill site
A Charlotte company with separate office and manufacturing spaces would move to York County under a deal called Project Cornice. The company would move 46 employees and add 28 new positions. A $12.3 million investment includes the purchase and renovation of a building, plus new machinery and equipment.
York County Council approved a resolution on Sept. 15 to transfer portions of a prior tax incentive deal to Project Cornice. Incentives for Composite Resources, Autosport Resources and WorkSpace Resources would go to a company called Box Turtle Holdings.
The county and Composite Resources struck an economic incentive deal in 2011 for property at 438 Lakeshore Parkway in Rock Hill. The company expanded there and has since moved to Aspen Business Park, after having met its $9.5 million investment obligation from the 2011 deal. Box Turtle Holdings is under contract to buy the 485 Lakeshore Parkway facility from Composite Resources, which includes some economic incentives, according to York County.
Project Cornice will bring new corporate offices and an ornamental metals fabrication plant, with design space for architects and engineers, according to York County. It will specialize in building cladding, or the outer coverings of buildings.
IKO site grows job count in Chester County
Roofing product company IKO is growing jobs and its investment in Chester County. In return, the county is offering an improved incentive package from what IKO got when the company came here two years ago.
Initially called Project Phoenix, IKO projected a $363.3 million investment and 180 new jobs when the company finalized its incentive deal with Chester County in February 2023. The actual targets IKO would have to hit to keep its incentives were $327 million investment and 162 jobs.
Now, IKO projects a $500 million investment and 200 jobs. An amended incentive deal would allow increased special credits against the fee IKO already pays in place of taxes. Those credits could reimburse up to 55% of the fee payments for some years.
Chester County facilities provide raw materials for much of IKO’s more than 35 manufacturing facilities. The company announced plans to remodel a Lancaster Highway site to manufacture fiberglass, and to build a 325,000-square-foot plant on Cedarhurst Road to make fiberglass mats used in shingle factories.
The mat plant started production on July 1 and is running around the clock, a company representative told Chester County Council last week. The fiberglass plant will start up on Sept. 30.
Chester Asphalt Terminal deal finalized
Chester County finalized an incentive deal on Sept. 15 with a company listed as Chester Asphalt Terminal. The company projects a $22.1 million investment within 10 years. If the company hits that mark, the incentive includes a fixed millage and a 6% assessment rate to set a fee in place of taxes, for 30 years. That 6% rate is well below the standard 10.5% assessment rate for manufacturing in South Carolina.
Public information on the deal from Chester County didn’t list any job counts or a location for the project.
Project Blank Page progresses in Chester County
Chester County Council gave preliminary approval to an incentive agreement for Project Blank Page on Sept. 2. The manufacturing project would bring 36 jobs and a $9.3 million investment, according to the county.
The company would get a fee rather than taxes, based on a 6% assessment rate. The company would also get special credits against those fees for 10 years.
Springhill Farm Road site in Fort Mill
On Aug. 18, York County Council agreed to let a tax incentive deal swap from one company to another as part of a property sale in Fort Mill.
Crescent Lakemont East got an incentive deal from the county in 2016 for a speculative building at 194 Springhill Farms Road, near Carowinds Boulevard. A company called 194 Springhill Farm Road LLC bought the 18-acre property as part of a $12.7 million deal in 2018, according to county land records. On Sept. 11, less than a month after York County agreed to swap tax incentives, Texas-based company SL8 Industrial Acquisition bought the property for $25,200.
That company shares a Dallas, Texas, address with private equity real estate firm Stonelake Capital Partners. Online listings advertise more than 200,000 square feet of industrial space at the site. The building is valued at $9.8 million, according to the county.
Semiconductor, solar cleaning company looks to Chester County
ICB America applied to rezone Chester County property for a new manufacturing operation. A German company would start a chemical blending business at the former Heybo Outdoors warehouse at 527 Great Falls Highway in Chester. The plant would have up to 10 employees and an investment of $1.8 million, according to information from a county Planning Commission meeting in August.
The plant would blend a powder with highly purified water to create a cleaning agent for semiconductors and solar panels, according to the planning information.
Project 2493 to build in Chester County
A company known as Project 2493 owns property in Chester Research and Development Park. The company would build a 25,000-square-foot building within 18 months, and get a fee with a 6% assessment rate for 30 years. The company would get up to 60% credits agains those fees. The 29-acre property is at 5335 Richburg Road in Richburg.
More projects in closed door meetings
Before details emerge on large projects, public officials often hear or hammer out details behind closed doors. Since the start of July, York and Chester county councils have gone into executive session more than 20 times to discuss codenamed projects.
York County’s Economic Development Committee met for two hours last week on Project Sample before referring it to York County Council. Council got legal advice on Project Elevate and Project Dinger this month. Project Freedome 1 and Project Freedom 2 made a Council workshop on Aug. 12. A couple of weeks later, Council heard about Project Groot.
Chester County typically uses numbers for its projects. Last week Chester County Council heard about Project 2565 in executive session, but didn’t take any vote on it. On July 21, the council heard details on nine numbered projects.
Recent large corporate additions
Incentive deals and negotiations often lead to new companies in the Rock Hill region. Riverstone makes at least half a dozen new ventures this year.
Swiss manufacturer Schneeberger announced plans in July to come to Rock Hill. Stone material maker Oldcastle announced in May it would move to Lancaster County. The same month, Hissho Sushi announced it would move from Charlotte to Rock Hill. Komar Industries announced a move from Charlotte to York in March, two months after quarry company Luck Industries announced investments in six South Carolina counties, including Chester.
Those companies, along with Riverstone, combine for a $148.7 million investment and 621 jobs in the Rock Hill region.
