New deal set for part of old Panthers headquarters site in Rock Hill. What’s next?
Rock Hill has a deal pending to sell part of the former Carolina Panthers headquarters site off Interstate 77 that had been mired in controversy.
The city on Monday passed the first of two readings needed to sell 50 acres on Palmetto Parkway for something called Project Palmetto Rock. The city didn’t give a price or other details regarding the deal.
City Attorney Paul Dillingham declined to give details on the project due to economic development and disclosure purposes. Rock Hill City Council voted on the deal without comment.
The city owns a 215-acre parcel just west of the interstate at Exit 81. That’s where the Panthers announced $2 billion plans in 2019 to build a new headquarters and training facility prior to the COVID pandemic.
Disagreements between the team and city on funding responsibilities led the Panthers to pull out of the project in 2022.
What happens next at former Panthers HQ site
Rock Hill acquired the property four years ago through bankruptcy of the company set up by the Panthers for project. The site had the Panthers unfinished headquarters building on it at the time.
The city has been marketing the property in recent years as Palmetto Research Park.
More than 100 acres of developable property could have a 1.6 million-square-foot building on it, according to the city listing. City officials have stated a preference for life sciences of advanced manufacturing on the site, and a willingness to subdivide it if the right deal came along.
The city finalizing the deal to sell the property wouldn’t necessarily make details public on plans there.
If it’s part of a negotiated economic development deal, state law allows for details to remain private until it’s complete. York County, in addition to the city, would be involved in that sort of deal.
Closing on a property sale would make at least some details public.
The York County Economic Development Committee is scheduled to discuss a contractual matter related to the project in executive session on Wednesday.