‘We all lose’ if Octapharma’s $1.5 billion deal in Rock Hill collapses, exec warns
Octapharma is imploring York County and Rock Hill to reach an agreement on an incentives package for its $1.5 billion deal that would create 1,500 high-paying jobs.
It’ll take both sides to come together for the good of the region, a top company official said Monday.
The county and city are embroiled in a disagreement over tax incentive funding that threatens the proposal to build a headquarters campus at Palmetto Research Park. Octapharma Plasma’s vice president asked the York County Council on Monday to take a step back in assessing the situation.
“Years from now, the citizens will not remember how the percentages were divided or who won the negotiation,” the executive, Barry Pomeroy, told county leaders. “They will remember whether their leaders came together to secure one of the largest economic development projects in the history of the region.”
Octapharma, parent company of Octapharma Plasma, is a Swiss biomedical company that uses plasma donations to create medicine. The company negotiated a deal to bring a corporate headquarters and lab facility to a 50-acre site off Interstate 77, at Exit 81.
That’s part of the site the Carolina Panthers had under construction for its team headquarters before that deal fell through four years ago amid a disagreement between the city and team over public funding responsibilities.
Octapharma negotiated a deal that allows the company to pay a fee instead of taxes, with discounts and lower assessment rates over 40 years. Still, that initial deal would mean $362 million paid by the company to the city, county and Rock Hill School District over the life of the incentive.
Initially hailed as a massive economic development win, the project became contentious as York County looked to change where that tax revenue would go. County elected officials looked to send more money to schools, at the expense of their share and the city’s.
County, city and school officials have been unanimous in support of Octapharma. But Rock Hill took exception with giving up nearly $43 million between the initial deal and the one the York County Council approved by a 4-3 vote last week. The county also agreed to give up more than $40 million. Both those amounts would go to school capital funding, under the deal approved by the county.
Rock Hill gave initial approval to the incentive at the original funding allocations. While the county is allowed by state law to determine the funding breakdown, any fee agreement or similar incentive in the city also requires city approval. Rock Hill hasn’t set a date to vote on the York County terms.
The question isn’t what’s best for a county or city council, Pomeroy said during a public hearing Monday. It’s what would be best for everyone who lives in the area.
“The real opportunity is the economic activity and added benefits to both governments and schools that will far surpass the value of these property taxes,” he said.
The school district had remained quiet on the issue until Monday morning, when a specially called school board meeting led to a resolution asking Rock Hill to approve the county’s version of the incentive agreement.
Schools have given up tax revenue for decades through incentives to bring in large companies in city redevelopment efforts, board members say. Now schools face $300 million in capital needs over the next decades, as more than half of schools across the district are more than 50 years old.
York County made its incentive agreement approval effective July 21 to give Rock Hill time to approve the new terms. The city has been in contact with Octapharma and York County in the past week to discuss the issue, with the city attorney having sent notice to the county early last week that city approval hinged on using the initial allocation amounts.
Pomeroy described the high stakes nature of the decision on Monday.
“Governments and schools win if this project comes here,” he said, “and we all lose if it doesn’t.”
This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 11:28 AM.