New owner plans to transform Rock Hill’s historic Gettys Center into restaurant
Rock Hill’s historic Gettys Center is expected to become a restaurant, marking a major shift for the nearly century-old downtown landmark that has long served as a home for York County’s arts community.
On Monday, Rock Hill City Council approved the sale of the Tom S. Gettys Center at 201 E. Main St. to Collected LLC for $650,000, according to the purchase agreement. The buyer is tied to a South Carolina-based hospitality group with restaurants, including Whitaker’s in Fort Mill and Conway, city leaders said during the meeting. The deal comes at a significantly lower price than the building’s earlier public asking price of about $2.26 million.
The agreement gives the developer a 150-day due diligence period to inspect the property, secure approvals and negotiate design and use restrictions with the city before closing. City officials said the project is being pursued with a restaurant in mind, though final terms still must be negotiated.
“We’ll get to determine whether what his end game is fits our vision for downtown,” Mayor John Gettys said during Monday’s meeting, describing the second reading vote as the point where the city formally enters into a contract with the buyer.
According to its website, Collected Hospitality is a growing restaurant group with 12 locations across four brands throughout the Southeast that emphasizes “the adventure of the culinary journey.” The brand’s focus is on creating memorable dining experiences in settings ranging from historic landmarks to new developments. In the Charlotte region and York County, that includes two CO restaurants in Charlotte and Whitaker’s Bar in downtown Fort Mill, restaurants that generally lean toward polished spaces with craft cocktails and “modern touches.”
The contract requires Collected to invest at least $1 million beyond the purchase price into renovating and rehabilitating the building, preserve the historic Gettys Center name, comply with historic preservation standards and meet future city-approved design and use conditions. The agreement also requires the buyer to obtain a building permit by December 2027 and complete the project no more than two years after that.
A space for York County artists
Originally built in 1930 as a federal courthouse and post office, the Gettys Center has functioned as a cornerstone of Rock Hill’s creative community since 1987. The building houses artist studios, gallery space and performance venues that many local artists have said are difficult to replace.
The city has argued for more than a year that maintaining the aging property had become too costly, prompting efforts to sell the building. But the process has drawn criticism from artists and preservation advocates, who previously told The Charlotte Observer they felt the city had been opaque about buyers, timelines and what redevelopment could mean for the dozens of artists working there.
“The whole process has not been transparent,” Gettys Center artist Dylan Bannister previously told the Observer as the sale process unfolded.
That uncertainty grew earlier this year when competing bidders publicly emerged during council meetings — including local developer Warren Norman, who said his proposal was higher and included artist relocation help, and real estate group Commercial Carolina. The City Council was initially set to approve the sale to Collected in January before Norman asked that his bid be considered.
The purchase agreement also addresses the Arts Council’s current status in the building. The contract says the Arts Council’s lease has been terminated, but the city has not yet given notice requiring tenants to vacate. Under the agreement, closing can be delayed until the Arts Council leaves the property or other arrangements satisfactory to the buyer are made.
Bannister previously told the Observer that Gettys is more than studio space, it is one of Rock Hill’s few centralized creative hubs and hosts everything from visual art to live performances.
“There’s not really another space like that here,” he said.
This story was originally published April 30, 2026 at 11:39 AM.
