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EDITORIAL: Big plans for Celanese site(Herald, The (Rock Hill, SC) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Apr. 1--The expansive plan to transform the property that once was the site of the Celanese plant on Cherry Road entails more than just a few buildings and a parking lot. Once completed, it will be equivalent of adding an entire small town to the edge of Rock Hill. The multipurpose complex, which will encompass 1,000 acres, is enormously ambitious. All in all, construction is expected to total $600 million. Anchoring what will be known as River Falls is a proposed industrial park with roughly 4 million square feet of industrial space. That is larger than any other park in the Charlotte area. The complex also will feature a large shopping center facing Cherry Road; upscale homes on wooded land along the Catawba River; football and baseball fields, and space for other outdoor activities. The proposed shopping center is comparable in size to Carolina Place Mall in Pineville, N.C. Location is the key to this project. Developers say that finding 1,000 acres of available land in an urban setting next to an interstate, close to existing railroad lines and centrally located between Charlotte and Columbia is virtually unheard of. Construction could begin as soon as the Rock Hill City Council gives the official go-ahead, but the project could take 10 years or more to complete. When construction is finished, however, new tenants could generate roughly $25 million in taxes and utility revenues, or the equivalent of 12 percent of the city's current general fund. The commitment to River Falls is evident. Since 2005, the group financing the project has sunk $40 million into it. During earlier planning stages of this project, Rock Hill and York County officials had some concerns that too much of the property would be devoted to residential development. The details of the proposed industrial park and the shopping center revealed last week should go a long way in allaying those concerns. That is good news. With access to both the interstate and a major rail line, as well as other infrastructure, this property is the ideal location for industrial growth that can help balance the booming residential growth in the county. Quality development at River Falls also should encourage new growth in the surrounding area. That is fitting for the site that once housed one of Rock Hill's major industries, employing at its peak more than 1,600 workers. The changes due to take place there over the next decade should be something to watch. Copyright (c) 2007, The Herald, Rock Hill, S.C. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |