The long-planned redevelopment of the former Bleachery site in Rock Hill is beginning to come alive.
The Keith Corp. and Springs Creative are leading the efforts to develop The Thread, which calls for the revitalization of the 400,000-square-foot former distribution building. The project includes over 50,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space, with the rest of the building being developed into office space. The Thread is expected to draw an investment of over $100 million upon full buildout.
Jay Coleman, office partner at The Keith Corp., said the developers secured permitting for the first phase of the project in the second quarter. Since then, the efforts to get the project started have ramped up significantly. The project is being more heavily marketed and interest has grown stronger in recent months, he said. Pre-leasing is fully underway, and construction will begin when more tenants are secured.
The developers are also close to unveiling the first piece of the project called Freight Yard at The Tread, a food truck court and outdoor event space. The development team feels The Thread fulfills a need in Rock Hill's Knowledge Park, which has drawn over $500 million in investment for new projects.
"(The Lowenstein Building) is about 85% occupied, so it is pretty much spoken for," Coleman said. "The rest of the developments in here are mostly multifamily or retail. So if you look at Knowledge Park and the availability of where a significant office presence could be, we're kind of it."
Plans for Freight Yard were developed last summer as a way to kick off The Thread and bring some life to the site, Coleman said.
Claude Close, a partner for The Thread, said Freight Yard brings a way to feed visitors of the neighboring Rock Hill Sports & Event Center. He said it also fits into the overall vision for the University Center area of Rock Hill, which aims to connect downtown and Winthrop University. Close and Coleman feel the venue is good for walkability and can attract college students and other residents and visitors alike.
"Over time, we think it will morph into like a restaurant/brewery/biergarten type of thing," Coleman said.
Photos of The Thread project in University Center, a part of Knowledge Park in Rock Hill. Uploaded on Aug. 21, 2019
The Thread was announced in 2019, as Springs Creative CEO Derick Close, Claude's father, tapped The Keith Corp. as his development partner. Claude said his father has envisioned a redevelopment for the building for around five years.
Upon The Thread's announcement, the developers hoped to open it in 2020. But, pandemic-related challenges delayed the project.
Springs Creative will be the anchor tenant at The Thread, occupying nearly 30,000 square feet of space on the first floor of the building, plans show. Coleman said once another 30,000 square feet of space is leased, construction will begin on the spaces. The construction process will take around 12 months, Coleman said. He added there are several interested tenants that would easily take up the space required to get the project going.
"Obviously, during the pandemic, leasing interest slowed considerably," Claude Close said. "But we've definitely started to see things pick up in the last several months and starting to see some real interest again."
The developers feel The Thread is a unique opportunity for office users. The building is three floors and has 135,000-square-foot floorplates on the second and third floors. That allows a business to lease a large space all on one floor. Coleman also touted the location in a growing area near downtown Rock Hill that is close to Charlotte.
Once 100,000 square feet of The Thread is leased, developers will build a 1,271-space parking deck on the site, Coleman said. Until then, an existing surface lot of around 300 spaces will be used.
Coleman said tenant interest was slow from the start of the pandemic until midway through the first quarter of 2021. Large tenants, which The Thread is geared toward, were less interested during that time and most interest was just exploratory, he said. Now, interest is healthy, as the development team has enhanced its efforts to activate The Thread in recent months.
"It's no longer kicking tires," Coleman said of the current tenant interest. "Companies have confidence and clarity coming out of the proliferation of vaccines and seeing the path forward, and now they are starting to enact plans they had prior to Covid. ... We're in a good spot right now."