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A toxicology laboratory is relocating from Charlotte to Rock Hill and increasing its workforce by 200 jobs.
Physicians Choice Laboratory Services announced Tuesday it is investing $24.1 million in a new building in the Riverwalk Business Park in Rock Hill, off U.S. 21.
It’s the second major shift of jobs from Charlotte to York County in two months. In September, Shutterfly, an Internet site where customers can share photos, announced it was moving south of the state line, creating 416 jobs.
Mark Farris, York County’s economic developer, said the two announcements – more than 600 new jobs and nearly $85 million in investment – represent “a good indicator that economic stability is returning to York County.”
The announcements come as unemployment in York County dipped below 10 percent for the first time in 45 months.
Physicians Choice Laboratory Services is currently working out of eight different buildings off Westinghouse Boulevard in Charlotte, said Paul Schmidt, the company’s chief financial officer. It employs about 150 people.
The company expects its workers will make the move to a new 100,000-square-foot building at Riverwalk. The new facility is expected to be in operation by July, but company officials hope to open sooner.
Overall, the company has committed to South Carolina that it will increase its workforce to 364 employees within five years.
The lab is the first company to build in the Riverwalk Business Park, site of the former Celanese Corp. textile plant. The lab, the county and the state are sharing in the cost of building a new access road from North Cherry Road to the site.
The site means Physicians Choice Laboratory Services is eligible for federal “textile mill tax credits,” which could reduce the company’s cost of construction by up to 25 percent.
Other incentives include a fee-in-lieu-of-tax agreement with the York County Council that will reduce the company’s property tax by 43 percent for 20 years. South Carolina’s Coordinating Council for Economic Development also approved job development credits, once hiring targets are met.
Physicians Choice Laboratory Services offers screening for painkillers and opiates, Schmidt said. The company opened in Charlotte in 2009 and has seen “steady growth,” he said.
