‘Get the ball rolling’: Rock Hill moves forward with Panthers headquarters site plan.
Rock Hill City Council members say there’s still much to be done to finalize a deal with the Carolina Panthers.
One notable item, though, is now off the list.
Council held a public hearing and passed the first of two needed readings earlier this week on annexing, rezoning and coming to development terms with the team for its planned headquarters along I-77.
“This is a good step to get the ball rolling,” Councilman Kevin Sutton said Monday night.
Council cautioned that development terms could change before final reading, and details will come into clearer focus. Mayor John Gettys said he believes the framework is there for what will be a $2 billion investment in the next 15 to 20 years. The Panthers site on the Catawba River side of the city will benefit residents citywide, he said, just like ongoing redevelopment of the downtown area at University Center.
“That’s an important part for us as a community,” Gettys said, “to grow from our core to our shore in seeing good quality to development to hold all that together.”
Several sticking points remain in the Panthers plan.
Four of them involve land uses not allowed by state law or city ordinance. Gambling sites and bars selling alcohol past 2 a.m. aren’t allowed by the state. Cigar bars aren’t allowed in the city smoking ordinance. Tattoo parlors, another use requested by the team, aren’t allowed either.
“We understand hesitations about that,” said Jeff Brown, representing the team Monday night. “We look forward to continued discussions on those particular topics.”
City planning leaders say talks are ongoing on the sticking points, as well as other issues -- from funding police presence at special events to shuttle service, parking, and self-storage.
“We’re still working through those items,” said Paul Dillingham, city attorney. “We’ve made progress on all of them. Very well could be a whole different proposal before you for second reading. This is just keeping the process moving forward.”
Mark Hart, Panthers COO, said the development plan is a mix of fairly certain items and others that could come. The team wants to leave the door open for some possible uses that may or may not fit the final plan.
“It’s a little bit like the kitchen sink,” Hart said. “We’re throwing everything in there because we don’t have all the answers. We don’t know what’s going to occur sometimes a year from now or five years from now or 10 years from now, and certainly not 30 years from now.”
The plan as written allows 70,000 square feet of self-storage in a vertical building.
“There’s not going to be self-storage on this site,” Hart said.
He also points to language on how tall buildings can be. The development agreement allows a tower up to 35 stories, others up to 26 stories and buildings along project boundaries at up to seven stories. That tallest building allowed, if built, would be the highest in South Carolina.
“I have no plans for a 485-foot tower,” Hart said.
Some of the sticking point issues aren’t current plans either.
“Right now, we’re not having tattoo parlors,” Hart said. “Right now we’re not serving liquor after 2 a.m. Right now we’re not doing cigar bars. Doesn’t mean we won’t do them.”
There wasn’t much public input in the plan. One man said he is a veteran and wouldn’t support any NFL team in Rock Hill due to player protests during the national anthem of games. After the meeting, resident Johnathan Nichols said he’s been asking the city since last year to allow tattoo parlors.
“It’s not the state regulation I’m having trouble with,” Nichols said. “It’s the city regulations.”
Nichols said he’d like the team proposal to lead to the city allowing tattoo sites citywide. He’d look to legal action, he said, if the city allows the team to move forward with parlors while banning them elsewhere. Nichols references a petition he said he’s used to gather 600 signatures in favor of allowing tattoo parlors.
“A lot of people don’t have a problem with it,” he said.
City leaders spent considerable time talking roads. The Panthers plan comes with a new I-77 interchange and support roads off it, along with various upgrades to existing roads. Bill Meyer, city planning director, reiterated what he said is both the city and the team desire to coordinate road improvements.
“It’s everyone’s intent to do road improvements once,” Meyer said.
Particularly on Mt. Gallant Road, where Pennies for Progress is all but ready to start construction of a new three-lane stretch near the proposed Panthers site. The Panthers plan calls for five lanes there.
“I hate to start a project knowing two or three years later we’re going to turn around and rip up what we just spent on,” said Councilman John Black.
Other team asks include extending noise ordinance rules allowing sound from events until midnight, some mass grading, a 35-foot perimeter buffer or 25 feet with a screened fence.
The development agreement would allow up to 10 homes and 100 townhomes. It could add up to 1,225 apartments. Half of them would have to be in the core area up first for construction.
“It is likely to include components listed here with the medical office building, the sports and entertainment venue, the practice facility, headquarters and then the practice fields,” said Leah Youngblood, city planning and zoning manager.
That core area would open by mid 2022. Full site infrastructure, minus some outside road improvements, would be in place by the time the main headquarters site opens.
Having that infrastructure in the ground and ready on the front end of so long a buildout is unusual, Black said, and welcome.
“The biggest complaint you get from all over — growth and sprawl, whether it’s Fort Mill, whatever is happening — is the roads and infrastructure can’t handle what’s coming,” Black said. “We’ve got an opportunity.”
This story was originally published November 29, 2019 at 9:28 AM with the headline "‘Get the ball rolling’: Rock Hill moves forward with Panthers headquarters site plan.."
