Article from 1942 of Rock Hill Printing & Finishing Company in 1929
By Frank Perdue, former resident of Rock Hill, SC (and current Audit Manager at Sherbert CPA, PC)
Nestled in Rock Hill, South Carolina was a hidden gem in an abandoned textile finishing plant that originally started operations as the Rock Hill Printing & Finishing Company in 1929, which was to become one of the largest textile finishing plants in the country. The Sherbert Group had a vision for breathing new life into the former Rock Hill Printing & Finishing Company building and site. That building and site was redeveloped as mixed-use residential and commercial space called The Powerhouse at University Center (the “Powerhouse”). The redevelopment required extensive demolition and remediation efforts on six large (five-stories tall) boilers, the construction of a more usable floor area with a need for fire-rated separation of floors, acoustically separated adjacent spaces and improved thermal performance by windows. The Sherbert Group was also able to incorporate keeping original vertical steel beams in their design. Additionally, under recommendation from the National Park Service, The Sherbert Group created a four-story atrium design to maintain the visual imagery of the building’s interior. The award-winning Powerhouse now includes 37 apartments, an on-site brewery, restaurants, indoor/outdoor bar and event spaces, including an outdoor area abutting the historic train trestle. The Sherbert Group’s overall capital requirement was more than $10 million, which included an allocation of federal and state historic tax credits and the state textile mill credit. The Sherbert Grouped opened the doors of the Powerhouse in June 2023. The transformation is truly breathtaking! I was a resident of Rock Hill, South Carolina for about 11 years prior to The Sherbert Group’s redevelopment of this building. I drove past this site many times, noticing the broken windows from rocks being thrown through the glass and other deterioration from many years of sitting abandoned. I was really happy to see The Sherbert Group work their magic on this space. Their redevelopment projects are unmatched! I look forward to seeing the redevelopment project they take on next!