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New
law clears way for vacant mill sites in S.C.to be revitalized
May
13, 2004
By WALLACE
McBRIDE
Index-Journal
senior staff writer
South
Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford signed into law this week a bill
offering tax incentives to companies that invest in the
revitalization of vacant manufacturing
facilities.
Companion bills were introduced in the House
and Senate in March, and quickly found support among delegates
across the state.
“We’ve all been touched by textile job
losses,” said state Rep. Gene Pinson, R-Greenwood, a sponsor
of the House bill.
When the bills were introduced, there
were an estimated 66 vacant plants in South Carolina, he said.
The bill provides tax credits for rehabilitation expenses made
to sites once used as textile manufacturing facilities or
related purposes.
Local municipalities or county
governments would have the right to approve which businesses
would be eligible for property tax credits, and could refund
up to 75 percent of real property taxes each year for up to
eight years.
Governing bodies would also be required to
notify all affected local taxing entities of any intention of
refunding tax credits.
The bill is not necessarily an
effort to kick-start the state’s ailing textile industry, said
Pinson. Any kind of business use at these former sites could
be eligible for this incentive, he said.
Since 1997, 66
textile plants have closed in South Carolina, leaving empty
buildings and deserted lots, according to the S.C. Chamber of
Commerce. Nine of those textile mills have closed since
2003.
“I hope it’s going to be an incentive to get a lot of
vacant buildings reactivated, rejuvenated and revitalized
— and put a tax paying capability on that property,”
Pinson said.
Wallace McBride covers Greenwood and
general assignments in the Lakelands. He can be reached at
223-1812, or: wmcbride@indexjournal.com
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