Abandoned mills

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The recent struggles of this state's beleaguered textile industry has created a growing problem in South Carolina. The shuttered mills left behind are becoming eyesores, fire hazards and havens for crime.

A worthwhile bill in the Legislature would give owners of mill properties tax credits for up to 25 percent of redevelopment expenses that can be used on either local property taxes or state income taxes. The enormous clean-up costs associated with rehabilitating an industrial site like a textile mill makes this a potentially generous incentive. But foregoing this tax revenue is sensible and necessary given how unattractive an investment a typically aging, environmentally unsound property is. And the potential payoff is worth it: these distressed properties can help transform community liabilities into assets. There are examples here in the Upstate and elsewhere in the state where abandoned mills have been reborn as residential, office and retail properties.

South Carolina, according to the state's Chamber of Commerce, has 66 abandoned mill properties. That number has grown steadily over the past five years, and there could be more closings as global economics keep pushing the textile industry offshore. The Upstate knows too well the difficulty of revitalizing an abandoned mill property. Federal aid, mainly in the form of brownfields grants, has been helpful. But even that assistance is becoming increasingly scarce in a time of federal deficits.

The Legislature should give these communities a needed advantage in revitalizing these properties.