Rock Hill, SC  — Tax District Backed

October 2014

The Rock Hill school board has approved a special tax district that could be crucial to development of a 1.5-mile streetcar line to link Winthrop University and the Knowledge Park redevelopment area. Rock Hill is 20 miles south of Charlotte, N.C. The tax decision was reported by The Rock Hill Herald and posted by The State newspaper site. The board agreed to expand the size of the tax district and extend its life to 2039.

Project backers say the streetcar would be a link between the university and downtown, providing a needed economic boost to the redevelopment project by carrying more people to the site. Opponents question the economic benefit and are afraid it would drain taxpayer funds.

Mayor Doug Echols said discussion of the streetcar is premature as the city "lacks sufficient data to make that decision." The streetcar "has not been vetted fully with the public," Echols said, and the sources of funding "are still unknown."