In downtown Rock Hill, the creative crowd is suddenly on defense. Local artists say they are scrambling after city leaders took the first formal step toward selling the Tom S. Gettys Center, a downtown arts hub that packs studios, galleries, and small nonprofit groups under one historic roof. Tenants warn that losing the building would tear a hole in the city's creative network and wipe out some of the last truly affordable studio spaces in Old Town.
City Council recently approved a first reading of an ordinance that would move the building toward a public sale. Mayor John Gettys told reporters the city leases the property to the Arts Council of York County for $1,200 a month while the nearly 100-year-old structure costs more than $60,000 a year to maintain. "The Gettys Center would be an opportunity for us now to attract someone with capital to come in and make some real economic use of that building," Gettys said. Artists such as Dylan Bannister worry a new owner will not keep the informal classrooms, concerts, and open studios that knit the community together. Tenants are organizing, including an artist yard sale planned for April 11 to raise money and attention, according to WBTV.
Money and maintenance
City officials and local coverage point to mounting upkeep as the big pressure point behind the potential sale. In 2025 WSOC reported the city was spending roughly $62,000 a year on maintenance while leasing the building to the arts council at a nominal rate, a setup that created a steady operating shortfall for Rock Hill.
Local reporting shows the property later hit the market with an asking price near $2.26 million, according to HERE Rock Hill. To city leaders, that kind of valuation makes the aging structure look like an underperforming asset. To artists, it looks like the potential eviction notice for a whole ecosystem.
Artists worry about affordable space
Tenants stress that the Gettys Center is not just a collection of locked studios. They describe it as a public front door for the arts, where neighbors can drop in for a class, wander through a gallery show, or buy a painting from the person who made it.
The Arts Council of York County manages the Tom S. Gettys Center and also runs the Center for the Arts downtown. Its own facilities listings show the Gettys building at 201 East Main Street, with gallery and studio space that support public programming and events, according to the Arts Council of York County. Staff and arts council leaders say they are hunting for additional studio options across downtown and the wider county. Current tenants counter that time is short, affordable square footage is scarce, and moving a fragile arts scene is not as simple as swapping leases.
Historic building, complicated choices
The Tom S. Gettys Center is not just sentimental to locals. The building started life as the United States post office and courthouse, completed in 1931 and 1932 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. That pedigree boosts its civic importance and complicates any major renovation or redevelopment. The courtroom and galleries have hosted concerts, exhibitions, and community events for decades, giving the space outsized cultural weight for a mid-sized city, according to Wikipedia.
Preservation rules, high maintenance costs, and a hot real estate market make for a tricky equation. A buyer with deep pockets could restore the building, but artists worry that "restored" might also mean "priced out."
What's next
City Council is expected to take up a second reading of the sale ordinance in a future meeting. Officials say more specifics about sale terms and any prospective buyers will likely surface after that vote.
In the meantime, artists and advocates are pushing for a seat at the table and for a chance to match incoming offers in order to preserve arts uses in the building, according to WSOC. Tenants say they plan to keep classes, exhibits, and outreach going while they chase new studio partnerships and funding leads. For now, they are betting that sustained public attention might be the only thing that keeps the Gettys Center's creative community from being scattered across the city or pushed out entirely.
