FORT MILL, S.C. (CN2 NEWS) – A sizable new project in Fort Mill is connecting communities, in some ways, for the first time. 1,500 acres of land being cleared along the Fort Mill bypass, will be home to Fort Mill’s Elizabeth Project — a mixed used area bringing in more residential and commercial properties.
Driving down the Fort Mill Bypass you may have noticed a large piece of land being cleared. 1,500 acres brought to the town for annexation, was recently bought and is now being cleared for mixed use development.
Penelope G. Karagounis, Fort Mill’s Planning Director, saying, “So about 10 years ago the Spratt family went into a development agreement and annexed the property into the town limits of Fort Mill. And, in the last two years Mr. Spratt sold the property to Lennar homes.”
Town of Fort Mill Mayor Guynn Savage saying, “Over a month of discussion, we also felt as we discussed the property, it was important for us to have a seat at the table to help determine what would happen with the property.”
Leaders say this project site is where the Town of Fort Mill first began, and now the 1,500 acre property will have residential spaces, commercial spaces, green spaces, and for the first time ever direct access to the Catawba River.
“We are going to be working on connecting into downtown and then ultimately to the Elizabeth project and that will have access to Riverwalk. And that is again, just promoting the quality of life for the Town of Fort Mill where we pride ourselves with the foot paths that already exist,” says Karagounis.
Around 1,500 homes, and nearly 60 acres of property for public use and additional land for the town’s waste water treatment facility. Mayor Guynn Savage saying she feels leaders have done a good job of managing growth over the last decade — but she knows there are still concerns.
“For the people that I love that are native to Fort Mill, I hear them, I hear their concerns,” says Mayor Savage.
Mayor Savage saying she understands the sentimental value of that property to Fort Mill natives and the importance of seeing green space, saying leaders have been careful not to disadvantage the town’s residents — working to preserve the town’s tight knit culture.
“I just affectionately said we kind of live in a unicorn. Because, we are a community, we are close knit, we care about one another. The people are what make Fort Mill great. So, we do have challenges, and we look for the benefits within those challenges,” says Mayor Savage.
In the video above, CN2’s Rachel Richardson has more updates on why this project is so significant for the Town of Fort Mill.
