Proposed plan would put 475 new homes, townhomes and apartments in Rock Hill
A new plan that would reshape much of the Mt. Holly and Albright roads corridor with new homes, apartments and business is on its way to Rock Hill City Council.
The city planning commission recommended a sweeping zoning change on Tuesday night. The decision now goes to council on Sept. 25.
York Capital and Albright Corners applied to rezone 127 acres at Mt. Holly and Albright roads, just south of Saluda Street. Two separate areas are located on either side of the Southland Park neighborhood off Pearson Drive. The properties are a little east of Rock Hill Country Club.
The zoning change would allow a mixed-use property combining residential and commercial. A submitted proposal shows 475 new homes, townhomes or apartments. The project is broken into two pieces, Albright Commons East and Albright Commons West.
Albright Commons East is the larger piece. At about 71 acres, it’s east of Mt. Holly Road and south of Albright Road. The southern portion would have 174 townhomes and 150 apartments. A portion along Albright would have about 150,000 square feet of office, retail or commercial space.
Albright Commons West would be about 50 acres on the west side of Mt. Holly Road. It would add 250 apartments, 40 townhomes and 35 homes. Immediately north of the apartment area is commercial property owned by Walmart.
City planner Dennis Fields said there at one point was movement there to locate a new Walmart.
New public streets and private alleys would be built, with on-street parking and sidewalks. The proposal would limit commercial buildings to 50,000 square feet.
The intent is to attract businesses that serve nearby neighborhoods, rather than creating larger regional draws or companies that would detract from existing or coming homes.
Two separate apartment areas would each have their own amenity areas, per the plan. Townhomes could be up to three stories, with four to six units per building. The 35 homes would be adjacent to the Country Club Estates subdivision on lots comparable in size to the Holly Hills and Taylor Oaks subdivisions.
Albright Commons West would include a clubhouse with a pool in the apartment area and at least two more amenities in common open space for the new home area. Albright Commons West would have a recreation or gathering room, resource center, fitness and laundry facilities in the apartment area and at least four more amenities in common open space areas.
It hasn’t been determined, according to the zoning application, which areas or property uses would be developed first.
The plan shows three new entrance or exit points each off Mt. Holly and Albright roads. There are two more connection points to the existing Southland neighborhood.
There are portions of Albright Commons East that are within the property up for rezoning, but aren’t included.
“There is a bakery,” Fields said. “There is a self-storage facility and then there is another parcel that is in the middle.”
Food desert, new homes
City staff have referred to the area up for development as a food desert because of the scarcity of grocery stores. There have been studies and past community efforts aimed at bringing new investment and development to the area. The properties are now zoned for commercial use, but adding residential is a step the city and developers see as crucial to attracting commercial development.
“This area...is definitely a bit of a food desert, a bit of an opportunity area for some homes, population growth, retail growth, commercial growth,” said Taylor Seeloff with The Nichols Company, representing York Capital on Tuesday night.
“We tried to lay out this plan to best meet those needs.”
Fields said the zoning change isn’t the typical sort, where a property zoning changes to allow a set list of land uses. Because the zoning is to a master plan, it would lock in approved development conditions with the change that are specific just to that site.
“This one does have a plan that is approved along with it,” Fields said.
The developer asked for a host of tweaks to what city zoning typically would allow. They relate to buffer distances, driveway dimensions and other features. The city still will see and ultimately have to approve project details when it returns for major site plan or preliminary plat review.
Fields said any deviations from city code due to soil conditions or other factors at the property wouldn’t open the city up to changes for other zoning districts or projects.
“Master plans lock it into only this development,” Fields said.
This story was originally published September 6, 2023 at 12:35 PM.
