The Rock Hill region’s next 1,500 homes may go somewhere new. Will they strain services?
The next decade of new home growth in the city of Lancaster could surpass any before it, and action on Tuesday may be a major reason why.
Three projects, two of them from the same developer, could combine for almost 1,500 new homes and town homes. Or, based on U.S. Census Bureau data, a total that would’ve been 38% of the city’s entire residential structure count in 2020.
There’s some concern in the city about how all those homes would impact public services, but that could be offset in part by also an influx of new tax revenue.
The city can finalize one proposal and start the process to allow two more when its council meets Tuesday night. Here’s the info on all three neighborhood plans:
▪ Forestar Group wants to develop 435 acres near Poovey Farms into a more than 1,000-home subdivision. It also includes a 15-acre commercial piece located off Airport Road. The property is just south of Great Falls Highway, with most of its frontage along Airport Road.
Three parcels owned by Leroy Springs & Co. or the Elliott White Springs Foundation are up for annexation into the city. So is an almost 6-acre site on Lynwood Drive needed to bring the larger properties close enough for annexation. Combined, they would add 839 homes and 245 town homes.
The property has been part of the Springs family businesses for decades. Springs Industries sold the largest parcel to Leroy Springs & Co. in 1999. Springs Mills owned it at least as far back as 1939, according to county land records. The site is across Airport Road from Lancaster Golf Club, a site Springs Cotton Mills sold to Leroy Springs in 1953.
Council can pass the first of two votes needed to annex the property on Tuesday.
▪ Forestar also has a 321-home subdivision up for final vote, after the city gave initial approval to rezone almost 118 acres last month. The property is next to A.R. Rucker Middle School.
Springland, Inc. owns the site and requested the rezoning. The Scarlet Grove subdivision would sit between U.S. 521 Bypass, Pageland Highway and Flat Creek Road. It’s less than two miles from downtown Lancaster.
Plans submitted to the city indicate homes would be priced in the $325,000 to $390,000 range, targeting first- and second-time homebuyers. All residences would be single-family homes. Plans show one entrance each off Old Dixie and Flat Creek roads, plus Camp Drive. One larger and three smaller amenity areas are shown, with three cul-de-sacs located on the school side of the property.
▪ Fort Mill-based real estate company Coulston Enterprises applied to annex almost 8 acres at Lynwood Drive, Lymon Reece and Reece roads. The property next to the city’s vehicle maintenance shop would become 66 town homes.
A sketch plan shows two entrances to the new subdivision off Reece Road and another off Lymon Reece Road. A road stub points toward Lynwood Drive, that could provide a future connection. The town homes are separated into 11 buildings, each with six town homes.
County land records show Coulston Enterprises bought the property from a rental company in January for $250,000.
New homes to change Lancaster
City police and fire departments told city officials that so many new homes and town homes would put a strain on services. But the projects also would bring in revenue that could grow the city’s capabilities.
The 1,084-home project would add $7.3 million in tax revenue and $3.5 million in ongoing, annual tax money, according to the city. Those amounts don’t include the commercial piece of the project. The smaller town home project near Lynwood Drive would generate about $155,000 in annual tax revenue, according to the city.
The homes also wouldn’t be immediate. The largest plan would take 10 years to build, starting in early 2027.
The city had an almost 91% residential occupancy rate as of the 2020 Census. More homes were built in Lancaster during the 1960s and ‘70s than in the decades since combined, according to the census bureau. The median home value is $194,000.
Even at a 10-year buildout, the more than 1,000 homes would be significant.
That’s on par with some of the largest neighborhoods in fast-growing Fort Mill, Indian Land and Lake Wylie. The city of Lancaster hasn’t had more than 840 homes built in any decade, according to census bureau data.
For decades the growth hot spot in Lancaster County, and the entire Charlotte metro region, has been Indian Land. Now there’s growth beyond it.
The 1,800-home Roselyn neighborhood is closer to downtown Lancaster than it is to the North Carolina line. The Lynwood and Wellspring subdivisions south of Lancaster were proposed this spring at a combined 362 homes.
