Food hall, brewery, homes: Here’s a taste of York County town’s proposed ‘Main Street’
A food hall, brewery and restaurants are part of ambitious plans to transform growing York County city just south of Charlotte.
A new “Main Street” area to connect historic and newer sections of Tega Cay will start growing out of the ground this spring. The $250-$300 million project, double earlier projections, will add 100,000 square feet of commercial space. It’ll have 225 apartments above retail units. It’ll have 150 homes or townhomes.
The project is expected to create more than 1,000 direct and indirect jobs.
“Main Street Tega Cay is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to revitalize, create and establish a vibrant live-work-play community in Tega Cay,” said Charlotte Living Realty owner Paul Sagadin.
Sagadin updated Tega Cay City Council on Monday night. Renderings of the Charlotte Living Realty, Kinger Homes and Latitude 35 Design Group project showed four-story units with apartments over retail. There were commercial spaces with large gathering areas. Full details are expected within 60 days, including the development’s new name.
Tega Cay doesn’t have a road named “Main Street” in it’s boundaries. The new development is designed to replicate the feel of one, even if the main roadway through it goes by a different name. City officials have referred to the 56-acre project between Stonecrest Boulevard and Dam Road as “Main Street” since its inception as an idea to replace a massive development that never came.
Main Street concept in Tega Cay
Developers came to Tega Cay three years ago asking about the former Game On property. A separate Mooresville, North Carolina, company pitched an 80-acre plan a few years earlier that would’ve been anchored by a world-class sports training facility, a hotel, movie theater, commercial and residential space. The up to $50 million project proposal included dozens of pools, fields and courts. The city annexed and rezoned property for it, but the plan never materialized.
The Trinity at Tega Cay townhomes were built. Apartments over retail, another component of Game On, weren’t built, but carried over as the city regrouped. Mayor Chris Gray proposed the Main Street concept to the new inquiring developers. He saw opportunity for a gathering spot between the peninsula where the city was founded and newer parts in the Stonecrest area.
The development group submitted construction plans late last year. Topography issues and moving dirt from one side of the project to the other caused delays. Sagadin said Monday night a large stream on the property also required layout revisions that delayed the project.
Both city officials and developer said the project is so integral to Tega Cay’s future that they want to get it right.
Retail and home layout, timeline
The mixed-use section on the northwest side of the project, along Stonecrest Boulevard just south of the Walmart shopping center, will come first. It’ll have a small food hall, brewery and restaurants, Sagadin said. There will be commercial space as part of a large marketplace area. Carriage, or small lot, homes will go there, too.
Development should start next spring. The marketplace area should be done by early 2026, followed by the first homes there that summer. The marketplace area will be similar to Optimist Hall, the north Charlotte textile mill conversion mixing restaurants, retail and event space.
The northeast part of the property, along Dam Road, will have a large “Main Street” thoroughfare with apartments and retail. Development should begin a year from now. Residential areas there should be complete by spring 2027, and commercial by spring 2028. The entire development should be complete by late 2028.
There’s a 3-acre public park and trail areas between the eastern and western sections. To the south, there will be new homes.
What to expect at Main Street
This summer, Gray talked about potential tenants including a grocery store and other anchors. He noted a mix of national chains and smaller options, including local business opportunities in the eastern “Main Street” section. He didn’t offer names of any coming businesses.
Sagadin didn’t mention any on Monday, either. He talked generally about ice cream shops, wine bars, and coffee shops as potential fits. Sagadin mentioned an amphitheater and other amenities. A large landing or deck space near restaurants in the first-phase area include one gathering space almost as big as a football field, he said.
Renderings showed a drink rail at a brewery and a beer garden connected to a trail. Sagadin compared that marketplace area to nearby Kingsley in Fort Mill, if the large pond at Kingsley were a grassy gathering space.
Ample parking and outdoor spaces are key components, he said. Some newer developments in the region may have missed opportunities to let people gather, he said, but Tega Cay’s project won’t. Fire pits, picnic table, playgrounds or cornhole boards are some options that will make the marketplace a “coffee to cocktail,” or all-day, attraction.
“That’s such a destination thing for families, and people to enjoy the day and not just the hour that they’re going out to have a burger,” Sagadin said.
The development team plans to submit a grading plan for the site early next month. If the city approves it, more detailed work will begin.
This story was originally published November 19, 2024 at 1:02 PM.
