Former Fort Mill recreation hotspot may become latest site for more new homes
About 80 acres between two of Fort Mill’s most historic recreation sites could be cleared for more new homes.
Tri Pointe Homes applied to build 108 homes off Nims Lake Road. The site is just north of Nims Lake, which served as a public swimming hole, camp site and dance hall for several decades after World War II. The site is south of Fairway Drive and Fort Mill Golf Club, a public course that opened in 1948.
The property slated for new homes also includes about half the shoreline of a pond at Spring Branch Glen Park, part of the Spring Branch neighborhood. That pond covers more than 5 acres, a bit larger than Nims Lake. It’s less than half a mile north of Nims Lake.
The Tri Pointe project could move forward despite an ongoing moratorium on residential construction in town.
Tri Pointe proposal for Fort Mill
Tri Pointe Homes applied for several town decisions related to the project.
The builder asked to annex all or part of six properties, at a combined 74 acres. There’s a rezoning request for 3 more acres. There’s also an annexation for about 13 acres that the property sellers would keep after homes are built on the remaining portions.
Tri Pointe asked the town to amend the Arden Mill development agreement to include all those properties. Arden Mill has nearly 100 homes on Fort Mill Parkway, between Nims Lake Road and Banks Trail Middle School.
The new home area would slightly realign Nims Lake Road, according to a site plan submitted with the proposal. It would extend Fred Nims Road toward Arden Mill, and connect into Arden Mill near Belden Drive and Holden Court.
The site plan map shows a central open space area, the existing pond to the north and six retention ponds. Two of them are beside the existing park pond.
Fort Mill housing moratorium
Two months ago, Fort Mill finalized a moratorium on residential projects.
It prohibits the town from accepting and processing requests that include include any residential construction through the end of the year. Annexation and rezoning requests like the one on Nims Lake Road are the type of decisions the town won’t make until the moratorium ends.
The town opted to allow decisions, though, on projects that were ongoing when the moratorium took effect. The town requires a traffic impact analysis for large projects, and town planners received the traffic study for the Tri Pointe project before the moratorium started, said town spokesman Chris Sardelli.
The project is listed as an extension of Arden Mill rather than a new subdivision. Both Tri Pointe and Classica Homes are working on the annexation, Sardelli said.
The decisions on the Nims Lake Road property involve a town Planning Commission recommendation, then a public hearing with two approval votes by Fort Mill Town Council. The Planning Commission will look at the project Tuesday.
Commercial, residential, school growth in Fort Mill
Other planning items facing the town include updates on commercial projects, a school site, a medical facility and another large subdivision. Here are the details:
- Harris Teeter applied for an appearance review from the town Planning Commission. The grocer will build a nearly 64,000-square-foot store to anchor Catawba Ridge Market, at 2068 Mary Hinson Ct. off Fort Mill Parkway. The review only slightly updates plans, mainly in asking for canopies on the front and left sides of the store. The store should open in 2027, developers said this spring. Catawba Ridge Market will have restaurant and retail space around the Harris Teeter grocery store.
- GMK Associates asked for a commercial appearance review for an ambulatory surgical facility at 533 Munn Road. Carolina Cardiology Associates applied to put a nearly 15,000-square-foot medical site near the Munn Road intersection with S.C. 160. The two-story building would have two operating rooms and space for patients before and after procedures.
- The owner or property beside the Shell Rapid Lube at 820 Tom Hall St. applied to build a mult-tenant commercial building there. The 5,600-square-foot, single-story building does not list any tenants, according to information submitted to the town.
- Clear Springs Development applied for a subdivision plat for three properties at or near 902 Steele St. That’s where the Fort Mill School District intends to build its early childhood education center. That preschool facility was part of a $204 million bond passed last year by voters.
- A 2-acre property at 1443 Williams Road is up for annexation. It would provide road frontage for Williams Reserve, a Mattamy Homes proposal for 413 homes, town homes and senior residences between Williams Road and Fort Mill Parkway.
