Fort Mill gets its first McDonald’s, in latest Harris Teeter shopping center plan
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- McDonald’s will open a new Fort Mill location at Catawba Ridge Market.
- Fifth Third Bank plans a 1,900-square-foot branch with drive-thru on site.
- Aston projects Catawba Ridge Market to open by spring 2027 in Fort Mill.
Fort Mill will get a new McDonald’s and a Fifth Third Bank as part of the Harris Teeter-anchored Catawba Ridge Market.
Despite having more than 36,000 restaurants worldwide, the new McDonald’s at Catawba Ridge Market will technically be the first one in Fort Mill. There are three other locations in unincorporated areas, though, with Fort Mill addresses.
Charlotte developer Aston lists McDonald’s on its website as a tenant for one of several large outparcel properties in the shopping center under construction near Catawba Ridge High School and Dobys Bridge Park. Aston submitted separate architectural plans to the town for Fifth Third.
A Harris Teeter fuel center is planned too, The Herald previously reported.
The McDonald’s and Harris Teeter fuel center will go on opposite ends of the large parking lot between the 61,000-square-foot grocery store and Fort Mill Parkway. Fifth Third will be at the corner of Fort Mill Parkway and North Dobys Bridge Road, between two outparcels Aston lists online as available.
Two more large outparcels, along with six strip center shopping storefronts at more than 8,600 square feet combined, are shown as being under negotiation. Four outparcels and six retail storefronts, at more than 10,000 square feet for the combined strip shopping area, are listed as available.
Fort Mill to get new McDonald’s
A McDonald’s at Catawba Ridge Market has been speculated about for some time. Town planners sat down with the developer in October 2023 to update a traffic study for the development.
That traffic study listed a McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A and an unnamed sit-down restaurant at the property, The Herald reported at the time.
Traffic studies, though, sometimes use popular businesses as examples to determine how many vehicles will use a new development. Plus, Catawba Ridge Market wouldn’t begin construction for more than a year. When that happened this spring, Aston declined to name any tenants apart from Harris Teeter and the fuel station.
The development should open in spring 2027, Aston president and CEO George Dewey said at the groundbreaking.
There are two McDonald’s restaurants in unincorporated Fort Mill, one off Carowinds Boulevard near the North Carolina state line and another off S.C. 160 West near Tega Cay. There’s another with a Fort Mill address, but it’s on U.S. 521 in Indian Land.
The two closest McDonald’s restaurants to Catawba Ridge Market are in Rock Hill.
Fifth Third Bank adds Fort Mill location
Fifth Third Bank also has a presence in Fort Mill. There’s a branch on Hwy. 160 West, between Fort Mill and Tega Cay. The Ohio-based bank also has 10 Fort Mill sites listed as partner ATM locations.
The new spot near Harris Teeter will be 1,900 square feet with a drive-thru, according to plans sent to the town. The Fort Mill Planning Commission will give the project an appearance review on Sept. 16. Two lanes will wrap around the bank while a third lane also exits the Fifth Third site, plans show.
The drive-thru ATM will be located on the north side, near the property’s entrance along the North Dobys Bridge Road side.
Another Harris Teeter shopping center development
Fort Mill isn’t the only community waiting on a new Harris Teeter.
Aston has a similar project in Lake Wylie, called Westlake Village. That shopping center will go at S.C. 49 and S.C. 55, at the old Five Points intersection.
Aston’s online plans list a Chase Bank, Heartland Dental, Zen Nail Spa and a fuel center to go with the Harris Teeter. Eight more properties, from acre-sized outparcels to strip shopping sites, are listed as under negotiation. Seven sites are still shown as available.
