York County looks to rezone the other side of Fort Mill schools near Silfab
After years of intense debate about the Silfab Solar property on one side of two new Fort Mill schools, York County has a proposal to change what can be built on another side.
A nearly 51-acre site at Gold Hill Road and U.S. 21 Bypass is up for rezoning. If approved, the property would switch from light industrial uses to larger commercial ones. Formal plans haven’t been submitted, but the rezoning fits with county goals to bring high employment to that area near Interstate 77.
Possible land uses include hotels, offices, restaurants or large businesses.
“This is an opportunity for a property of this scale to develop into a cohesive business park,” county long range planner Thomas Newlin told the York County Planning Commission Monday.
Notably, the change would take away industrial uses.
Public outcry has been ongoing for three years as Canadian solar panel manufacturer Silfab prepared for operations. Complaints largely have centered on Silfab’s location beside Flint Hill Elementary School, which opened last fall.
Debate swelled last week amid reports of two Silfab chemical spills. York County reported a 300-gallon spill of potassium hydroxide solution on March 3. On March 5, the county reported a hydrofluoric acid leak that Silfab described as a minor drip it discovered in February.
The school district closed Flint Hill Elementary for two days. Silfab suspended its operations while state and environmental regulators inspected the site. Silfab resumed assembly work, the part of the process that doesn’t use chemicals, resumed Monday night. It had not yet begun manufacturing at the site.
Gold Hill Road property changes
The Eubanks Family Limited Partnership owned the 88 acres off Gold Hill Road where Flint Hill Elementary is open, and Flint Hill Middle School is under construction. It’s set to open this fall. The school district acquired the property in multiple deals in 2017 and 2020, for $4.5 million.
The same family partnership sold nearly 70 acres to a company affiliated with New York City-based Rockefeller Group Development Corporation in 2019.
That property, which includes the 7149 Logistics Lane site where Silfab is, sold for $8.5 million. After speculative buildings were added to the property, current owner Exeter 7149 Logistics bought the property in 2023 for $106 million.
The Eubanks Family Limited Partnership also owns the acreage up for rezoning.
A Pennies for Progress road improvement job will realign the intersection of Gold Hill and U.S. 21 Bypass, splitting the property into a larger and smaller piece. The property has a steep grade on its western side, beside where the middle school is under construction.
The Planning Commission unanimously recommended the zoning change on Monday after a four-minute conversation.
That recommendation goes to York County Council for final approval. Council is tentatively set to hear the case and hold a public hearing on April 6. If it advances, the rezoning would return April 20 for consideration and then for a final reading May 4.
New construction on the property is expected to be less than 500,000 square feet, according to the rezoning application. Proposed uses listed in the application include space for retail, restaurant, office or a convenience store.