More than 500 acres in York County now belong to a New York conservation group

A group dedicated to conserving land for public use now has 560 more acres in York County.

Open Space Institute, based in New York City, was among dozens of June buyers who pulled off million-dollar property sales across the Rock Hill region. That group conserved more than 50,000 acres across South Carolina since 2012, with almost all of it publicly accessible.

Open Space Institute Land Trust bought 560 acres of western York County property on June 12 for $4.9 million. The 19 parcels are on Forest View Road and S.C. 55. The area is north of Smyrna and south of Kings Mountain State Park.

Prior to last month, Open Space worked to conserve more than 3,300 acres across the three-county area, most of them in Lancaster County. The group has been involved with sites like Landsford Canal, Forty Acre and Kings Mountain where large parks are open.

Here’s a closer look, according to county land records, at other large deals:

Fort Mill, Lake Wylie home sales

More than 30 million-dollar home sales in June center largely in two areas — Fort Mill and Lake Wylie. Yet a Rock Hill home on Blue Heron Drive was the biggest sale, at more than $2.1 million.

After two Lake Wylie homes just below the $2 million mark, a Lancaster home went for nearly $1.6 million. Fort Mill, though, had nearly half the area’s million-dollar sales, with 15.

Use the map below for a closer look at all the June sales that hit seven figures.

Commercial, industrial property sales

Non-home sales include the following business and conservation projects:

• Southeast Recycling Group, based in Dallas, North Carolina, bought the Nucycle property in Rock Hill on June 4 for $7 million. Nucycle came to the city four years ago with more than $15 million plans to add a metal recycling facility. Southeast Recycling bought five properties on Porter Road and the Flint Street extension that combine for about 30 acres.
• A Charlotte company bought more than 8 acres in Rock Hill on June 11 for $5.8 million. The property at 1450 E. Main St. has nearly 44,000 square feet of commercial buildings on it, between Main and a rail line. It’s near Albright and Porter roads in the south part of the city.
• New York City-based asset company Bluerock Real Estate bought a nearly 45,000-square-foot commercial building at 1332 Fire Tower Road in Rock Hill on June 4 for $5.1 million. The former electric service and repair space was built on the more than 4-acre site in 1983.
• Kings Mountain, North Carolina-based CK Contractors and Development bought a 26-acre undeveloped property in Lake Wylie on June 17 for $3.2 million. It’s at the intersection of Charlotte Highway and Cannonball Run.
• A Tampa, Florida, company bought the Chester Manor apartments at 100 Torbit St. in Chester on June 30 for $2.6 million. The site includes five apartment buildings.
• A Monroe, North Carolina, company bought more than 25 acres of waterfront Lake Wylie property on June 4 for $2.5 million. The 2609 Hands Mill Highway site on Big Allison Creek was once a camp site that belonged to the Girl Scouts Hornet’s Nest Council.
• Charlotte-based 561 Lowcountry bought the Bojangles at 8327 Collins Road in Indian Land on June 18 for $2.4 million.
• A Greenville company bought more than 2 acres of commercial property at 3339 Ridgeway Road in Great Falls on June 29 for $2.3 million.
• A company in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, bought 514 acres of timber property on June 30 for $2.2 million. The property is near the southwest corner of York County, along Blanton Road north of McConnells Highway.
• Open Space Institute bought a separate Forest View Road property on June 12 for $1.9 million. That site is 27 acres.
• Codo Investments from Greenville bought 12 Settlemyre Place properties in York on June 26 for $1.1 million.

This story was originally published July 8, 2026 at 6:00 AM.