A band of Fort Mill businesses have a new name and look. Here’s what they see coming.
A group of Fort Mill businesses wanting to grow their numbers in town have a new name and a new look.
What was the Fort Mill Economic Council is now Fort Mill Economic Partners. The group launched a new website Friday — fortmillep.org — aimed both at attracting new businesses to town and connecting existing businesses with people seeking jobs, demographics and other vital business information.
“We’re excited that businesses, those that currently call Fort Mill home and those that are thinking about locating here, now have a single hub where they can access a broad spectrum of information and incentive programs, seek out new commercial space, and learn more about the demographic make-up of the Town of Fort Mill and Fort Mill Township as a whole and how their business can thrive here,” said LeAnne Burnett Morse, executive director.
With the recent changes, Morse took time to discuss her group’s challenges, successes and economic forecast in a growing town.
Here are questions and her answers:
How long has the Fort Mill Economic Council, now Fort Mill Economic Partners, been around? And what’s the main role the group wants to serve in town?
Fort Mill Economic Partners began in 2005 as “Move Fort Mill Forward,” an offshoot of the Downtown Merchants’ Association. The group’s primary goal at that time was bringing business back to a largely-deserted Main Street while preserving its historic character. Over the years, the mission has grown in scope to include all of the Town of Fort Mill as well as Fort Mill Township, which encompasses the town proper, Tega Cay, and the unincorporated area between the two. Our focus is on attracting new businesses and helping existing companies expand, which creates jobs for our local workforce. We have an educated and skilled workforce right here in Fort Mill and thousands of those residents are commuting to Charlotte and beyond every day to work. We’d like for them to have plenty of opportunities to stay here to meet their career objectives.”
How has the business community changed with overall town growth in recent years? Has that change shifted how Fort Mill Economic Partners operates?
Growth is the word on everyone’s lips when it comes to Fort Mill, but we tend to think of that in terms of rooftops and population. That’s just part of the story. In recent years, the economy of Fort Mill has seen a shift in the business sector that has brought a chunk of the financial services market to our doorstep. LPL, Lash Group, and the London Stock Exchange are three of the big players. In the industrial space we’ve welcomed companies like Britax and seen hotels and restaurants flock to the area while legacy companies like Harris Teeter and Domtar expand their operations. There has been a lot of diversification in the types of industries that call Fort Mill home. For FMEP, this has illustrated the need for the partnership to bring representatives to the table who can look at the growth from the 50,000 foot view as well as the 5,000 foot view and identify the points of connectivity as well as the gaps to help attract companies that will not only contribute to our tax base, but also to the fabric of our town and the quality of life available here.
What are the challenges facing the Fort Mill business community today?
Transportation is a big one. Three of the busiest interchanges for I-77 in the state are right here in the Fort Mill area and all three need work. The rate of growth over the past 20 years was unexpected and we’re having to play catch-up with our infrastructure. For every frustrated driver sitting still on Gold Hill Road or Highway 160, there is a company manager hoping their employees can make it to work efficiently so their business can run smoothly. It’s all related. FMEP meets with local and state officials and takes an active role in keeping Fort Mill’s needs on the top of the priority list. From a tax standpoint, Act 388 has put a burden on the business community that can mean the difference between a company choosing to locate in Fort Mill or staying on the other side of the state line for a more amenable tax rate. It’s especially harmful to this area with its proximity to North Carolina, more so than for towns and counties deeper into the heart of the state because someone looking at Fort Mill has the option to look at Pineville or Charlotte or Gastonia and still be in their target market while avoiding the higher tax. The good news is that there are other incentives made available by the town, by York County, and by the state that can help mitigate that impact. We can help businesses connect to those programs. These are all things that are on FMEP’s radar.
What are some of the successes in the Fort Mill business community?
When a company like LPL looks at a U.S. map and decides, ‘We want to be in Fort Mill, South Carolina’ that’s a big deal. When the top Forbes-rated company in the state, Domtar, bases its corporate operations here, there is a message in that as well. The message is that we sit in a unique spot with access to Charlotte and its world-class airport and amenities, but we offer a smaller, less hectic atmosphere with top-rated schools, green space, a high quality of life, and an educated and skilled workforce. Putting your business in Fort Mill gives you the best of both worlds.
What’s the outlook? How will business in Fort Mill look in five or 10 years? And how might Fort Mill Economic Partners be part of shaping it?
The outlook for Fort Mill’s business growth over the next 10 years is strong. One of the most important aspects that FMEP keeps in mind is that Fort Mill is a niche market. Rock Hill and the rest of York County have a lot of open land and appeal to larger manufacturing and distribution companies in a way that we cannot based on our footprint between the state border and the Catawba River. And Charlotte is, well, Charlotte. Fort Mill’s economic development focus is geared more toward corporate headquarters and other executive office operations, small and medium-sized businesses in a broad variety of industries, and “boutique” retail and entertainment options. And all of it should contribute to the community in a way that enhances the quality of life for those who live and work here. FMEP strives to be the economic development hub to help connect all of those elements. We’re Fort Mill and it’s not our mission to become Rock Hill or Charlotte. Our mission is strong, responsible economic growth tailored for the unique needs of Fort Mill.”
