A major connector between Fort Mill and Indian Land could get a lot better. Here’s why.
Lancaster County is ready to move forward on Regent Parkway.
The busy road connecting York and Lancaster counties, one that’s been a point of contention for years, will become public. The move allows for improvements to aid traffic in a growing area between Fort Mill and Indian Land.
After an executive session Monday night, Lancaster County Council voted to authorize the settlement of a lawsuit filed by the county in early 2021. The case is a notice of condemnation against Regent Parkway Partners. A lengthy list of homeowners also are listed as defendants. Council voted to settle the case for $120,000.
“The county has agreed to pay a settlement for the condemnation of Regent Park Parkway,” said Dennis Marstall, Lancaster County administrator. “This process has been going on for a while.”
The property listed for condemnation is almost 4 acres within the Regent Park right-of-way. It’s between Harrisburg Road and Sugar Creek at the York County line. Regent Parkway Partners acquired the property from Opus Regent Two in mid-2020.
The legal case states the reason for condemnation:
“The real property is being condemned for the purpose of Lancaster County obtaining possession and legal title to Regent Parkway so that improvements can be made to Regent Parkway, a private roadway in poor repair that provides infrastructure connectivity to York County for many Lancaster County citizens. Regent Parkway will become a part of the public road network of Lancaster County.”
The suit also listed a compensation amount of $16,000 when it was filed.
Regent Parkway has long-served heavy traffic, from early days of Heritage USA in Fort Mill to development of the Regent Park neighborhood, MorningStar Fellowship Church property and more. Yet the road is private. It’s had multiple owners.
In early 2018 ‘no trespassing’ signs went up which prompted public outcry. Both commuters and residents who lived in the neighborhoods developed off Regent Parkway asked the county to help.
South Carolina Department of Transportation doesn’t list traffic count data for Regent Parkway. It does have a figure of 18,000 average daily trips for U.S. 21 in Fort Mill, just in front of the York County entrance to Regent Parkway. York County owns the portion of Regent Parkway within its borders.
Regent Parkway is a connector to several popular areas, from Carowinds and Fort Mill on the west to Carolina Place the mall and restaurants in Pineville, N.C. to the east. New residential subdivisions are common all along the area served by the parkway.
Lancaster County Councilman Brian Carnes said the county has done some work already. Because of how condemnation law works, he said, the county was allowed to work as if the property was county-owned while the sides determined a price for the condemnation. The county has done more than $20,000 in patch work.
“It held up pretty good,” Carnes said, “but it really needs that complete reconstruction.”
Carnes still gets calls about the road, either when there’s a wreck or when potholes surface.
The decision Monday allows the county to move forward with plans to go in and “grind up the road and start over again,” Carnes said. Timing details aren’t set. It will take a few days to grind down the half-mile stretch of road in need of repair, he said, but the surface will need to settle before repaving.
The move Monday, though, was a big step forward.
“It’s been back and forth, went through mediation,” Carnes said. “We approved the settlement that the mediators came up with. It’s already in the works to be bid out.”
