New restaurant, other changes coming to historic Fort Mill buildings
Some of Fort Mill’s oldest properties are getting makeovers, highlighted by a new restaurant that could open next month.
Plans for Hobos include new canopies, a wood deck and perimeter fencing with gates at 205 Main St. Drawings show booth, table and bar seating in the existing two-story building, along with tables and barstools for 90 more on the deck facing Confederate Park.
The deck would overlook a large, fenced-in open area. Jason Cloud, formerly of Cloud Nine Martini & Tapas Bar in Baxter, went with the name Hobos as a nod to the train tracks nearby and Fort Mill’s history as a rail stop.
“We’ve already got the plans turned in to the town,” Cloud said. “We’re just waiting on their approval.”
The town’s Historic Review Board was scheduled to hear the plans Dec. 9. Pending approval, the eatery’s opening should come early next year.
“Once we start actual construction, my general contractor tells me we’re looking at four to six weeks,” Cloud said. “That would be the end of January, first of February.”
The Historic Review Board is seeing plenty of activity lately. Also on the Dec. 9 agenda, the board was to hear plans for a retaining wall and landscaping at the UC Synergetic monument sign. Plans show a stone wall with drift roses, new sod and shrubbery, along with existing junipers, at the intersection of North White and McCammon streets.
In November, the board approved a request to demolish a building at Unity Presbyterian Church, install a small “free library” at Elisha Park and rehabilitate the outside of 124 Main St., the former home of the Fort Mill Times.
The Unity demolition involves the manse, or parsonage. “It is in dangerous condition and we have not used it for anything in more than a year,” said Dan Holloway, senior pastor. “We have relocated the Scouts who were using it previously to other parts of our building.”
Holloway said there are no plans to build there. According to information provided to the board on behalf of the church, the building would require “numerous structural and mechanical deficiencies” to be fixed should it stand.
The building, built in the 1920s, was listed on the church’s National Register of Historic Places application, but the board found the manse itself had “no historic value.” The board voted unanimously in favor of the church’s request.
The “strawberry-themed” library will be a wood-and-glass structure in the park, where guests can take or leave a book at no charge. The 124 Main St. changes are allowed, involving repainting, light fixtures and a new awning. The mural on the side of the building – depicting a scene from Fest-i-Fun, the town’s former annual spring festival and featuring kids’ handprints – can’t be painted over without separate action by the board.
This story was originally published December 8, 2014 at 4:14 PM with the headline "New restaurant, other changes coming to historic Fort Mill buildings."