New home, hotel plans slated for Fort Mill

Homes, hotels and commercial buildings are part of the latest wave of proposed development in town.

The town planning commission met Aug. 25, a day after Fort Mill Town Council approved impact fees on new construction that some argued would slow commercial growth. The planning commission saw a full slate of proposals, mostly appearance review requests of already approved projects. The commission could see more in coming weeks, as building permits issued prior to Oct. 1 would not be subject to impact fees.

The largest property at the recent meeting was a 161-acre residential project on South Dobys Bridge Road. The Talkington family – including John Talkington, who is employed by the Fort Mill Times’ sister paper, The Herald – owns it, but has it under contract to a residential developer. The Talkingtons submitted the property for annexation about a year ago, but withdrew the application as traffic and other development concerns in the area arose.

The applicant and potential new owner now propose 324 homes, adjacent to another subdivision, Preserve at River Chase.

Ongoing projects in the area like Massey, Forest at Fort Mill and Preserve at River Chase have more than 1,200 homes between them, and Doby’s Bridge Elementary School is nearby.

“The current capacity status of South Dobys Bridge Road is still a relevant issue,” read the staff report to the planning commission.

A 324-home project would add an estimated 3,084 daily vehicle trips to the road. Last year, the applicant proposed donated right-of-way for future road widening and a $150,000 contribution the town could use to help pay for it. The current proposal doesn’t include those offers.

Town council members would have to pass two readings and a public hearing to annex the property and approve a development agreement.

Hotels coming

Other plans are further along. A Sleep Inn and restaurant are coming to the Sutton Road and I-77 interchange, along the northbound exit ramp. Diversified Enterprises wants a four-story brick building there. Holiday Inn Express has appearance review pending, too.

“The Holiday Inn Express is a new project planned for Carolina Place Drive,” said Joe Cronin, town planning director. “A hotel was previously announced in 2008 or 2009 for this same site, but was put on hold due to the recession.”

Along with the already opened Hampton Inn & Suites, Fort Mill will have a Courtyard by Marriott in Kingsley North along with the Sleep Inn and Holiday Inn Express. Those hotels will add to town revenues through accommodations tax, now coming in at several thousand per month from Hampton Inn. Plus, the overall commercial tax base they provide, planners said.

“Once completed, these four hotels will add about $30-$40 million in additional commercial tax base to the town limits,” Cronin said.

Other items up for appearance review were the multi-tenant building coming to Fort Mill Square and three more storage buildings at A Lock-It Self Storage. Plans were to tear down the now vacant building across from where a Walmart Neighborhood Market is under construction. Now the plan is to use the 6,000-square-foot building and expand it to 7,200 square feet.

This story was originally published August 31, 2015 at 9:51 AM with the headline "New home, hotel plans slated for Fort Mill."