Without York County deal, York Prep nixes plans to build a second Rock Hill campus
York Preparatory Academy won’t move forward with a new campus, after a York Prep Board of Directors vote Thursday night.
The K-12 public charter school applied to build a second campus as part of the Kettlesong development in Rock Hill. The 21-acre 3090 Mt. Holly Road site would have served grades K-8 and have a gym. School leaders said it was needed to serve a waiting list of more than 1,000 students.
Two years of back-and-forth have occurred since in the permitting process. York County planners contend information was never submitted on key issues like water and sewer, road or tree plans.
A release from the school on Friday states it will no longer plan to build a second campus. The board vote cites rising material costs and lost revenue due to delays with the start of construction.
The release states the school has necessary approval from federal and state agencies, plus approval for $46 million to build the school. York County requirements for a grading permit created the holdup, per the school.
“We know this is going to be a huge disappointment to the families who have children on the waiting list,” Board Chairman Scott Smith said in the release. “But we cannot afford to delay the opening to 2025, which is where we are now.”
Inflation hits public charter schools hard because they can’t raise the same sorts of tax revenue as public schools. Brian Myrup, managing director at the school, said the new site would have allowed more than 1,100 students to attend there.
“But we cannot put our existing K-12 campus with 1,660 students at risk by overextending our finances,” Myrup said.
The school put more than $3 million into the second campus effort, according to the release.
Indigo Rush is a Rock Hill development firm involved with the second campus project and Kettlesong. Indigo Rush released a statement on the decision Friday calling the school’s move understandable.
“It is a real loss for both families and the community in southeastern York County,” said Craig Craze, partner with Indigo Rush.
