Relaxed lakeside living
and thriving communities that maintain their small-town atmosphere draw
new residents to York County.
With easy access along I-77 and S.C. 49, residents have the best of both
worlds - the charms and friendliness of small-town living combined with
cultural, shopping and other attractions of a large city just across the
state line. Families are drawn to the area by excellent employment
opportunities with rapidly expanding industrial areas nearby, a
reputation for quality public schools, recreational opportunities on
Lake Wylie and nearby parks and sporting events.
York County real estate listings are in Area 17; Lake Wylie listings are
in Area 15.
Paramount’s Carowinds theme park straddles the N.C./S.C. state line. The
park offers summer season entertainment at The Palladium amphitheater,
roller coasters and other attractions to the young and young at heart,
including the amusing opportunity to simultaneously place one foot in
each state.
Baseball fans can go out to the ballpark at Knights Castle on Gold Hill
Road at I-77 to see the AAA International League Charlotte Knights,
affiliated with the Chicago White Sox. Next door to Knights Castle is
the NBA Charlotte Hornets Training Center, which often hosts music
concerts and other events. Lakemont Business Park, located on the state
line near Carowinds, provides numerous jobs for the area, as do
Kingsley, a corporate/residential community, and Bradley Park, a
distribution/light manufacturing area. Major employers include Black &
Decker, Northern Tool & Equipment Co., U.S. Foodservice and Willamette
Industries.
Lake Wylie has long attracted residents to live on the water’s edge. But
today many new communities are springing up near the lake and in Fort
Mill and Rock Hill. For those who enjoy living on the links, Regent
Park, off U.S. 21 just south of the state line, features an 18-hole golf
course.
Travel farther south along I-77 and you’re in Fort Mill, a community
once known for textiles and peach farming that’s now rapidly becoming a
business and residential magnet. Fort Mill takes its name from a
colonial-era fort built by the British and a gristmill on nearby Steele
Creek.
The Catawba Indians, the only surviving Native American tribe in South
Carolina, made their home here for many years. At one time, 30,000
Catawbas lived in the area. Today the total population of Fort Mill is
just under 7,000 people - but that’s expected to double in 20 years.
With the challenges of coming growth, local leaders are busy making sure
that Fort Mill retains its relaxed style and small-town charm.
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 One
neighborhood preserving this charm is The Village of Baxter, a
1,000-acre-community developed by a company owned by the Close textile
family of Springs Industries fame. The community has tried to create a
neighborhood modeled after small Southern towns. Homes are set close to
the street and include porches to encourage interaction among neighbors.
Currently construction is under way on a $1.5 million community center
that includes a pool, aerobics room and meeting rooms. Developers have
donated land for an elementary school, which is expected to open by fall
2002. A branch of the York County Library also will go here.
West of I-77 is Rock Hill, the fifth largest city in South Carolina.
Rock Hill boasts new business parks, low unemployment and an abundance
of new neighborhoods with something for everyone.
The area is acquiring quite a reputation for hosting motion picture
filming. Mel Gibson’s Revolutionary War movie, “The Patriot,” was filmed
in York County, as was CBS’s mini-series “Shake, Rattle and Roll.”
Rock Hill’s downtown is a model for surrounding communities to redevelop
their older Main Street districts and bring new business and residential
development back to downtown. The city completed a new city hall almost
a decade ago that is the centerpiece of the downtown district.
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Winthrop University has
been a Rock Hill landmark since 1895. Long known for its teacher
preparation, Winthrop has gained widespread recognition for its other
academic courses of study. The university offers 59 undergraduate and 45
graduate degrees and options in the College of Arts & Sciences, Business
Administration, Education, and Visual and Performing Arts. The
university also has established itself as a regional center for the
arts, joining the ranks of only 17 institutions nationwide accredited by
the national associations of music, art and design, theater and dance.
Rock Hill, Fort Mill and the surrounding areas are served by a variety
of local medical practices and health-care services to fit anyone’s
needs. Piedmont Medical Center in Rock Hill is a fully accredited
hospital providing a full range of emergency, acute-care and specialty
services. |
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