Developers present 239-unit “cottage green” near Ashmore Bridge; planning committee holds rezoning for one month

The city’s planning and development committee (BDS) on Aug. 4 heard a detailed presentation from HMF Americana on a proposed mixed-housing project at the intersection of Fork Shoals Road and Ashmore Bridge Road and voted to hold the rezoning request for one month.

Developer Frank Warren of HMF Americana described a horizontal “cottage green” product that the team said would include 239 units on about 18.8 acres plus a separate area of traditional 3‑ and 4‑story multifamily buildings and a 1.13‑acre commercial parcel adjacent to the existing Spanx site. Warren said the proposal aims to provide a “missing middle” housing product within a three‑mile job radius and that the developer’s market work shows no professionally managed apartment communities in that immediate area.

Staff and the developer outlined traffic and site work the project would require. The developer’s traffic consultant said South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT) will require a five‑way roundabout at the Ashmore Bridge/Perimeter Road intersection, and the developer said it will add dedicated turn lanes on Fork Shoals Road and a tapered right‑turn lane at Ashmore Bridge. The developer also said the planned residential build would generate substantially fewer vehicle trips than a full commercial development allowed under current C‑2 zoning, and that initial conversations with the school district indicated capacity at the nearby schools cited by the developer.

Residents from the Harrington neighborhood and nearby areas addressed the committee during public comment. Speakers asked to see the traffic study used by staff and developers, expressed concern about traffic safety on Fork Shoals and Ashmore Bridge roads, questioned whether the city should accept an annexation tied to the project before the rezoning, and said they were skeptical of developer‑provided studies and worried about effects on crime and neighborhood character.

Planning staff reported that the item had gone to the planning commission with a unanimous recommendation for approval and summarized the public hearing there, noting six residents from Harrington spoke in opposition and that one adjacent pastor spoke in support. After questions from committee members and the developer’s presentation, the BDS committee voted to hold the rezoning request and a related 7.2‑acre annexation (property associated with Take Heart Church) for one meeting so absent council member questions can be addressed.

The committee recorded the motion to hold the rezoning and annexation and announced the item will return to committee in one month. No final rezoning action was taken at the Aug. 4 meeting.

The project team said it would continue technical work on site plans, stormwater and SCDOT permitting, and that proposed improvements (roundabout and turn lanes) would be part of the developer’s obligations during plan review and permitting.