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Commission approves revisions to Essentia mixed‑use plan, including site for a charter high school
Summary
Spartanburg County planners approved a master plan amendment for the Essentia development, granting conditional approval for a Lot 1 retail/daycare site plan and a Lot 5 charter high school site plan; approvals are contingent on multiple county and utility sign‑offs.
The Spartanburg County Planning and Development Commission on May 5 conditionally approved revisions to the Essentia mixed‑use master plan and site plans for two parcels within the development, including a proposed charter high school site.
Planner Joshua Rowland told the commission the developer, True North Companies, submitted a revised master site plan that reconfigures internal lots and private road rights of way. Notable changes include subdivision of previously numbered lots, reclassification of uses (including converting a parcel intended for townhome‑style apartments into a proposed charter high school), a reduction in total residential units from 1,034 to 352 (reducing density from 10.47 to 3.57 units per acre), an increase in private road mileage and a modest rise in open space to about 30.42 acres across the 98.48‑acre development.
For Lot 1, Rowland described a mixed‑use parcel of approximately 4.87 acres with three shopping center buildings totaling about 26,530 square feet and an 11,600‑square‑foot daycare; Lot 1 would contribute about 1.47 acres of the project’s common open space. For Lot 5, the applicant proposes a charter high school encompassing roughly 14.71 acres with three buildings totaling about 42,750 square feet, 25 classrooms, a gym and a soccer field. Rowland said the Lot 5 site plan includes required buffers and roughly 0.80 miles of private internal drives.
County staff recommended conditional approvals for the master plan amendment and the Lot 1 and Lot 5 site plans, contingent on county departments and utilities providing technical approvals (stormwater/engineering, landscape/architectural plans, road naming and addressing, fire hydrant locations, water and sewer connections and establishment of a property owners association). "The structure of maintenance responsibility would ultimately be determined by the developer and its legal counsel," County Attorney John Harris said when asked about HOA responsibilities.
Commissioners also discussed access and roadway improvements. Rowland said SCDOT required three entrances for the development and related turning‑lane improvements; Rowland added staff and the applicant estimate the existing and proposed school facilities could together serve about 900 students.
The commission approved the master plan amendment and the Lot 1 and Lot 5 site plans by unanimous votes (master plan amendment 8‑0, Lot 1 site plan 8‑0, Lot 5 site plan 8‑0). Several downstream technical approvals remain before building permits or construction can proceed.
