A new residential development is planned for the Vance area.
Fort Mill-based BRD Land & Investment LP is to build a 223-acre residential development on Old Number Six Highway in Vance.
The property is near Westberry Drive or about 1 mile west of Vance and about 2 miles east of Santee.
Orangeburg County Council gave unanimous first reading to rezone the property to residential general to establish a residential development. The property has been zoned forest agriculture.
The Orangeburg County Planning Commission previously unanimously approved the request.
Prior to the vote, Orangeburg County Councilman Johnny Ravenell questioned if the development would have access to water and sewer.
Orangeburg County Administrator Harold Young said the subdivision would have access to water.
“There is the possibility of the new piece that we are putting in to serve that tract that is being built with the impact of the Jafza site there would be an ability for them to connect but it would be at a cost,” Young said. “I think what they probably will be doing is weighing their options vs. the cost of putting in the line to connect to that system vs. a commercial onsite septic tank system. They have not gotten that far yet.”
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Following the meeting, Orangeburg County Planning Director Amanda Sievers said the subdivision will entail single-family homes, though no conceptual or preliminary designs of the homes or how many homes will be built has been released.
“This is very early in the process,” Sievers said.
Property owner Richard Clark declined comment, citing contractual matters.
A phone call placed to the project applicant was not returned.
The residential development is the latest in flurry of home activity in the eastern end of the county.
Four planned residential developments have been announced in and around the Holly Hill area since July 2021.
There are plans to develop 130 homes on about 162 acres on Old State Road
There are also plans to build between 50 and 100 detached, single-family homes on Bunch Ford Road behind the Regional Medical Center’s primary care practice and across the street from Holly Hill Academy.
Another proposed development would cover 65 acres near Bunch Ford Road and Academy Lane.
Finally, a 300-home development is planned just outside the city limits of Holly Hill along Gum Street, according to a news report from the Orangeburg Leader. The development is expected to be built within the next 12 to 18 months.
The paper reports the houses could range from 1,800 to 3,000 square feet and sell from $250,000 to $320,000.
Sievers said the project has not yet come before the county planning department for approval or review.
An attempt to reach project officials was unsuccessful.
Orangeburg County Council Chairman Johnnie Wright said “growth is inevitable” in Orangeburg County, and particularly in the eastern end of the county.
He noted Dorchester, Berkeley and Charleston counties are seeing growth and expectations are that it will come further inland into Orangeburg County.
“It is just a matter of time,” Wright said. “People are looking for a place to invest money and are getting a heads-up on what the future will be. A lot of people are moving down this way.”
Wright noted that with economic development via companies such as Honda, Mercedes and Volvo, people are looking for places to stay.
“They are buying land before it gets way out of hand,” Wright said. “This is long term. It will not happen overnight, but is something maybe we will see in four to five years.”
Holly Hill Mayor Billy Chavis said the interest in the Holly Hill area is simple: “Everyone has seen that Charleston is full.”
“It is an exciting time in Holly Hill,” Chavis said.
Chavis said developers have been looking at the town for the past three years and the city has been more than willing to work with each and every one. Currently, he said there are six developers with plans to build residential subdivisions.
He said the challenge to meet the residential growth will be infrastructure, namely water and sewer.
“I have plenty of water,” Chavis said, noting the town is also looking to increase its water capacity by joining up with the Lake Marion Water Agency to supplement capacity. “Everyone is trying to tie in.”
The greater challenge is sewer capacity. He said the town is looking at Community Development Block and Rural Development grants to help improve the town’s inflow and infiltration of storm water in its sewer lines. He says this will help increase sewer capacity.
“We have a lot of offers on the table and are trying to figure out what is in the best route of Holly Hill going forward,” Chavis said, adding that one thing is for certain: The town will need someone to manage the sewer system.
Chavis said over the past 12 years, the town has lost $2.4 million on water and sewer out of the budget.
“It is a pretty hefty number to speak about,” Chavis said. “It has to be addressed.”
Chavis says one way he is looking to address the financial challenges of the town is annexation and the addition of tax revenue.
“I want all of them,” Chavis said, referring to the half dozen developments that are within proximity of the town limits.
In another matter, Spartanburg-based CDP Holly Hill 2 LLC is looking to bring in a retail establishment on Old State Road just outside of the town of Holly Hill.
Council gave unanimous first reading to rezone about 2.86 acres of property just southeast of the Holly Hill limits to commercial general district for this purpose. The property is owned by Elite Enterprise Properties LLC.
Sievers said the developers have not decided the type of retail planned this point in time. A message left with the rezoning applicant was not immediately returned.
The property has been zoned residential general.
The property does not fall in a flood plan and is currently undeveloped, according to the rezoning application.
The county’s planning commission had previously unanimously approved the request.
Adjacent properties to the north and west are zoned residential general and properties to the east and south are currently zoned commercial general.
The surrounding area is comprised of a mixture of uses such as public use (places of worship); single-family and multi-family housing; commercial, and undeveloped land, according to the application.
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