Fort Mill

Since its inception in the late 1990s, Baxter Village has developed into a sought-after master-planned community in the Charlotte suburbs. Between homes with spacious front porches, two community centers and a walkable stretch of shops and restaurants, Baxter Village was designed for neighborly living. The neighborhood’s wide range of home prices makes it an inviting community for many. Further drawing homebuyers is its placement within the acclaimed Fort Mill School District, which operates an elementary school within the community. Near-immediate access to Interstate 77 offers a quick commute to Uptown Charlotte. Meanwhile, locals are even closer to waterside delights on Lake Wylie and the Catawba River. Baxter Village sits immediately west of Fort Mill, South Carolina’s town limits. It’s filled with nearly 1,500 single-family homes, townhouses and condos on relatively small lots, many with rear garages and driveways. “In many communities, people are looking for big backyards. Well, this is much more of a front porch-sitting neighborhood. People play in the neighborhood’s pocket parks, not their backyards,” says Realtor Ben Lastra of Compass Realty. Lastra’s team, the Andy Bovender Team, has specialized in Baxter Village since the neighborhood’s beginnings. Classic American architecture appears throughout, including Colonial, Craftsman and American Foursquare designs, plus the occasional Tudor. Custom-built Millennial Mansions populate what Lastra calls the “River District,” carrying the neighborhood’s highest price tags. A five-bedroom, nearly 5,000-square-foot property with a pool and a semi-attached clubhouse could approach $2 million. Townhouses offer the lowest price points, with two-bedroom models starting in the low $300,000s. Springmaid Park, one of the many pocket parks Lastra mentioned, sits in front of Fish Market, offering benches and bistro-style seating around a pleasant fountain and beneath shady trees. Those who like to take in nature while on the move can traverse 12-plus miles of trails throughout the neighborhood. These include the Carolina Thread Trail, which carries pedestrians to the Catawba River. Baxter Community Center is the neighborhood’s central hub for social events, with its lawn hosting live music and holiday events. It also features one of Baxter Village’s two community pools and a pair of tennis courts. Further, the community is home to a branch of the Fort Mill Public Library and a YMCA location with “a giant outdoor pool,” per Lastra. Baxter Town Center offers a small, Main Street USA-type stretch of businesses and service providers along Market Street. Residents in Baxter Village’s eastern section can walk to the area to run errands, take the kids to dance class or grab a bite. However, most locals prefer an alternate method of transportation. “In the summertime, the streets are filled with golf carts,” Lastra says. “People go get dinner, drop off their dry cleaning, grab a glass of wine or visit the yoga studio. There’s even a place where I get my hair cut.” Eateries along this stretch range from a cupcake shop and a Starbucks to Italian, Greek and Asian establishments. One popular restaurant, Fish Market, occupies a large building with a covered front porch and a well-manicured front lawn. Locals visit for seafood and Southern favorites like shrimp and grits and she-crab soup. Baxter Town Center visitors can grab groceries at The Southern Olive, a small gourmet market, or hit Harris Teeter just north of the neighborhood. “People generally move to the Fort Mill area because of its very highly rated school district — the No. 1 district in South Carolina,” Lastra says. Indeed, the Fort Mill School District has an A-plus grade overall from Niche, especially for its academics, clubs and activities. Many residents are within walking distance of Orchard Park Elementary School, which accommodates most Baxter Village K-5 students. It has an A from Niche, while Pleasant Knoll Middle School — about 1 mile north of the neighborhood — has an A-plus. All Baxter Village teens are zoned for Fort Mill High School, which has an A Niche grade. Fort Mill High opened in 1930 and has since won two National Blue Ribbon School awards and fielded numerous state championship-winning athletic teams. I-77 runs immediately east of Baxter Village, taking commuters to Uptown Charlotte in 20 minutes during low-traffic hours. State Route 160 to the north offers less than a 10-minute drive to Fort Mill’s quaint downtown.

The jagged north-central South Carolina border includes a clean, 90-degree divot less than 15 miles south of central Charlotte. Many locals know this area as the spot where the sprawling Carowinds theme park straddles the state line between the two Carolinas. However, relatively few know this community by the name of Gold Hill. A mostly residential enclave of about 14,000, Gold Hill comprises the northernmost reaches of greater Fort Mill. It’s part of what Niche considers South Carolina’s best school district, drawing homebuyers to an ever-expanding stock of new builds. One of the region’s busiest interstates runs through it, a significant boon for commuters, which a;sp places rollercoaster fanatics within 15 minutes of one of the world’s tallest steel coasters. Gold Hill is centered around Gold Hill Road, with various residential subdivisions and standalone lots branching to the north and south. Small ponds dot the neighborhood, offering waterside views and even swimming access for a few residences. “Most of the area is middle-class homes from about $300,000 to $600,000, with a few higher price points in a few areas,” says Realtor Robert MacLeod of Boston MacLeod Realty, who frequently sells in Charlotte’s southwestern reaches. Single-family homes fitting his description include mid-20th-century ranch-style abodes, 2000s Colonials and more recently built Craftsman ramblers. Smaller, less expensive homes include townhouses starting in the mid-$200,000s, which might buy a two-story, two-bedroom build. Meanwhile, the “higher price points” MacLeod mentioned can approach $1.5 million. For that much, homebuyers could get a seven-bedroom Millennial Mansion with over 7,000 square feet, including a sprawling finished basement. The acclaimed Fort Mill School District serves public school students in Gold Hill. Pleasant Knoll Elementary School and Pleasant Knoll Middle School operate side-by-side in the neighborhood’s southern section. Some families in the Whitley Mills subdivision are about a 15-minute walk from campus, thanks to a crosswalk beneath a stoplight on Pleasant Road. Nation Ford High School is about 2 miles east of Gold Hill, a National Blue Ribbon School welcoming over 1,700 Falcons. Nation Ford fields several high-achieving sports teams (its boys’ lacrosse squad won the state title in 2023) and offers intriguing extracurriculars, from a nationally competing academic quiz team to a cappella and yoga clubs. It has an A from Niche, as does Pleasant Knoll Elementary, while Pleasant Knoll Middle has an A-plus. “Gold Hill Road is a heavily traveled area,” MacLeod says. “It heads east to Interstate 77, and it could also take you into Fort Mill and Tega Cay.” Not only can residents easily explore charming nearby communities in York County, but they can also reach central downtown Charlotte within 20 minutes without heavy traffic. A modest commercial area operates along Gold Hill Road, within a 10-minute drive of virtually all residents. Here, locals can grab groceries at Publix or visit household-name eateries like Hardee’s, Marco’s Pizza and Dunkin’ Donuts. Locally owned restaurants nearby include the nautical-themed Captain Steve’s, which has operated on Highway 21 since 1996. Seafood entrees like the popular fried flounder come in large portions here, served alongside onion rings, hush puppies with honey butter and other indulgent sides. About 2 miles north on Highway 21, The Flipside Café serves all three meals plus weekend brunch, specializing in Southern staples like shrimp and grits and chicken and waffles. Gold Hill’s primary claim to fame is as the partial home to Carowinds, a 50-year-old big-ticket amusement park. (The park’s other half operates across the North Carolina border, immediately northwest of the neighborhood.) Carowinds offers themed fun for all ages, between its Peanuts-themed pavilion, record-breaking rollercoasters and SCarowinds, an annual Halloween extravaganza. Its newest steel coaster, Fury 325, rattles thrill-seekers with its 325-foot climb and speeds topping 90 miles per hour. Of course, the noise, crowds and adrenaline of Carowinds aren’t for everyone. More nature-oriented residents can visit Anne Springs Close Greenway immediately east of the neighborhood. This 2,100-acre nature preserve features 36 miles of hiking and mountain-biking trails. Its most popular path loops Lake Haigler, which welcomes visitors to launch a kayak or cast a fishing line.

Over the past few decades, the South Carolina neighborhood of Springfield has quickly established itself as a highly desirable, upscale Charlotte-area community that, in some respects and for some buyers, might epitomize the suburban dream. “It’s kind of the same story for a lot of people,” says Ken Vining, a Realtor with eXp who has sold homes in the community for 10 years. “They’ll live in the Charlotte area when they’re younger, and then some of them will move over to the Fort Mill side to raise a family, citing the rankings of the schools and the lower taxes.” Many homeowners don’t want that story to end. Vining: “A lot of people hate to leave when they get a job transfer or something like that. Springfield’s a tight-knit community, and people really get to know each other through neighborhood barbecues or when their kids hang out by the pool.” There’s no shortage of events that bring neighbors together, from wine tastings at Napa to the South Carolina Strawberry Festival. Springfield has an overall CAP Index crime score of 2 out of 10, which is below the national average of 4, so crime here is comparatively low. Springfield has exploded in growth over the past few decades, but according to Vining, homes have generally maintained a similar quality in appearance and build the whole time. “Every once in a while, you’ll see an empty lot, but for the most part, the community is built up,” he says. “The original portion of Springfield was all custom luxury homes, and after the downturn of the market, you had other builders come in who still built really high-quality homes. It’s hard to drive by Springfield and not see a beautiful home.” Many custom builds take inspiration from the French Country, New Traditional and Tudor Revival architectural styles, among others, offering 3,000 square feet of interior space. Split-levels, ranch-style homes and other smaller builds also frequently enter the market. “A lot of buyers are drawn to Springfield, because homes have different types of floor plans and are at different price points,” says 17-year resident Jackie Fenbert, a Realtor with Compass. “Some have finished basements in case owners want a little extra space for entertaining.” Detached homes range in price from $350,000 to $800,000, though homes by the golf course can sell for $1 million or more. Townhouses usually go from $275,000 to $400,000, while condos often range from $150,000 to $300,000. Sugar Creek runs along the east side of the neighborhood and occasionally floods, but most flood-prone areas are undeveloped. Niche ranks Fort Mill Elementary as the sixth best public elementary in South Carolina, while ranking Fort Mill Middle as the state’s fourth best public middle school. Nation Ford High has a School Improvement Council which promotes student achievements and strives to foster solid relationships among faculty, students and the greater community. These three schools all earn overall A ratings from Niche. Vining also highlights the athletic prowess of local schools. “There’s a lot of sporting events with Fort Mill’s three big high schools. And some of the schools, such as Fort Mill High and Nation Ford High, have gone to lacrosse and softball championships. People love Friday night lights,” he says. Nation Ford High’s marching band is also acclaimed, having won the state’s 4AA marching band championships six times since 2013. Springfield’s master-planned community of the same name offers a community clubhouse, as well as tennis courts and swimming pools. Many homes push up to the community’s par-72 golf course, situated atop hills and offering breathtaking views of Sugar Creek. Anne Springs Close Greenway, a nature preserve, more than doubles New York’s Central Park in size, with 2,100 acres reserved for native wildlife and recreational opportunities. “A lot of people go out there for hiking and horseback riding, and there’s also several ponds. Two of the park’s entrances are right across from residential subdivisions,” Vining says. Ordinarily, visitors must pay to enter the park, but residents of Springfield’s master-planned community receive a yearly membership through their HOA dues. At the Peach Stand, shoppers can find locally grown strawberries, butchery meats, homemade baked goods and more. Alternatively, two Food Lions and two Harris Teeters can be found within a few miles of the neighborhood. For dining out, Fenbert and Vining both recommend visiting the restaurants at Kingsley Town Center. Taking its name from California’s famous wine region, Napa serves up high-end dishes such as beef carpaccio in a modern setting with tall, glass windows an outdoor patio. Napa also invites residents for monthly wine tastings. Spice Asian Kitchen specializes in fusion cuisine, offering its own take on crab rangoon and other meals. The rooftop terrace offers great views of the Lake at Kingsley and is rentable for private events. More shopping centers and restaurants await in neighboring Ballantyne. Interstate 77 links Springfield residents to Uptown Charlotte, 20 miles to the north. “To Charlotte people, it seems like Fort Mill is so far away. But I live on the east side near Springfield, and Uptown’s only a 25- to 30-minute drive,” Vining says. However, rush hour traffic can delay commutes. Fenbert notes that the Springfield Property Owners Association keeps a "social calendar with anything from ‘Parents and Me’ groups to events with food trucks and live music during the summer." But the annual South Carolina Strawberry Festival is arguably Fort Mill’s biggest event. Attendees run in the 5K, complete the scavenger hunt, win the strawberry eating contest or just fill up on strawberries. Strawberry pickles, strawberry mango salsa and fried Oreo strawberry bombs are just a few concoctions on offer.