Even though most of Fort Mill is in York County, some of what we consider the Fort Mill area is in Lancaster County. This is the Indian Land area and what some people would call Lancaster Neck.

Lancaster Neck is a narrow part of Lancaster County that runs along the eastern side of York County and extends up to Mecklenburg County. What happens in Indian Land is largely driven by the desires of the city of Lancaster.

Lancaster County has the same need for mixed development that York County requires. To support the infrastructure, Lancaster needs residential, commercial and industrial development. Residential growth cannot support the county. And the county has lost some of its industry that had been in textiles. Lancaster County has to attract development.

According to Keith Tunnell, director of marketing and research for the Lancaster County Economic Development Corp., Lancaster County has three distinct areas it is marketing: Indian Land, the city of Lancaster, and southern Lancaster County.

The Indian Land area has a huge potential benefit for the county because of its proximity to the Charlotte metro area. Other areas of the county, though they have a great quality of life, are distant from Charlotte and do not provide the transportation benefits or ready access to what Charlotte offers. In many respects, Lancaster's best option is to encourage development in the Neck.

Much of the new industrial development in the Fort Mill area is a result of Lancaster County activities. The large plants located out Hwy. 160, including Belden Wire, just past the York County line, were given attractive incentives to locate in that area.

And they are only the start of what is coming.

The Economic Development Corp. is negotiating with seven more corporate offices to relocate to Indian Land. Most are from Charlotte. And plans for a sizable medical office, complete with outpatient surgery facilities, are being developed.

Lancaster County prefers to attract new commercial and industrial development, and corporate offices, to Indian Land. It builds the county tax base without strain to the county.

And the development has little impact on the remainder of the county or the citizens of Lancaster. The county also understands that if companies expand, and the corporate offices are in the county, the county has an edge for securing the expansions.

Indian Land is just down the road from the prestigious Ballantyne area of Charlotte. Hwy. 521 pours directly into Ballantyne and offers quick access to I-485.

And South Carolina has distinct tax advantages over North Carolina for both individuals and businesses.

It is a foregone conclusion that residential development will flood the Indian Land area. A whopping 6,000 new housing starts are already permitted for development over the next couple of years.

Lancaster County has one of the lowest property tax rates of any county in South Carolina because of the industry located there and the development that is coming to Indian Land. The new developments will keep the rates low and make Indian Land even more attractive.

One of the intentions is to bring the Ballantyne look and feel south into the area, continuing the median and sidewalk developments. The Economic Development Corp. also envisions that Indian Land will become a corporate and business hub from the N.C./S.C. state line to a few miles below the Hwy. 160 intersection.

One of the major benefits to the development is the Hwy. 160 widening project. The project has $9 million earmarked to expand the two-lane road to five lanes from Hwy. 521 to Belden Wire, with sidewalks and a bike trail, and expand it to three lanes to the York County line. This will continue opening the area for much larger development.

Lancaster County does not want Hwy. 521 to become like Hwy. 74 between Charlotte and Monroe, though. In fact, county officials want to keep the number of stoplights at a minimum level and are examining the use of access roads. They understand that 521 is their major traffic corridor, similar to I-77 in York County.

While York County maintains a tight rein on the incentives it grants to businesses locating in York County, Keith Tunnell readily admits that Lancaster County will give the maximum benefits as long as the companies meet the county's minimum requirements.

Tunnell says, "We want as much growth and industry as we can get. But we will not recruit companies that do not fit high standards for a first-class image or who have a negative environmental impact."

We have traditionally thought of Fort Mill as being protected, hidden in the center of a greenbelt donut.

But someone took a bite out of the donut and the path is straight down 521, hanging a right onto 160. According to Tunnell, for the Indian Land area, "Growth is going to happen. Now we need to plan for it and work to control it."

Bill Henson is a technical writer and marketing copywriter living in Rock Hill. You can reach him by e-mail at writer@cetlink.net.