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The developer behind the acquisition of a Lexington County technology park is sharing more information about what could go into the site near Chapin.
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Brighton Capital Partners LLC will turn the Chapin Technology and Business Park at Brighton into a master planned community called Palatin, the company said in a media release. It will also include a “technology incubator” the developer is branding as the Foundry at Palatin.
“The long-dormant development is perfect for a master planned community that will include residential, flex space commercial — including a technology incubator, ‘village-type’ retail, and exceptional amenities to include walking trails, playing fields, at least one pool, clubhouse, and an amphitheater,” the news release said. “There is also a site identified for a new Lexington County Library and gardens.”
The development on the 200-acre, county-owned site is being helmed by Andy White, a Lexington County resident and president of Lifestone Homes, which previously developed the Saluda River Club off of Corley Mill Road.
Palatin will be a separate development from the previously announced 400-home Brighton development being built by Mungo Homes. While both will share Brighton Boulevard off of Columbia Avenue, Mungo’s neighborhood will be on the southern end within the Chapin town limits, while Palatin will sit on the north side outside the town.
White said Chapin residents should expect Palatin to follow the same pattern as Saluda River Club, including “thoughtfully designed streetscapes,” “a dedicated active adult neighborhood,” and homes priced between $600,000 and more than $1 million. Many of the same designers and architects who worked on Saluda River Club will also work on Palatin, he said.
“We intend to mimic Saluda River Club in the development of much of Palatin, with the exception of job-creating uses, specifically the Foundry at Palatin, which will be Lexington County’s first dedicated technology incubator,” White said.
The Foundry will take up about 40 acres of the site will be dedicated to commercial and light industrial use, connecting to the housing development by what White called a “flex space.”
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“The street facing side of the flex space will appear as if it’s a small town business district, but all the business will be behind that facade,” he said. “That way the neighbors won’t be looking at anything remotely industrial or like a warehouse.”
The business uses could create between 2,500 to 3,000 technology-focused jobs, White said. Among the planned 600 homes on the rest of the site, White said about half would be put aside as age-restricted housing for people 55 and up.
“We want to have young technology workers within walking distance of their jobs, and have their parents or grandparents live within the same community,” he said.
Lexington County began work almost a decade ago to develop a technology park near Chapin off of Interstate 26, in hopes of attracting businesses and jobs to the area. But the 200-acre site has sat empty since then despite at least $16 million of public investment in the site.
The county council voted in April to sell the property to the development group for $20 million, despite an ongoing dispute with the town of Chapin, which says it includes the park in its moratorium on new connections to the town sewer system. The town previously turned down an offer from Lexington County to purchase $4 million worth of taps for the property, despite a pre-existing contract requiring the town to service the property.
White said the dispute would ultimately need to be resolved before Palatin could move forward.
“Our contract requires the county provide access to the sewer system, through their agreement with the town,” White said. “So we stand in the background while the county and the town resolve their dispute. Our closing is contingent on the sewer capacity being available.”
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