Fort Mill and Tega Cay With 13 miles of shoreline, Tega Cay’s landscape is diverse with rolling hills and hardwood trees. The city’s slogan is “The Good Life.” Developed in the 1970s, Tega Cay maintains its Polynesian roots through its unique home designs and street names, like Molokai Drive, Marquesas Avenue and Tana Tea Circle. For many years, Tega Cay was a gated community until it incorporated on July 4, 1982, and became a city in order to protect the rights of homeowners in the community when the developer went bankrupt. To this day, Tega Cay residents celebrate their own special “independence day” or “Tega Cay Birthday” every July 4 by launching fireworks and decorating their boats and docks in red, white and blue. Tega Cay Golf Club features a 27-hole golf course and clubhouse. At the end of the peninsula, Windjammer Park is a popular spot with its sandy beach, covered picnic area, playground and boat docks. During the summer months, you can see the Carolina Show Ski team perform at Windjammer Park every Friday night. Turner Field and Runde Park offer ball fields, soccer fields, basketball courts and playgrounds. Runde Park is also the site of Tega Cay Park and Recreation’s summer concert series. The Tega Cay Beach and Swim Center features an eight-lane Junior Olympic-size pool and kiddie pool, deck overlooking the lake, beach area, volleyball court, picnic sites and snack bar. With about 4,300 residents, Tega Cay’s population is expected to boom in the next few years, due to several new developments within city limits. Lake Shore on Lake Wylie adds 1,200 new single-family homes ranging from the $240s to more than $700,000. Lake Shore also offers condominiums and townhomes priced from the $170s to over $400,000. The community enjoys the amenities of Tega Cay – including the golf course, beach and swim center, and area parks – but also several parks within the newly developed area including Lookout Park, which offers a waterfront deck, picnic sites and a gazebo. Currently under construction off S.C. 160 between Gold Hill Road and I-77, Stonecrest will be Tega Cay’s first commercial district with both retail and residential space. Stonecrest Villas of Tega Cay offers two- and three-bedroom condos with stone exteriors and two-car garages. Just east of Tega Cay is the rapidly growing town of Fort Mill. Once known for textiles and peach farming, Fort Mill is quickly becoming a business and residential magnet. For hundreds of years, the Catawba Indians made their home here. The Catawba Cultural Preservation Project in Rock Hill maintains the history and culture of the Catawba Nation with artifacts, exhibits and demonstrations. Scotch-Irish settlers came to Fort Mill in the mid-18th century, and the town incorporated in 1873. Fort Mill takes its name from a colonial-era fort built by the British and a gristmill on nearby Steele Creek. Today the population of the town of Fort Mill is just over 9,000 people – a number that is expected to increase significantly over the next decade. In fact, Fort Mill’s school district – which boasts the second-highest SAT score in the state – is also the fastest-growing in South Carolina. The district is quickly building schools to handle the influx of new students. Springfield Middle School is new for the 2006-2007 school year, and Nation Ford High School will open for the 2007-2008 school year. To prevent many of the problems that come with growth, government officials are utilizing careful planning measures to avoid urban sprawl by preserving green space and coordinating high-density developments that blend commercial and residential space. Road improvements are also in the works. One neighborhood preserving small-town charm is The Village of Baxter, a 1,000-acre community developed by a company owned by the Close textile family of Springs Industries fame. The community has tried to create a neighborhood modeled after small Southern towns. Homes are set close to the street and include porches to encourage interaction among neighbors. New, valuable additions to the community include a $1.5-million community center that includes a pool, aerobics room and meeting rooms as well as Orchard Park Elementary School, Fort Mill Public Library and a branch of the YMCA. Another new development is Springfield, a Crescent Resources community off I-77 near the state line. Half of the development is dedicated to open space, with 123 acres specifically for trails and parks. The community of single-family homes and townhomes features classic architecture of neighborhoods of the past. Ready-to-customize homes start in the high $500s. Townhomes, which are 2,100 square feet or greater, include brick exteriors and courtyards and start in the low $400s. Villas, which are 3,300 square feet or more, start in the high $400s. More than half of the homes in Springfield will be located on Springfield Golf Course, which offers 18 holes of play. When it opens in 2007, the Family Swim and Tennis Center will provide swimming pools, tennis courts, and family activities and events for the neighborhood. Appealing to the 55-and-up crowd, Four Seasons at Gold Hill Road offers townhomes and single-family homes in the $200s. The community includes a swimming pool, clubhouse and tennis courts. Be sure to check out Springs Farm at the intersection of S.C. 160 and U.S. 21 Bypass. Around since 1936, the farm offers fresh strawberries, peaches and nectarines already picked or pick-your-own as well as a variety of other produce, meats, jams, jellies and gift baskets. One of Fort Mill’s greatest treasures is Anne Springs Close Greenway, a 2,300-acre protected natural area of forests, pastures and small lakes including 28-acre Lake Haigler. About 32 miles of hiking, biking and equestrian trails traverse the park, where you can see 190 different species of wildflowers. Anne Springs Close Greenway is also the site of several historic structures, such as the Dairy Barn, which hosts weddings and other social events. Nation Ford Road, a trading path for Native Americans and European settlers, also passes through the park. Every April, Anne Springs Close Greenway sponsors Earth Day, a free event with wildlife exhibits, wagon rides, kids’ activities, and environmental-friendly displays and demonstrations. Leroy Springs Recreation Complex features tennis courts, ball fields, soccer fields, playgrounds, a swimming pool, gym, weight room, studios for dance and aerobics, racquetball courts, a craft center and a child development center. The complex offers programs for youth, adults and seniors. Baseball fans can go out to the ballpark at Knights Castle on Gold Hill Road at I-77 to see the AAA International League Charlotte Knights, affiliated with the Chicago White Sox. Next door to Knights Castle is the NBA Charlotte Bobcats Training Center. Paramount’s Carowinds theme park straddles the N.C./S.C. state line. The park offers summer season entertainment, roller coasters, a waterpark and other attractions to the young and young-at-heart, including the amusing opportunity to simultaneously place one foot in each state.