As the Fort Mill area experiences exciting growth, more and more new businesses are choosing to call Baxter home. The Village of Baxter’s Town Center now features a wide variety of businesses including retail, restaurant, medical, and corporate. Living up to the community’s vision of a traditional neighborhood that combines the best of the past with the technology of the future, Baxter’s Market Street has become a gathering place for locals seeking great food, shopping, and more.

“With over five hundred families living here already, there’s a built-in market within walking distance for businesses choosing Baxter,” explains Kerri Robusto, Sales, Leasing and Marketing Director for Clear Springs Development Company. “So many retail and commercial businesses are succeeding in Baxter, and that has drawn a lot of interest from other companies.”

Construction is ready to begin on the orthodontics practice of Dr. Epps, a Fort Mill native with strong community ties. When the office is complete in approximately seven months, Dr. Epps will provide orthodontics for children and adults within Baxter and the surrounding area.

The Six Pence Pub and Restaurant should start construction by year-end. The authentic English pub will offer lunch and dinner as well as a rooftop terrace. Other locations include Savannah, Georgia and Blowing Rock, North Carolina. Co-owner Ken Martin’s daughter has lived in Baxter for five years. “She convinced me to come here,” says Martin, “and we think this is a great place to do this.”

Also scheduled to open in the spring of 2005 are Field of Dreams Nurture and Education Center, and a group of office condominiums by Carolinas Development, LLC. Fort Mill residents Rick and Gloria Field, along with Baxter residents Walt and Daffony Bullard,
saw the need for high quality child care in the area, and have responded with Field of Dreams. The center will offer care for children from six weeks to 12 years of age in full- and part-time programs.

Carolinas Development, LLC has already pre-sold two units within the office condominium complex being built at the corner of Market Street and Sutton Road, in the heart of Baxter Village. Design of the 2-story brick and stucco building was inspired by homes and businesses in Charleston’s historic district. While 1200 square feet offices will be the standard, units will be available from 600 square feet and up.

Baxter residents are just days away from enjoying the delicious offerings of Liu Liu’s Chinese Restaurant. Liu Liu’s, which will open in late October, will feature a variety of Asian dishes. Owner Po Lui explains, “In addition to Chinese, we will also have Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese cuisine.”

Baxter resident Heather Lux has teamed with business partner Kelly Patterson to open Polka Dots, a stationery and gift store now open in Baxter. “We had a feeling that this would be the perfect location,” says Patterson. “We are excited about promoting the work of many local artists, including several who live in Baxter.” Polka Dots offers a large selection of stationery and unique gifts.

In addition, a new branch of the YMCA is now well under construction in Baxter, and is scheduled to open its doors in summer 2005. When completed, this state-of-the-art, 60,000 square foot facility will be one of the finest in the southeast.

These new tenants join a list of businesses now open in Baxter, including Beef O’Brady’s Restaurant and Pub, Circa North Salon, Baxter Village Cleaners, Peterson Law firm, SweeTreats Ice Cream and Coffee, the regional offices of Ovako Steel, Wilson Law
Firm, Raymond James Financial Services, First Residential Mortgage Network, Greg C. Kimsey CPA, Advantage Financial Corporation, and Advanced Chiropractic Clinic.

Baxter Village is a 1033-acre traditional neighborhood located off I-77 at exit 85. Baxter is now home to over 550 families, and is planned for over 700 more homesites. Baxter is also home to an on-site elementary school, public library, urgent care center, and over 500 acres of open areas.

For more information about Baxter Village or the Town Center, visit www.villageofbaxter.com, or call toll free (877) 570-HOME or (803) 802-TOWN. The Baxter Information Center is located at the neighborhood’s main entrance off Highway 160 and Interstate 77 at Exit 85.