"We'll probably increase density," Brandon Pridemoore told WLTX. He is a civil engineering consultant for Southfork Ventures, and he was explaining what the developer would do if Blythewood turned down its Fulmer Road rezoning.
Most of the land approved for homes near the Scout Motors plant sits in unincorporated Richland County, outside the town limits. The town controls some entrances and edges. If you're comparing Blythewood with other Columbia-area suburbs, the homes going up near the plant over the next several years will depend less on whether the town says yes. They'll depend on which side of the town line a parcel sits on.
How a town denial can add homes on the county side
The Southfork Ventures project has two pieces. According to WLTX, Richland County already rezoned about 315 acres at the back of the property, which allows roughly 600 homes. About 60 more acres along Fulmer Road are inside Blythewood. The developers want that front piece rezoned for 93 more homes and used as the main entrance, and they want the whole 377 acres annexed into the town.
Blythewood's Planning Commission voted 3–2 to recommend denying the request. Town Council makes the final call, and it doesn't have to follow the recommendation. Council had already denied an earlier version in May, and the developers were later allowed to reapply after changing the proposal. The first reading of the new request was scheduled for Oct. 26.
Town Manager Doug Polen laid out what a denial would and wouldn't do in the same WLTX report. Here's how the two outcomes play out:
- If council approves, the 93 homes on the Fulmer Road frontage move forward, and the developers have said they would bring a comprehensive traffic study to the town when they submit engineering plans.
- If council denies, the developers can still build the rear homes using the vested rights Richland County granted. Polen said the front land could still be developed under its current town zoning, which he believes is agricultural, at roughly one home per acre, though that "may not be financially advantageous." The developers have mentioned one-acre lots as an option, and Pridemoore said they might add more small lots to the county portion.
Under the second path, the town's frontage could end up with bigger lots while the county land behind it ends up with smaller ones. If you're looking at a resale home on Fulmer Road or nearby, the council vote doesn't decide whether homes get built nearby. It decides how they're arranged.
The county side has been approving for over a year
Fulmer Road isn't the only project. A WIS report from July 2025 covered Richland County's final rezoning approval for about 600 homes on roughly 300 acres along Mount Valley Road, less than a mile from the Scout site. At the time, the developer was holding back details until a final development plan was ready.
Since then, more projects have joined the pipeline:
| Project | Where | Homes | Latest status in reporting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southfork Ventures | Fulmer Road, county rear plus town frontage | About 600 approved in county; 93 more sought in town | Town first reading scheduled Oct. 26, 2026 |
| Haven Communities | Near Blythebrook and Fulmer roads | 255 on the county portion | County first reading May 19, 2026; second reading June 2, 2026 |
| Winnsboro Road site | 133 acres between Winnsboro and Blythewood roads | Up to nearly 800 under the requested zoning | County public hearing Oct. 27, 2026 |
| Arabella Springs | East of Blythewood, Hardscrabble and Grover Wilson roads | 566 planned | Water main approved; construction was expected to start by mid-2026 |
Haven's story shows lot size shifting the other way. According to the Post and Courier, the revised plan cut the county-side proposal from 388 homes to 255 and raised the average lot from 7,620 square feet to 14,500. Richland County gave it initial approval 10–1. Council minutes from June 2, 2026 show second reading passing as a consent item. A separate 60.5-acre piece inside Blythewood goes through the town's own process.
So far, then, two projects near each other on Fulmer Road are heading in opposite directions. Haven's lots got bigger to win approval. Southfork's county lots could get smaller if the town portion fails.
The plant's timeline and the rooftops' timeline don't line up
Here are the published dates for the plant and for Haven, the one nearby project with a published construction schedule.
- Scout production: The readySC recruitment page projects initial vehicle production "by the end of 2027."
- Customer deliveries: Scout's June 2026 construction update describes delivering vehicles to customers "in 2028."
- Latest plant progress: The September 2026 update reports body-system test builds and equipment and robotics testing, with no new production date.
- Haven's first homes: The developer told the Post and Courier that first-phase construction would start in summer 2028, with build-out estimated in 2033.
If those dates hold, Scout's production line will be running before Haven's first phase even breaks ground, and the last Haven homes will come about five years after that. A rezoning vote is the start of a long process: development plans, engineering, infrastructure, and then construction in phases. Someone moving to the area in 2027 or 2028 will mostly be buying homes that already exist, plus whatever new construction is already underway in established communities.
Water lines show where growth is headed
Water service is one of the things that has to be in place before a subdivision can be built. Columbia City Council approved a water main extension of about $4.8 million along Hardscrabble and Grover Wilson roads to serve Arabella Springs, a planned 566-home subdivision east of Blythewood. WLTX reported that the city would pay about $2.5 million and the Arabella developer would cover the rest.
Columbia Water assistant city manager Clint Shealy told the station the route was chosen because it "would go by a lot of undeveloped land." He also said the city expects to "pick up substantially more taps along the way." The city expected construction to begin by mid-2026.
That route is built to serve more than one subdivision. Once a main runs past open land, that land gets easier to develop. If you're buying acreage or a home on a rural lot along Hardscrabble or Grover Wilson, it's reasonable to assume the empty land nearby has a clearer path to development than it had a year ago.
The Winnsboro Road hearing shows what density looks like
The 133-acre site between Winnsboro Road and Blythewood Road is the clearest example of density on paper. According to WLTX, the requested zoning would allow up to six single-family detached homes per acre, or nearly 800 homes. The developer, Luke Boatright, hasn't said how many would actually be built and described the project as continuing an existing neighborhood with amenities and open space. At the county Planning Commission, some residents raised traffic concerns and said they'd prefer fewer homes. Richland County Council's public hearing was set for 7 p.m. Oct. 27 at the County Administration Building, 2020 Hampton St.
The difference between what a zoning district allows and what a builder proposes is something buyers should pay attention to. The allowed number is the ceiling. The plan that eventually gets submitted sets the actual lot sizes.
What this means for your price comparison
The broader market numbers give context. In Central Carolina REALTORS Association figures for September 2026, the region's median sales price was $275,000, with 4,237 homes in inventory, 1,064 closed sales, and 1,593 new listings. Statewide, the South Carolina REALTORS September 2026 report, current as of Oct. 10, 2026, shows a median of $344,995, 78 days on market, and 4.4 months' supply.
Those are regional and statewide figures, not Blythewood-only numbers. For a planned project like Haven, the developer projects average sale prices above $350,000, according to the Post and Courier.
When you compare two Blythewood-area homes at similar prices, the land around them can carry very different futures. A few questions that help:
- Is the home inside the Town of Blythewood or in unincorporated Richland County, and which body has zoning authority over the empty parcels next to it?
- Has nearby land already been rezoned by the county? On Fulmer Road, Blythewood's town manager told WLTX that the developers could build the rear homes using vested rights from Richland County, no matter how the town votes.
- Does a new water main run past the open land nearby?
- Is the plan for a nearby project still at rezoning, or has a final development plan been filed?
Public agendas and minutes from the Town of Blythewood and Richland County Council answer most of these. We're happy to pull them for any home you're considering. This post is general information about public zoning actions, not legal advice, so confirm what a specific rezoning means for a property with a land-use attorney or the planning office.
FAQ
Did the Oct. 26 reading and the Oct. 27 hearing settle these projects? No. Oct. 26 was a first reading in Blythewood, and Oct. 27 was a public hearing in Richland County. Rezonings usually go through more than one reading, so check the latest town and county agendas for where each case stands.
Will Scout's opening push up nearby prices right away? The published dates show housing supply arriving in phases after production begins. Haven's first phase is projected for summer 2028, after Scout's end-of-2027 production target.
Are the July 2025 Mount Valley Road approval and the Southfork county approval the same project? Both describe about 600 homes on roughly 300 acres near the Scout site. Ask the county planning office for the case number before relying on either description.
If you're weighing a home near Fulmer Road, Mount Valley Road or the Hardscrabble corridor, Patti and Parker can pull the zoning history for the parcels around it before you write an offer. Reach out to Smith Real Estate Group and we'll go through it with you.
