RedStone Phase II Stalls Again as Developer Seeks Two-Year Extension in Indian Land

The second phase of RedStone, the mixed-use shopping and entertainment center at the intersection of Highway 160 and U.S. Highway 521 in Indian Land, has been stuck in neutral for years, and now its developer wants two more years to finish the job. Charlotte-based MPV Properties is asking Lancaster County for an extension on the development agreement and construction schedule for RedStone Phase II, a project meant to bring 350 apartments, 20 townhomes and roughly 24,000 square feet of retail space to the corridor just south of Charlotte.

The request cleared its first hurdle on Monday, when the Lancaster County Council approved the first reading of a two-year extension, according to Bisnow. A second reading is set for September 14, with a final public hearing scheduled for September 28, according to the same report. Phase II was originally slated to begin construction in 2023 and deliver by the third quarter of this year — a timeline that market conditions and rising costs have since blown well past, per the Charlotte Business Journal as cited by Bisnow.

A Long-Delayed Second Act

RedStone's first phase opened in 2017 and delivered 79,000 square feet of retail across a dozen buildings, anchored by RedStone 14, a 14-screen multiplex, per Bisnow's reporting. That first phase also landed restaurant tenants including Super Chix and Portofino's. Separately, according to background reported by MPV Properties, Phase I spanned 36 acres with 80,000 square feet of retail space anchored by the 55,000-square-foot RedStone 14 theater — figures that closely track the numbers cited in the Bisnow account.

Phase II's roots go back further than this week's council vote. Lancaster County Council originally approved the master development plan and preliminary plat for the expansion on August 8, 2022, in a 6-1 vote under Ordinance 2022-1820, with Council Member Allen Blackmon casting the sole dissenting vote, per county records shared in public notices. MPV Properties assembled 17 acres across 15 residential parcels in the Pleasant Valley subdivision — a neighborhood established in 1959 — and worked with the South Carolina Department of Transportation and Red Ventures to abandon existing right-of-way in order to extend S.C. Highway 160, according to MPV Properties. The plan calls for a central public event lawn designed to host live music, farmers markets and community gatherings, linking the project's retail and residential pieces, the developer has said.

Red Ventures Next Door

RedStone is designed to function as a gateway to the neighboring Red Ventures corporate campus, which includes more than 1 million square feet of office space and roughly 3,000 tech employees, according to MPV Properties — a description echoed in the Charlotte Business Journal's characterization of RedStone as a gateway to the Red Ventures campus in northern Lancaster County, as cited by Bisnow. The Red Ventures campus itself broke ground on a 300,000-square-foot expansion last fall, per Bisnow. Phase II's apartments were designed with that workforce in mind, giving tech employees housing within walking distance of both office and retail space.

The extension request lands amid otherwise strong retail fundamentals in the Charlotte area. Retail vacancy sat below 3% — 2.8%, specifically — in the second quarter of this year, with 1.4 million square feet of retail space under construction and demand outpacing available space, according to a Colliers report cited by Bisnow. Those numbers help explain why MPV Properties still wants to move forward with Phase II rather than abandon it, even after years of delay tied to market conditions and increased costs, per the Charlotte Business Journal's reporting as relayed by Bisnow.

Growth Strains Test County Patience

The extension request also arrives against a backdrop of county leaders trying to manage the pace of growth in northern Lancaster County. In November 2025, the Lancaster County Council unanimously approved a nine-month moratorium on new residential developments in Indian Land and other fast-growing areas, aiming to give planners time to update growth regulations and infrastructure plans, according to WSOC-TV. That pause reflects the pressure of rapid population growth: Lancaster County's population grew 12.7% between 2020 and 2025, making it the third-fastest-growing county in South Carolina behind Jasper and Horry counties, WSOC-TV reported separately.

Other commercial development along the same corridor has faced its own bumps. In August, the county council voted 5-2 to approve rezoning 71.1 acres at Charlotte Highway and Laurel Hill Road for a major retail center, following a 60-day deferral requested by developer Smith Property Group, according to WRHI. Hoodline covered that project's earlier stumble back in May. Nearby, MUSC Health reached a construction milestone in June for a campus that includes a 62,000-square-foot medical pavilion set to open in spring 2027 and a 51-bed hospital slated for 2028, underscoring the broader institutional investment flowing into the Indian Land area alongside its retail and housing growth.

For shoppers who eventually browse RedStone Phase II's retail space, purchases will carry an 8% combined sales tax — 6% state plus 2% local — with an additional 2% hospitality tax on prepared food and restaurant sales, according to public records shared by the Lancaster Homeowners Movement. Whether that retail space, and the 350 apartments and 20 townhomes planned alongside it, arrives on the newly requested two-year timeline now rests with the Lancaster County Council's upcoming votes in September.