MARION AREA, SC (WBTW) – A major development is being planned for the Swamp Fox Entertainment Complex just outside of Marion.
The complex’s owner hopes to put in over 1800 homes- along with several other amenities- over the course of the next several years.
“It’ll be a gated community,” owner Robert Hartmann described. “It’ll be completely private in the sense they can drive their golf cart around to different restaurants and there will be different types of venues as far as a comedy club or music.”
Hartmann bought the 250 acre piece of property in 2015. He says he’s shifting gears because his first vision for the entertainment complex didn’t pan out.
“We started out with this idea that it was the amphitheater,” he said. “And unfortunately that amphitheater just doesn’t make any economic sense down there.”
The master plans for the project have been given conceptual approval by the county’s planning commission already.
Work on the first phase- which would include 95 homes- could begin as soon as June.
The whole project would likely take between 6 to 8 years to finish, Hartmann said.
Hartmann said he also hopes to put in a gas station with a convenience store, a medical center and is in talks with a hotel company.
“I think that’s excellent,” Doctor Julie Norman said. She heads up the Marion County Economic Development Commission. “We certainly need more workforce housing in Marion County. Particularly with the new companies we’ve recruited in recent years.”
She says she can’t recall a project of this magnitude in Marion County.
Count on News13 for updates.
