By Staff Reports The Herald
FORT MILL--

A drive through Baxter Village in Fort Mill or along S.C. 160 into Tega Cay offers the best picture of the area's ever-changing image.

It seems something new pops up each week, from restaurants to banks to shops to offices. In an area averaging about 80 new families each month, this gives support to the idea that rooftops bring retail -- and convenience for residents.

And many seem pleased so far.

"I'm pro-business. I like having all of the options within a few miles of my house," said Rosie Hunter, 32, of Tega Cay as she and her 8-year-old son, Brody, sat in front of SweetTreats in Baxter Village last week eating ice cream. "A lot of this has made it much more convenient for us."

Even more is on the way. Here's a look at some of the upcoming additions:

Coffee anyone?

• Unconventional in its design, Starbucks in Baxter Town Center looks like a house. It's set to open in June, giving thousands of Charlotte-bound commuters a new place to get that morning caffeine jolt. A popular joke says there's a Starbucks on every corner. It hasn't come to that yet in York County, but the Fort Mill store is a short drive from another of the coffee giant's soon-to-open locations on Celanese Road in Rock Hill. It's also located near SweetTreats, another Baxter coffee spot.

A family focus

Two of the most eagerly awaited additions -- the Field of Dreams Nurture and Education Center and the Col. Logan E. Weston YMCA -- are both a few months from completion.

• Field of Dreams should open the first week of July, said Rick Field, one of the owners. The center initially expects 250 children in its 6-weeks to 5-years programs, with an after-school program also planned.

"Creative use of technology and building design details will differentiate the Field of Dreams Nurture and Education Center from any other facility in Charlotte and upstate South Carolina," boasts the center's Web site, www.fieldofdreamscenter.com.

The center will include a spacious playground and rooms designed for "maximum visibility where children are never out of sight or out of contact with caregivers," the Web site says.

Programs will include computer training, foreign language and etiquette.

"We're doing some excited things," Field said.

• The Weston YMCA is set to open in June. The $9.5 million, 62,000-square-foot building will hold an indoor pool, whirlpool, a child-care facility, a fitness center, an aerobics studio, a cycle room, a double court gymnasium, an Internet cafe and a family adventure center where teens and their families can play video games and eat snacks. An onsite water park is planned later.

Like Field of Dreams, the YMCA is becoming a hot topic in Baxter. Parents say they're eager for the grand opening.

"It's going to be one of those nice ones with ballfields and a big pool," said Baxter resident Jennifer Slaney, who has a 10-month-old daughter. "I'm real excited about the YMCA."

Also coming soon to Baxter:

• Across the street from Starbucks, local orthodontist Tommy Epps is building a satellite office. The 2,800-square-foot building also set to open in June.

• Construction on The Inn at Baxter, a restaurant and tavern, should begin soon with the opening planned for September. Despite its name, there will be no rooms at The Inn.

• Also coming is the Six Pence Pub and Restaurant, an English pub with a rooftop terrace, which will serve lunch and dinner. Construction should start in a couple weeks with the opening planned for September.

Tega Cay

• Down S.C. 160 toward Tega Cay, construction also is booming. There's the brick Circle K convenience store being built in front of West Town Market, where a Harris Teeter, Blockbuster Video, Wendy's and other businesses opened last year.

• A short drive away at Stockbridge Commons on Gold Hill Road, a branch of First National Bank of the Carolinas also is in the works, the bank's first branch in York County. It should open in May.