Engineers from ESP Associates, P.A. are designing a high-end residential development called “Springfield” in Fort Mill, SC for Crescent Resources, LLC. The 640 acre project includes single-family homes, golf villas, town homes, amenities such as a new golf clubhouse and cart barn, and walking trails.
The natural setting of the site’s surrounding properties, which include an 18-hole public golf course, wooded areas, and green space, is one of the unique features of the Springfield project. “It was important to be able to protect the integrity and feel of the golf course while providing the developer with a quality development that allows unique golf course views,” explained Danis Simmons, ESP lead project manager. ESP engineers have also used their geotechnical skills in order to resolve the issue of the soft, natural silt soil specific to the site. Their solution was to undercut sections of the softer soils and replace them with geotextile fabric and crushed stone. “This process limited the required undercutting process and allowed our client to stay on schedule with the development process,” said Danis. Other tasks performed by ESP included materials testing, planning, surveying and construction staking, water resources design, and site civil land development design. Construction observation services included certification of utility installation, erosion control, and special inspections for construction of the clubhouse, cart barn, and other amenities.
Danis mentioned that the main challenge on this project was coordinating the offsite improvements with the associated permits, and their impact on the project schedule. “The timing of the construction with offsite utilities on and across the golf course was an interesting challenge since we had to keep the golf course open and operational.”
The Springfield development was selected to host “Homearama,” an event sponsored by the Home Builders Association - Charlotte in 2007 that was attended by 35,000 potential customers over the course of three weeks.
