MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WMBF) Two hotels along Ocean Boulevard will be getting a facelift as part of cleaning up the downtown area.
Business owners bought the property of the former Sportsman hotel and the Casa Del Oro hotel to renovate them.
The open date for both of the hotels is May 1. Local construction crews have been working to get the buildings up to code since the beginning of February.
Judy Tang, one of the new owners said, "We come down and look and right away we want to buy the property because of the good location, good city, everything is good."
Tang said she saw Myrtle Beach as a good investment and now renovations on both of the hotels are underway. Dale Norris, the manager of the property said, "The economy has a lot to do with it. Cheaper to renovate and see what the economy is going to do instead of tearing it down and taking a chance on building a huge building which may or may not work."
Norris added he has been hiring local contractors to get the work done. Robert Swinehart, President of S&B Electric Corporation said, "When they went to reopen, they found all the wiring to be cut out of it so had to replace all the wiring that was missing which was practically all the services and paneling inside."
Swinehart added renovation projects like this help him keep his business going during the winter. Swinehart stated, "Men work for me with families so continuous work is wonderful because usually in the winter there is a slow down. In fact years ago, it was worse. It's picked up quite a bit."
Some agree the renovation project is a good sign for the economy. "They are willing to invest. They see the economy as better, and they see they can make money so they are coming in to invest."
Hotel managers around the area said they are thrilled this eye sore is getting a face lift to help improve the neighborhood and also cut down on the safety risks of an abandoned building.
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