Myrtle Beach City Council authorizes purchase of more land for Oceanfront Redevelopment Project

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WMBF) – The city of Myrtle Beach will be buying more land in order to help restore parts of the downtown area.

Back in December, the city council authorized the purchase of 10 parcels of real estate in the Oceanfront Redevelopment Project Area, which is in the areas east and west of Kings Highway from 14th Avenue South to 22nd Avenue North. It once served as the primary tourism amusement area for the entire Grand Strand.

RELATED COVERAGE | Myrtle Beach leaders approve downtown redevelopment to clean up ‘nuisance’ properties

On Tuesday, the city council approved the purchase of two additional parcels along 7th Avenue North. Assistant City Manager Brian Tucker said the parcels being purchased are apartments.

The other parcels that the city purchased in December include older motels and commercial properties.

“This area of the city has been on the decline for more than 20 years. City Council adopted the Downtown Master Plan and has made major strides to implement that plan,” according to city council documents. “The City recognizes that we must take bold steps to bring the downtown back.”

Documents show the city will acquire the parcels for a total price of $1.95 million. The properties are located within the Tax Increment Financing District, which is an area where new taxes generated are reinvested back into that district.

Tucker said the city acquiring these parcels fits perfectly into the city’s long-term plans to restore the downtown to a prominent commercial district.

“The struggle has been the structures there now, the prices there now, by themselves, they don’t make a private sector development work. We recognize the city has to step in and kickstart the development there. So we’re evaluating any number of different development opportunities that could be in those areas,” Tucker said.

As far as what could possibly be developed on those properties, Tucker said that has not been finalized yet.

Demolition on the buildings where the city has purchased properties is expected to happen in the first part of 2022, according to a city spokesperson.

Copyright 2022 WMBF. All rights reserved.