Saturday, Sep. 19, 2009

B&C, Myrtle Beach move ahead on boardwalk

A portion of the new milelong boardwalk the city broke ground on last week is legally property of Burroughs & Chapin Co. Inc., but for now, city and B&C officials say it's no big deal.

In 2006, the city sued B&C over ownership of the blocklong stretch of beach that sits in front of the site of the Pavilion amusement park, which was torn down two years ago. A year later, a judge ruled that B&C owned that stretch, and in less than three months, the city filed an appeal, saying that stretch of beach is city property, according to court documents.

The case is still pending in the state appellate court, but neither B&C nor the city wanted to wait on a judge's ruling before moving forward on the boardwalk, said Dave Sebok, executive director of the Myrtle Beach Downtown Redevelopment Corp.

"B&C and the city agreed to not hold up the process," he said. "It was a joint, positive effort."

The boardwalk - which will run from First Avenue to 14th Avenue North - has been in the works since 2004 and will cost $6 million.

Officials want it to become a downtown hot spot that draws visitors to the area and keeps them coming back.

B&C's Pavilion property remains vacant as the company waits for the economy to improve before starting any development there.

"As it became apparent that our plans for the reuse of our property in the area were unclear and our timeframes were not going to coincide, it was decided to extend the boardwalk through our property, thereby making the boardwalk contiguous," said Lei Gainer, spokeswoman for B&C. "We certainly have no objection, as it may be several years before the real estate market recovers and a project is feasible on the old Pavilion site."

M.B. Kahn, a Conway construction firm, plans to finish the boardwalk by next summer.

Gainer declined to comment on exactly how much of B&C's land is being used for the boardwalk and whether B&C would pay for the development of the portion of the boardwalk on the B&C portion of beach.

B&C is an enthusiastic supporter of the project, she said.

"We believe the project will greatly benefit Myrtle Beach and that area," Gainer said. "B&C owns substantial property east of Ocean Boulevard, and we expect our future redevelopment plans will interface with the boardwalk."

The city and Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce will kick off the boardwalk project with a block party on Friday and Saturday featuring live entertainment, fireworks, a beer garden and the "world's largest shag dance floor."

The celebration will also feature a colored sand art rendering of the boardwalk created by Team Sandtastic of Sarasota, Fla., said Nancy Gray, spokeswoman for the chamber.