Monday, Nov. 09, 2009

Myrtle Beach focuses on pier project

Downtown Myrtle Beach is the theme of Tuesday's City Council workshop and meeting.

The City Council is scheduled to cast the first of two votes on the Second Avenue Pier Planned Unit Development.

The Collins family, owners of the pier and the Lighthouse Motel, both at Second Avenue North and Ocean Boulevard, have asked the city for permission to tear down the motel and renovate the whole intersection at Second Avenue North and the boulevard to create a parking area with a second floor of retail shops and amusements.

The pier, too, would get a revamp.

The proposal has already gone to the city's Planning Commission for feedback and approval and will now come before the council. Council members must give the proposal two votes before it is officially approved and are expected to do so.

Downtown redevelopment is part of the goal of creating the boardwalk, along with giving the city an iconic feature. Mainly, though, it is hoped a boardwalk will help bring people downtown and keep them there longer.

Pier and motel owner Teak Collins has said he's eager to get started with the renovations to have the bulk of the project finished by the time the city's new milelong boardwalk opens in spring 2010. At a recent Planning Commission meeting, Collins said he wanted work to continue on through next summer to get the whole project completed by late next year.

His is just the first of several plans for renovations as the new boardwalk becomes a reality.

The old Chesterfield Inn is going to be replaced with a mini-golf course that will connect to the beachfront walkway, and representatives from the Downtown Redevelopment Corporation have said many store owners have begun discussing changes to their own properties to make them more boardwalk-accessible. A redevelopment subcommittee is working on ideas for boardwalk-area policies and design standards for existing and new businesses.

At the Tuesday morning workshop, the City Council will hear an update on the boardwalk's construction and will hear a report on the first Oktoberfest held in downtown Myrtle Beach. Jonathan Staton, president of the Oceanfront Merchants Association, will give the report and is expected to tell the council it was a successful event, with live music all day and into the evening, food and activities, and a fireworks show at the end.

Crowd estimates have ranged as high as 10,000, and Staton has said the merchants association is thinking about the same kind of festival for St. Patrick's Day in the spring. The city allowed a portion of Ocean Boulevard to be blocked off for the event, creating a pedestrian-only zone where stages could be set up in the middle of the boulevard.

The city, too, has plans for downtown renovations, including streetscaping and utility-line burial and a makeover at Third Avenue South between Kings Highway and the beach to go along with the state Department of Transportation's remodel of Third Avenue South between Kings Highway and U.S. 501.

The city is working on cleaning up Withers Swash, and when Horry County completes the extension of Harrelson Boulevard, the city will have a remade intersection at 22nd Avenue South and Kings Highway.

Councilmembers on Tuesday are also scheduled to vote on a resolution to establish a floodplain management and hazard planning committee, hear the quarterly budget update from Budget Director Michael Shelton and cast the first vote on a request to rezone three lots - at 521 30th Ave. N., 540 30th Ave. N. and 521 31st Ave. N. - from medium-density multifamily residential to Ac-1, which is an accommodations/commercial zone.