Saturday, Nov. 07, 2009

Springs Towers condos spruce up

A 54-unit oceanfront condominium tower in North Myrtle Beach is getting a $3 million facelift.

Springs Towers is undergoing an exterior makeover, which involves removing the stucco on the building, replacing all exterior windows and doors, and then putting a new finish on the building.

The building had a leaking roof and a leaking exterior that needed to be repaired to prevent the building from becoming run down, said Jonathan Brush, the president of the Springs Towers homeowners association.

"I think people are feeling very positive that they've been able to save the building, but it's a tough one to swallow because it's not a good time for anyone to be taking on a big expense," he said.

Each property owner has to pay tens of thousands of dollars to cover the costs, but the down economy means the project will cost about 40 percent less than when it was first considered four years ago, Brush said.

"It was a significant savings because of the economy today and the workload that's available in the Myrtle Beach area," he said. "It allowed a lot of contractors to be available to bid on this project and because of that our cost was less."

He said that in the long term the investment will be a huge benefit to property owners and should make it easier for agents to rent the properties.

Property owners had considered tearing down the building but instead decided to remove and replace the exterior, said John Staley, a member of the Springs Towers homeowners association.

"It was getting so bad it was hard to find people to rent," he said. "It really needed the repairs."

In May, property owners, most of whom rent the condos out or use them as second homes, voted to shut down the building during the repairs. The construction started last month and is expected to be completed in the spring.

Removing the building's exterior is a tedious and slow process, said Sidney Mathis, one of the project managers with Baiden Construction, which is doing the work.

Mathis said the company was happy to have the project because business has been slow.

"We're probably looking at things ordinarily we may not have looked at in good times," he said, adding that the company likely would have done this project in better times as well.