The final preferred route for Interstate 73’s southern leg has the least impact on wetland, farmland and communities of any other alternative, highway planners said Tuesday.

Supporters hailed the event as an important milestone in the development of the road that will be the first interstate highway connection to the largest tourism destination that does not have one. Tourism leaders say more than 90 percent of visitors to the Myrtle Beach area arrive by car.

The Route

The 60-mile preferred path meets S.C. 22, also known as Veterans Highway, between U.S. 701 and S.C. 319, then skirts through the countryside to avoid most existing houses.

It joins S.C. 917 near Ketchuptown and uses the existing bridge area to cross the Little Pee Dee River at a state Heritage Trust Preserve so as to avoid further disturbance to the preserved land.

The path then brushes to the south of Mullins and Latta to join I-95 about five miles south of Dillon.

Brad Dean, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, said the chosen path is “a great decision because it will likely minimize the impact on people and property, which will expedite the process.”

How To Pay For It?

“The next concern is how to pay for the road”, said State Rep. Alan Clemmons, R-Myrtle Beach, president of the S.C. I-73 Association.

Legislators passed a law designating I-73 as a toll road but it is not yet known how much money that would bring in.

The state DOT will begin in about a month trying to find out how to fund the road.

What’s Next?

• At the three planned hearings, highway planners will have detailed maps and computer programs that can show people exactly how their property will be impacted by the proposed route.

• Planners are also looking for any information or comments on what may be in the path of the proposed corridor.

• Intensive field work on the corridor begins in June and probably lasts into October. Its aim is to examine the entire route on the ground and investigate what is there. The work includes finding wetland boundaries.

• The final route plan is expected to be finished next spring.

Source: Zane Wilson with staff writers Tonya Root and Richard Griffis, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

Before, Myrtle Beach had Hooters. Now, the Grand Strand has Spirit. What it means is more golf tourists coming to South Carolina’s coast.

Spirit Airlines announced it will start daily flights between Myrtle Beach and Boston beginning Aug. 15. Flights from Boston will depart at 10:05 a.m. and arrive at 12:20 p.m. — or, as Myrtle Beach promoters like to say, “just in time for an afternoon round of golf.” Flights from Myrtle Beach to Boston will depart at 1:15 p.m. and land at 3:30 p.m. — just in time to hit afternoon rush hour.

“The Boston area has been one of (Myrtle Beach’s) top five golf markets for many years,” said Mickey McCamish, president of Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday. Introductory fares will start at $79 one way, and Spirit will fly Airbus A319 aircraft carrying 138 passengers, 130 of them coach class.

The Boston flights give Myrtle Beach International connections with 13 U.S. cities.

Source: Bob Gillespie, www.thestate.com

The Hard Rock Theme Park is starting to prepare its future home off U.S. 501.

The park will be the first in the world boasting the Hard Rock name, a branding that amusement experts say will give the theme park an edge.

Park officials haven’t yet released details of the rides or the planned amphitheater. A groundbreaking will be held this summer.

Last week a fence was put up and part of a road is expected to be closed next week. The $400 million park is still two years from opening, but crews are getting the site ready for heavy construction to begin this summer.

On Monday, a 0.2-mile section of Fantasy Way road, from the former Fantasy Theater to George Bishop Parkway, closed. The section directly in front of Medieval Times and the Myrtle Beach Community Church will stay open, but those places will lose direct access to George Bishop Parkway.

Source: Dawn Bryant, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

Today’s families who tire of the ocean or the hotel pool want the excitement of a mini-water park just steps from their room.

The water adventures - with waterfalls streaming from a colored dome or buckets dumping water on tops of kids’ heads - are popping up at hotels along the Grand Strand so quickly that state officials have trouble putting a number on them, especially with several awaiting final inspection before the busy tourist season kicks off in a couple of weeks.

“That is a big trend,” said Jim Ridge, the recreational waters compliance coordinator for the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, which inspects pools, lazy rivers and water parks. “That does seem to be a trend peculiar to Horry County - the bigger, the better. You have to keep up with your neighbor,” he said.

Hotels are fighting harder for business, as the supply of units has outgrown the demand. Since 1995, the number of available lodging units in Horry County has increased by 50 percent to reach nearly 90,000, according to the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce.

• Sands Resorts, at 74th Avenue North in Myrtle Beach, was one of the first hotels to boast its own water adventure, opening in spring 2002.

• The Breakers Resort has a pirate-themed water feature.

• Kingston Plantation and Sea Mist Resort also have substantial water attractions. More are on the way as new lodging towers are being built.

• A water park consuming two lots and stretching 300 feet along the road will be the centerpiece of the Atlantica development at 17th Avenue North, which will open in two years. The rides in the water park won’t be higher than 30 feet, but that will be enough of a thrill to cater to toddlers and preteens - helping to attract the desired family vacationer.

The Grand Strand boasts three standalone water parks: Family Kingdom, Myrtle Waves and Wild Water in Surfside Beach. Wild Water switched from weekends only to a daily summer schedule Saturday. Family Kingdom and Myrtle Waves convert to daily summer hours next weekend.

The smaller water rides could work in the big parks’ favor, whetting the kids’ appetites for the more elaborate rides you can’t find at the hotel.

Source: Dawn Bryant, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

Developers modified plans for Centre Pointe, a 900-acre development on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base that will provide added park space, 3,448 homes and land reserved to improve roadways.

The Centre Pointe property, located on the southwest portion of the base, will house developments by Lennar Corp. and RWO Acquisitions.

Developers say they will build 2,237 single-family homes, 421 townhomes and 790 multi-family units. Farrow Parkway runs through the middle of the parcel, which is bordered by U.S. 17 Bypass and Seagate Village.

According to the Centre Pointe planned unit development amendments, developers will start building as soon as they get the necessary permits, which they expect by July 1. The project will take 15 years to create, the proposal says.

“The plan creates neighborhoods, not subdivisions,” amendments to the planned unit development plan say.

The plans describe a “group of discrete but interconnected neighborhoods organized around a communitywide open space network.” The design will create a walking environment in the spirit of the urban village already planned, developers say.

The newest plans add 100 acres of parkland to the former base, including 20 acres of lakes for drainage and 20,000 feet of trails.

City Council members said this week that they want the developers to invest more in the community before giving the final OK. Many other developers fund public improvements when building planned unit developments to compensate for the effect on residents, they said.

Source: Emma Ritch, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

If growth continues at its current pace, Conway officials expect it to nearly double in size in the next 10 years… the challenge: how to manage and plan for such growth.

The demand for affordable housing coupled with an increase in people moving to the area for jobs or retirement has created big demand for new homes.

So developers are transforming what were once large tracts of farmland and timber along U.S. 701, U.S. 378, U.S. 501 and other streets inside the city into houses, condominiums and retail strip malls.

Conway has about 6,000 housing units. The city has a population of about 12,000, according the 2000 U.S. Census. City officials predict growth could double the housing and potentially the city’s population, although no firm statistics were available.

More people means more traffic congestion and a need for more schools, expanded public safety protection and medical care, and other services from local government and private businesses.

Public officials say they’ve been planning for such growth for about 10 years, and some private entities are beginning to follow suit.

• Since 2003, more than 7,500 residential units have either been built or are in various phases of completion.

• Officials say at least 1,000 more units are in the works but not yet listed on any planning documents.

• In addition, Centex Homes wants to develop a 1,680-acre tract of land just outside city limits on U.S. 701 into 4,000 homes and annex it into Conway for its services.

“It’s having a significant impact even out to Aynor because the way the beach has grown,” said Tom Maeser, president of Fortune Academy of Real Estate.

“There’s been a lot of emphasis in the past on the stuff east of the waterway, but we’re running out of land in that area. And land costs have gotten so extremely high that it’s very difficult to build a home in a reasonable price range near the Intracoastal Waterway or east of it. That is pushing the growth toward the west to Conway.”

For teachers, nurses and public servants who must search for affordable housing, the building boom in Conway could mean more choices and make the city a more attractive place to live, officials said.

Since the rivertown is 12 to 15 miles from downtown Myrtle Beach, Conway residents are also close to most jobs and services in Myrtle Beach and other beach towns.

Source: Tonya Root, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

A new, upscale shopping center in Sunset Beach will be unveiled today by officials of Brunswick County, Piggly Wiggly and 1st Carolina Properties.

The 70,000-square-foot shopping center is a 1st Carolina Properties project and is located at the intersection of Seaside Highway and Old Georgetown Road, just outside of Sunset Beach.

The centerpiece is the 40,000-square-foot Piggly Wiggly, the area’s first premier Piggly Wiggly upscale grocery concept. The store features a Starbucks Coffee, deli and bakery.

Piggly Wiggly also offers “Pay-By-Touch” checkout, which recognizes customers’ fingerprints.

Source: The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

Money Magazine says Myrtle Beach area single-family home prices will jump 8.4 percent over the next year - an increase that puts the Grand Strand 31st in the United States for price increases.

Last year, Myrtle Beach area prices increased 18.7 percent, according to the magazine’s study of 380 markets.

Myrtle Beach is the only metro area in the Carolinas to make the top 40.

Tom Maeser, president of Fortune Academy of Real estate, said he agrees with the forecasted 8 percent increase in single-family homes.

“The first quarter showed about 8 percent, so it is tracking in that direction. The only variable to that is we are seeing an increase in upper-bracket [priced] homes, and you don’t have to build a lot of those to have an impact [on the median price],” he said.

Nationwide, single-family home prices will rise 3.5 percent between now and June 2007, according to the forecast. That’s under the 10 percent annual rate of the past five years.

The study says Myrtle Beach-area median price increased 51 percent in five years.

Maeser said the past two years of that were a “catching-up period” that has brought Strand prices to a more competitive range to other areas.

Source: Jenny Burns, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

Angels Trace Golf Links will be converted from 36 holes into 18 through a major rebuilding and continue a trend of course redevelopment in the area by creating up to 1,100 single-family homesites around the course.

The 11-year-old facility will lose its name and become part of Ocean Ridge Plantation, just up the road from Angels Trace on N.C. 904.

Tim Cate, whose designs include Ocean Ridge courses Tiger’s Eye and Panther’s Run, will redesign the new course, which will be called Jaguar’s Lair and could open by fall 2007.

The loss of 18 holes at Angels Trace brings the total anticipated course closings in 2005 and ‘06 - spurred by diminished golf profits and the rising value of real estate - to 17.

Holes on both Angels Trace courses will be used for the new layout. The back nine of the South course will remain somewhat intact and become the front nine, though greens and bunkers may be moved and pars could be changed. Cate will create new holes on much of the property.

Every hole will be stripped and 419 Bermudagrass in fairways will be replaced by a higher quality TifSport Bermuda. The course will receive a new irrigation system, and new bunkers, greens and tee boxes will be built.

The clubhouse will also be renovated, and planned amenities around it include a tennis complex, indoor racquet facilities, swimming pool and fitness club.

Source: Alan Blondin, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

Bahama Island Resort is more community-centered, is transit and pedestrian oriented, and has a greater mix of housing, commercial and retail uses… values developed in cooperation with North Myrtle Beach City Council.

Mixed land use ~ retail at ground level with residential living areas above… will offer alternatives to driving, such as walking or biking.

• Live-work town homes ~ 600 to 1000 square feet of office /retail space on first floor and 1200 to 2000 square foot living space above. Some units have patio garden courtyard between the residences/retail units and a 2 car carriage house garage.

• The commercial space of live work town homes totals 16,427 square feet, and mixed use buildings commercial space occupy another 32,629 square feet in the project. With a separate restaurant of 7500 square feet and another commercial building of 11,516 square feet and the dry dock marina, the total commercial area exceeds 161 thousand square feet.

More compact building design ~ over 50% open space. Buildings designed to grow vertically rather than horizontally, and by incorporating buildings structured over parking rather than surface parking increasing the amount of open space.

A walkable community ~ several pedestrian corridors. Over 12 thousand linear feet of 8ft wide greenway meander throughout the development. Another nearly 2000 linear feet of boardwalks follow the Intracoastal Waterway allowing detours from the greenways and, in some cases, interconnect them. Plazas for public access are scattered along the boardwalk and connecting greenways. Additionally, the development features landscaped bermed parking areas adding to the overall feel of greenery dominating concrete.

Natural setting ~ along the Intracoastal Waterway incorporating a large marina with dry dock facilities, architecture focuses around marina activities.

Rerouting main road ~ created more open space - natural areas both in and surrounding buildings and a significant area dedicate to the city for recreation. Wetlands were preserved and areas around them were expanded to create pleasing environmental areas, improving Bahama Islands residents’ quality of life. Public parks on the water front and inland total 9.2 acres or 13% of the property. Wetland preservation included in these figures is approximately 1.7 acres.

Transportation interconnectivity ~ to existing urban areas, based upon building a four lane highway through the development with possible additional routes interconnecting to Highway 90 and to the Main Street Connector and paving a county road to Sand Ridge.

For full article see: Jim Hule at www.northmyrtlebeachonline.com

For more information contact Barbara Chartier at 843-902-0204.

The Grand Strand is in for a few days of quiet, but an estimated 200,000 - 300,000 bikers will return Saturday for the Atlantic Beach Bikefest. Atlantic Beach has about 350 permanent residents and 53 hotel rooms.

Festival entry fee

Bikers are in for several changes from previous years, most notably a festival planned for Atlantic Beach that requires a $10 entry fee and barricades around the town at the heart of the event.

Organizers of the festival hope it will offset some of Atlantic Beach’s cost for hosting the 200,000 to 400,000 people at the event, which has become more of a large block party than a motorcycle rally.

The first challenge could be persuading people to pay the fee to enter the four-block wide stretch of town that lies east of U.S. 17.

Confusion

The fee has already caused some confusion. Myrtle Beach spokesman Mark Kruea said he’s had calls from people who mistakenly think the fee is for Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach or the entire Grand Strand.

Organizers must also overcome tradition: Groups that promised to bring entertainment have a history of failures for Bikefest.

Logistics

Daily wristbands will be available for $10 in cash at several gates into the festival, which could cause traffic backups. Promoters hope attendees will prepay online or buy the wristbands in hotels and stores that will sell the bands at a discounted price in advance.

S.C. Highway Patrol Sgt. Tony Love said no additional delays are expected and an exit route is planned for people who enter the town then decide not to pay the fee.

The enclosure of a majority of the town will prevent people from entering the festival without wristbands, promoters say. The added barricades will supplement the current fencing, creeks and woods that already block the town off from North Myrtle Beach, which surrounds Atlantic Beach on three sides. The Atlantic Ocean is on the fourth side.

Entertainment

The entertainment that will last until 4 a.m. on the three nights of the festival includes musical acts Big Daddy Kane, Doug E. Fresh, Brook Ballentine and Houdini. Comedy acts planned are Dexter Tucker, Kenny Howell, Lester Bibbs and T.P. Hearns.

Attendance

Estimates place recent attendance between 200,000 and 300,000. This Bikefest could see a slight increase in attendance.

Area hotels have 10 percent more bookings for Memorial Day weekend than they did at this time last year.

Tattoos and noise

Bikefest participants will be able to get the first legal tattoo ever during this year’s event. State legislators removed restrictions against tattoo parlors, and three have opened in Myrtle Beach since March.

North Myrtle Beach police cracked down on noise violations by motorcyclists last May, writing 368 tickets for noise violations that each carried a $129 fine. Myrtle Beach officials followed suit, passing a stricter noise ordinance that had its first real test during the Harley rally.

The law sets a maximum noise level at 99 decibels for motorcycles. The law also bans several behaviors that contribute to noise, including revving engines, excessive acceleration or deceleration, and burn-outs. The fine can be up to $500 and/or 30 days in jail.

Traffic patterns

One thing that won’t change from previous years is traffic. Myrtle Beach will again enact a one-way traffic pattern on Ocean Boulevard throughout the event, this time from 29th Avenue North to 17th Avenue South.

State police will again enforce a traffic chute near Atlantic Beach to allow motorists using U.S. 17 to travel past Atlantic Beach without getting stuck in long traffic lines while keeping Bikefest traffic in Atlantic Beach moving.

Source: Emma Ritch, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

David Morrow, Crescent Bank, made the following observations in an interview with Garrison Wells of The Sun News:

Looking ahead ~ he expects growth to move north, a slowing in residential, and an increase in the service industry here.

Hard Rock theme park ~ he sees a very high-end theme park that will bring in new visitors through Hard Rock’s world-wide marketing efforts.

New development ~ he sees a big push in the North Myrtle Beach area. There is more undeveloped land between North Myrtle Beach and Loris than anywhere else in the county.

Type of development ~ he sees continued growth in the services industry, dry cleaning, restaurants, and grocery stores; and a softening in the condo market. The ones on the drawing board will finish and then there will be a slowing.

Full story: Garrison Wells, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

Census report

A year ago, Brunswick County didn’t make the Census Bureau’s top 100 list for growth. This year, for population growth between July 1, 2004 and July 1, 2005, the county came in at 29th in the United States with a 5.4 percent population increase. Some experts expect the county to move up on that list.

The development hot spot is the nation’s 29th fastest-growing county, according to new Census numbers. And the number of building permits pulled in Brunswick nearly doubled in 2005 from the year before.

Grand Strand builders

Centex Homes, D.R. Horton and Bill Clark Homes have been building in Brunswick County for several years, but more national builders - including 26th-ranked Portrait Homes and 3rd-ranked Lennar Corp. - are moving in as well as a host of smaller builders.

Available land

Finding available land these days means either going west or north because south of Georgetown there are conservation areas, said Lawrence Langdale, president of Thrive Horry County.

That makes Brunswick enticing because builders can buy land within a 10-minute drive to the ocean and close to town centers, Langdale said.

Builders say Brunswick planners and county officials also seem to be more receptive about development and in some cases are less restrictive than Horry County.

Higher home prices

Average home prices have consistently been higher in Brunswick County than Horry County.

Last year, the average price for single family homes in Brunswick broke $300,000 - a mark Horry County hasn’t passed.

First quarter sales up

Homes and condo sales jumped 12 percent to 1,406 homes compared with the same period last year, according to Market Opportunity Research Enterprises.

Total sales in Horry County are also up 8 percent for the first quarter from 4,622 to 5,021, but resale condo sales declined 26 percent to 1,348.

Brunswick felt some slowdown in the first quarter, but the second quarter has picked up.

Prices increased

The first quarter 2006 average price for new condos in Brunswick was $292,993, an increase of 21 percent from $241,641 last year.

New single family homes’ average price only increased one percent to $243,934 from $241,810.

Consensus

The Grand Strand’s largest builder, Centex Homes, has several pieces of land under contract in Brunswick, which would add to the company’s three communities currently selling in the area.

“Our market research says there’s strong demand to live in Brunswick County. It’s certainly an area that we’re looking to continue to build in for a long time,” said Ken Balogh, Myrtle Beach division president for Centex.

Real estate folks and builders say Brunswick still has a lot of room to grow. Some even expect it to climb higher in the Census’s 100 fastest-growing county rankings.

Source: Jenny Burns, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC

For more information on new developments in Brunswick County, contact Barbara Chartier at 843-902-0204.

WASHINGTON - The housing market, after flying high for five years, has lost altitude and appears headed for a safe landing, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday.

“It seems pretty clear now that the U.S. housing market is cooling,” Bernanke said. He noted that home sales are slowing as is housing construction.

“Our assessment at this point … is that this looks to be a very orderly and moderate kind of cooling,” Bernanke said.

One of the things that Bernanke and his Fed colleagues are keeping close tabs on is the extent to which a housing cool-down will slow overall economic activity.

The housing market has been a top economic performer. The sector has racked up record-high sales five years in a row. Rapid appreciation in house prices has made homeowners feel wealthy and has powered consumer spending, helping the economy move solidly ahead.

Cooling of the housing sector is expected to be a factor in slower economic growth in the months ahead.

Source: Jeannine Aversa, The Associated Press

Island Green Golf Club is under contract to a Florida developer that plans to build single-family homes on nine of the property’s 27 holes.

The developer has indicated it intends to retain and operate 18 holes while building on the Dogwood nine, which has been closed for several months.

Island Green, a Bill Mooney design, opened in 1980 and was purchased by the current ownership group in 1985.

Island Green is the 17th course on the Grand Strand since January 2005 to have a minimum of nine holes earmarked for redevelopment. Diminished profits in the golf market combined with the rising value of real estate and a housing boom have contributed to the redevelopment trend.

The 185-acre Island Green property is zoned general residential, so it’s unlikely a zoning change would be required to build housing.

The Dogwood nine has housing only off the ninth hole that is part of the Myrtle Beach Golf and Yacht Club and is unaffiliated with the course. The Tall Oaks nine has condos on most holes, while the Holly nine has condos on most holes and some single-family homes along the fourth hole.

Island Green has undergone approximately $400,000 in renovations over the past two years that include the changeover of the greens to Champions ultradwarf Bermudagrass.

The project also included the extension of several tee boxes, clubhouse renovations, new tee markers and irrigation improvements.

Source: Alan Blondin, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC