Conway ~ expected to double in 10 years

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