Grand Strand 2007 ~ Four major projects taking shape

In 2007, at least four major projects - the likes of which the area has rarely seen - and several crucial leadership changes promise to transform the Grand Strand as we know it.

By the end of the year, the place will be well on its way to having a higher-end, more year-round identity with fresh faces leading the charge and trendy developments sprouting. There’s the Hard Rock theme park, Market Common and yet-to-be-announced developments at the former Myrtle Square Mall and Pavilion Amusement Park, just to name a few.

“[These] major projects … will shape our economy for at least the next 20 years, maybe longer,” said Brad Dean, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. “Combined, they amount to nothing short of an explosive economic environment for the next several years.”

• The area’s first pedestrian-friendly mix of apartments and stores will start to take shape at Market Common, ushering in the “urban village” concept where residents will stroll from their homes to Brooks Brothers, P.F. Chang’s or to catch a movie.

• Across town, Myrtle Beach could finalize plans for the first arts district as part of the development of the former Myrtle Square Mall site - a cultural amenity many have wanted for years, saying it will help Myrtle become more metropolitan.

• Then there’s the Hard Rock Park off U.S. 501, the first theme park to be built in the United States during the past decade. It will open in 2008, but locals will get the first glimpse of the entire park plan this year.

• Details also are expected, possibly in 2007, on two unknown, yet highly anticipated projects at the former Myrtle Square Mall and Pavilion Amusement Park.

Gone are those longtime landmarks that once defined this place: The Pavilion, the Grand Prix Family Thrill Park in North Myrtle Beach, the mom-and-pop motels lining the oceanfront.

Population growth - in permanent residents and those that stay six months - has helped fuel the development spurt, said Al Parish, an economist at Charleston Southern University. For residents, the Grand Strand will start feeling more like a bigger city - with the good and bad.

“It’s going to mean more traffic. It will mean a greater demand for public services. … But it will also mean more places to shop and grocery stores closer to where you live,” Parish said.

Source: Dawn Bryant with Jessica Foster, The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, SC