Myrtle Beach Message Board

We really need to start a new section dedicated specifically to The Market Common because this will be without a doubt a major attraction in this area when it opens in April of 2008.

Charlotte and I decided to take a trip out to the construction site on Saturday morning to check on construction progress. It continues to amaze me how an entire downtown are can rise from the ground and take shape in a little over 18 months (when they finish). Even today, with the shell of buildings and dusty, half-completed streets and thoroughfares, the place is awe-inspiring. I don't believe those of you who live outside the area can completely plug into the buzz about this place, but if you live here and you read the newspaper, the anticipation of what this location will represent to the community is overwhelming.

Anyway, here's what it looks like at the moment:

This is the view from Farrow Parkway. Rather than getting too involved in explaining where these were taken or what they're showing, I've added captions to the pictures so you can read those.

http://www.pbase.com/traderboynh/image/ ... 2/original

Some of the neighborhood townhomes. You'll notice that many of these are near completion with all landscaping packages installed:

http://www.pbase.com/traderboynh/image/87560411/orginal

Orvis Sporting Tradition and what will sure to be some spectacular condos above it overlooking parks, fountains, and the downtown spectacle of The Market Common:

http://www.pbase.com/traderboynh/image/ ... 3/original

More downtown:

http://www.pbase.com/traderboynh/image/ ... 4/original

Tommy Bahama. More importantly, the foreground in this picture will be Valor Park, a beautiful pedestrian park including a fountain and outstanding walkways.

http://www.pbase.com/traderboynh/image/ ... 5/original

This is very close to BobL's new townhome, overlooking the Tommy Bahama area to the north and the new Valor Park to the northwest.

http://www.pbase.com/traderboynh/image/ ... 7/original

These are more luxury condos on top of what will be the new Gordon Bierch Brewery. Balconies will be built for each of the units including rounded balconies on the corner residences pictured in the foreground.

http://www.pbase.com/traderboynh/image/ ... 4/original

Beautiful condos topping what will eventually be Coldwater Creek, Copper Penny, and Banana Republic among other retail concerns. Part of the new Market Common at Withers Preserve being constructed by McCaffery Interests.

http://www.pbase.com/traderboynh/image/ ... 2/original

This is a composite image of two photos I stitched together to represent one of the major intersections in Market Common. Residences will exist on the upper floors and retail venues (in this case, Ann Taylor and the Market Common Information Center) will occupy the lower levels. Walking to your left will lead to Farrow Parkway, the main north/south artery connecting Ocean Blvd., Business 17, and the 17 Bypass in Myrtle Beach. The parkway is also the home to many parks, athletic fields (soccer, softball, baseball, football), fountains, and pedestrian walkways that lead to residential neighborhoods and the facilities of Horry Georgetown Technical College.

To the right leads to the center of Market Common, the beautiful pedestrian centerpiece and scores more stores, theaters, and restaurants.

http://www.pbase.com/traderboynh/image/ ... 1/original

There are a few more photos in that album but I think you get the idea. This area promises to be the heart and soul of the new Myrtle Beach and likely the new favorite destination not just for visitors but for locals as well. I, for one, can't wait.

I think this is/going to be the neatest place. If I could I would buy in the Livingston section, especially if they could reproduce the photos on the website. It reminds me so much of quaint hometowns that harken to the days of Leave it to Beaver.

Wow, this is the first I've even heard of this and it sounds great! Can't wait to see it next summer!

With every picture I see I get alittle more excited about the possibilities here. From your pictures I can see that they have started multiple buildings in the first phase town home area directly next to Market Common itself. I assume the live work townhouse building you took a picture of was along City Park Avenue. Mine was off to the right in the picture (only roof line visable) along Howard Avneue.

Just for others insight, the landscaped townhomes shown that are nearly completed are a few blocks down Howard Avenue across Farrow Parkway. Eventually, as the plan has it, there will be live work units (storefront townhomes) connecting Market Common to these residential townhomes a few blocks away.

What no pictures of Toffino's? Didn't want to get your camera sticky from your danish?

I think a Thanksgiving week breakfast meet up at Toffino's my be in the works. Hope to see you there!

Just to expand a bit in what I said before, in a larger sense The Market Common and Withers Preserve will be one of several venues developed in the next two to three years that will usher Myrtle Beach into a category of cities that, until now, it could not compete with in terms of its prominence in the minds of people who frequent oceanside communities for vacations or to people who are looking for the perfect place to raise a family in an oceanside community.

Between the new boardwalk, a new airport terminal (eventually), the construction of Hard Rock Park, the as-yet unannounced plans for both the old Pavilion site and the Myrtle Square Mall, and the completion of ostensibly an entirely new portion of the city in Withers Preserve, Myrtle Beach is poised to become "the next great thing" on the east coast of the United States. With problems in other coastal communities that range from cost (taxes, insurance, stratospheric pricing), overcrowding, crime, and a host of other concerns, people will be attracted to the Grand Strand's livability. That isn't to suggest we're without our share of those same problems, but in most cases the extent of those issues here is significantly less than it is in other seaside communities.

There has been much made in recent years about "halfbacks", people who retired to Florida years ago and who grew tired of hurricanes, heat, and all the reasons listed above. Though not willing to move back to the cold and snow of the northeast, they instead are migrating in droves "halfway back" to their former homes, settling in states such as South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and several other southeastern states. Even now Florida is the number one state of origin for people moving to Myrtle Beach. How much greater will that number be, not just from Florida but from northern tier states, when the advantages and attractions of Myrtle Beach become more and more marketed and pronounced.

Market Common will undoubtedly be the centerpiece of it all. The beauty, livability, convenience, attractiveness, and location will all serve to amplify its popularity as the center of activity for the city. Even before there was more than a pile of dirt in the retail center, the infrastructure in the form of the athletic fields, parks, walking paths, fountains, and pastoral setting of the area became a popular location for festivals, art-based shows, and other municipal events. Now, with the opening of many new neighborhoods set to cut ribbons in the next 6 months, the stage is set for the real engine of growth, the Market Common retail district, to unleash its power.

For those of you who are now just learning of it, you can read more about it here:

http://www.witherspreserve.com/index.asp

The Myrtle Beach of old is long gone, and I know there are those who rue its passing. But regardless of your take on the past, the new Myrtle Beach is about to explode on the scene and years from now when they write the history of the renaissance of the Grand Strand, it'll be the construction of The Market Common at Withers Preserve that will be remembered as the tipping point in that progression.

Leo, you photos are simply terrific! Thanks for posting them. It's amazing how quickly the landscape changes with so many buildings going up at the same time.

Allow me to expand on Leo's post.

The following was copied from The Sun News:

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.

New leaders will arrive in 2007 to help shape the Grand Strand's future.

By June, Coastal Carolina University will have a new president and Horry County Schools will have a new superintendent - two jobs that have traditionally reached past the education borders and influenced the community.

For both jobs, it's the first change in at least a decade.

All the changes will help the Grand Strand ease its heavy reliance on the $5 billion tourism industry, experts say, with much need diversity added.

"The economy is spreading out," Parish said.

Market Common

The first stores won't open until spring 2008, but the bulk of work on the Market Common will occur this year.

The development will bring new life to an old Myrtle Beach staple, the former Air Force Base. Leaders have struggled to bring development to the massive acreage since the base closed in 1993.

With Market Common's pending arrival, some are calling this the future downtown for Myrtle Beach, though it's still commonly referred to as the old air base.

It will have 181 rental apartments, 1,441 townhouses and condos and 600,000 square feet of high-end stores and restaurants, such as P.F. Chang's China Bistro and Anthropologie.

One of the developers, Dan McCaffery, envisions residents and tourists mingling as they walk along the tree-lined sidewalks guiding shoppers through the retail space.

"Hopefully, the Market Common just becomes 'the' place that becomes like the old shoe. It's just the place you go to," McCaffery said. "It's the heart of the community."

Hard Rock Park

By year's end, the theme park off U.S. 501 will be nearing completion and hiring some of its 3,300 workers.

Construction started in the summer, with a planned opening in spring 2008. The 140-acre park will have six zones, an amphitheater, roller coasters, restaurants and stores.

By spring or summer, a preview center will open on the site with a model of the park.

The park, the first one bearing the Hard Rock brand, plans to stay open nearly year-round, helping the Grand Strand grow past being a seasonal destination.

Developers expect 30,000 people to visit the park during the summer.

Pavilion Amusement Park

The place that used to define Myrtle Beach will be a fenced-in grassy area by June.

What will replace the 58-year-old landmark still is a mystery, though some details might be released in 2007.

The basic blueprint is a mix of residences, stores, restaurants and something to "wow" people.

B&C has said the timetable will be based on the city's progress in building a $10 million, mile-long boardwalk. Work on the property isn't expected to start this year, B&C spokesman Pat Dowling said.Myrtle Square Mall site

Sitting bare in the middle of Myrtle Beach, there won't be much to physically change on the 57-acre mall site.

Still, property owner B&C is working this year on a plan that will include a mix of development, possibly a cultural arts center.

"We are still interested in seeing if a cultural arts component can be worked into the mix, but that will depend on the cultural arts community grouping together and working things out with the city of Myrtle Beach," Dowling said.

Horry superintendent

A new school superintendent should be on the job by July 1 to fill the shoes of Gerrita Postlewait, who resigned in July after almost a decade in that role. A national search is underway.

The job comes with the responsibility of running the state's third-largest school system, but also the expectation of working with elected and business leaders to help shape the area's future.

Horry County Schools has more than 36,000 students, 47 schools, about 4,700 employees and a $500 million budget.

"As public education goes in a community, so goes the community," said Will Garland, the school board's chairman. "If we're really serious about having that diversity in development, then you've got to have a top quality public education program."

Starting this month, school board members will meet with community groups to get a better idea of specific qualities to seek in a new leader.

Those meetings will take place in all of the attendance areas, and separate meetings will be held with groups such as ministerial associations, chapters of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, legislative delegations and local higher education institutions.

The deadline for candidates to apply is March 15, and the board hopes to make a decision on April 30.

"I think it's going to be one of the most important decisions this school board has to make," Garland said.

Coastal Carolina University

By mid-January, a new president for the area's major university, Coastal Carolina University, will be named.

The board of trustees plans to pick a successor for retiring Ron Ingle on Jan. 12.

Ingle, who will leave the office in June, has been president since the institution became an independent, public university in 1993, and has overseen a growing student body that has increased by more than half since he took over, reaching about 8,000 this fall.

Surging enrollment, slim state funding and the need for infrastructure are just a few of the issues the incoming president will find on his or her plate.

The new president's vision will affect the local economy and community development as CCU continues to increase its offerings on campus, including a multipurpose arena to be built in the next few years.

"I think the president, working with community leaders, will chart the course for future growth in the area," Ingle said.

The university's board of trustees will choose from five finalists:

Kyle Carter, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, N.C.

David DeCenzo, CCU's provost and senior vice president of academic administration

Sue DeWine, provost of Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio

Edgar Dyer, CCU's counsel and vice president of university relations

Maurice Scherrens, senior vice president at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va.

The 16-member board of trustees elected by the S.C. General Assembly will choose the next CCU president to take office July 1, and it appointed a search advisory committee to narrow the candidate pool.

On Jan. 9, the board will determine candidates for final interviews, which will be held Jan. 11 and 12.

"It's going to be an interesting year, but I think it's going to be a positive year," said Fred DuBard, who is on the search advisory committee and the board of trustees. "I don't see us slowing down or backing up, I see us continuing to move forward."

This is an amazing place, and has grown sooooo much just since our visit in August. We were shocked to see how much construction has been done since then as we drove past there just a few days ago.

Wally wanted me to take some pictures of his model homes today (he has camera envy) so while I was there I got a few shots of Market Common which is advancing toward the Grand Opening April 3.

Bob's live-work unit:
http://www.funbeaches.com/MarketCommon2_20/bobl.jpg
Withers Preserve Sign:
http://www.funbeaches.com/MarketCommon2_20/mc1.jpg
PF Chang 1 and 2:
http://www.funbeaches.com/MarketCommon2_20/pfc.jpg
http://www.funbeaches.com/MarketCommon2_20/pfc2.jpg
Street scenes today:
http://www.funbeaches.com/MarketCommon2_20/street.jpg
http://www.funbeaches.com/MarketCommon2_20/street2.jpg
Tommy Bahama's Tropical Cafe:
http://www.funbeaches.com/MarketCommon2 ... opical.jpg

If you're still with me, and if you're interested in Wally's Withers Preserve Model Homes:
http://www.funbeaches.com/withers/

Patrish;
Thanks for the great picture. When you buy something like this off a piece of paper and a drawing you never know what to expect. Even after I saw the building in person over Thanksgiving there were still some surprises to come. The architect/builder held the rights to design your particular unit based on their vision for the look of the entire block. I knew mine was going to be the 4th unit from the end, but I did not know what colored brick (thank god I didn't get the one next door with the light colored brick), didn't know how many windows or what shape, I didn't know whether I was getting french doors and a fake balcony, or an awning over the storefront. Now that I can see the finished project I am very pleased with my unit. I can't wait to settle and begin looking for a tenant for either the upstairs apartment, the storefront, or both.
BobL

Here's a video from The Sun News. The quality leaves a lot to be desired, but the tour is fun:
http://tinyurl.com/2lpj3y

Wow - looks like a beautiful place to go shopping, or live! Looks a lot like Birkdale Village in Huntersville, NC.

Does anyone know the exact opening date for this?

I will be in MB the third week in April, and I hope it is open then.

The Grand Opening is set for April 3. There has been a lot of excitement about Market Common and Hard Rock Park, both opening this spring!

It looks fabulous and I love the idea of it...a total planned community kind of like Ballantyne in Charlotte. Am I wrong...it's not really a tourist attraction though...more of a lifestyle thing.