Live-work communities catch on in Myrtle Beach

Live-work developments on the Grand Strand are gaining popularity since the concept arrived here several years ago, with a new project teaming commercial and residential space getting ready to break ground in Myrtle Beach.

A live-work townhome is a dual-use retail and residential space with a townhouse above a street-level store. There are two live-work developments in Myrtle Beach, with about 47 live-work units at The Market Common and about 20 at St. James off Robert Grissom Parkway.

When the live-work townhomes opened at The Market Common, there was a florist and the Tee Time Cafe. In the past two years, the cafe's owner, Debbie Perrone, has watched as the stores in the surrounding live-work spaces filled up.

"It's busy and hectic and friendly," said Perrone, who lives above the cafe. "It's a whole different lifestyle."

In the ideal situation, the person who runs the business would live upstairs, but they are designed with separate doors in case that doesn't happen, with separate tenants in each space, said David Wilkes, the executive vice president of Dock Street Communities, the developer of the townhomes at The Market Common and at St. James.

"I think this kind of concept is absolutely vital, absolutely necessary," said Bill Bair, the owner of Studio B., an art gallery at The Market Common. He said that while he doesn't live upstairs, the live-work retail space is the ideal environment for his business because it's the right size - smaller than most of the other retail spots at The Market Common - and in an upscale neighborhood.

He sells local art work and photographs for people to hang in their homes, so having the residential properties around is good for the studio, he said.

"I just liked the community aspect of it," he said. "I think this idea is really going to expand."

At The Market Common, the live-work units act as a buffer between the retail center and the residential areas, Wilkes said.

"It's kind of just reverting to what worked in the past, where you had a core town center where people lived above shops," he said.

The type of building does provide some challenges with zoning and financing, Wilkes said.

"It's a really neat product but it's also a challenging product to make cities and towns understand what you're trying to do and the idea," he said.

Live-work townhomes succeed when they are built as multiple units as part of a community in an area that is good for walking with mixed residential and commercial use, said Thomas Dolan, an architect and the founder of the Live/Work Institute, a nonprofit organization based in Oakland, Calif.

"Choosing to live where you work is an old paradigm and a new paradigm," said Dolan. Commuting to work has been happening for the past couple of hundred years, but now with technological advances that trek to work is not always necessary, he said. The live-work model allows business owners to get the social interaction they might miss by working from home and avoid the commute, he said.

Live-work townhomes are also adaptable to economic conditions, Dolan said. While there are some empty stores in existing developments, some people are using the retail space as an extension of the residential space and still putting the full unit to use, Wilkes said.

The proposed project in Myrtle Beach is an eight-unit live-work development on the northwest corner of Seventh Avenue South and South Ocean Boulevard.

The Diamond Investment Group of Myrtle Beach wants to start construction on the 26,000-square-foot, $1.3 million building in mid-April and have it completed in about four months.

The retail space - ranging from 800 to 1,000 square feet - would be suitable for shops and small restaurants, the developer said, and the apartments above will be about 1,200 square feet and will be owned by the same people who buy the retail space and are meant for permanent residences.

Wilkes and many of the business owners say that the economy is the cause for the vacant stores, and as it turns around, the concept will take off.

"It is going to take off as the economy picks up and people feel more comfortable going into business for themselves," said Sharon Clayton, the owner of Frugal Princess, a new and gently worn clothing boutique at St. James.

She said it is a friendly atmosphere and a great place to work, and she liked the concept of being in a spot where people could just come in and browse.

Clayton owns the building and rents out the upstairs, which she said is a cost-effective way to run the business.

There are several owners who run their own businesses downstairs, and for them convenience is the key.

"I love that there is no commute to work. I just run downstairs," Perrone said. She lives above her cafe and said that the live-work environment is the reason she decided to move to Myrtle Beach from Connecticut a few years ago.

"It's perfect for me because I work by myself," she said. "This is the way it was meant to be. I think it's fabulous for me."

The live-work townhome works well for the right type of business, and it has been ideal for Sandra Becker, the owner of the Birch Broom salon at St. James, she said.

"It's your own building. You can do what you want with it," she said. "Sometimes you want to keep it small and keep it simple, and that's what it does."

Becker brought her own customer base with her so she doesn't worry about generating business through foot traffic though she said she's happy when it does come in.

There is some peace of mind knowing that her rent will never go up because she owns the building and the arrangement has given her the opportunity to spend more quality time with her husband.