Someone is buying superblock property. Email suggests it could be Myrtle Beach.

An email obtained by The Sun News suggests that Myrtle Beach could be trying to acquire property in the superblock, the downtown neighborhood that has recently been plagued by shootings and other crime that has attracted increased attention from city council.

A broker representing an unnamed buyer has contacted and secured deals with some properties, owners told The Sun News.

In the email, sent Nov. 6, Councilman Wayne Gray asks City Attorney Tom Ellenburg about the possibility of designating bar and club closing times on the block at 2 a.m. On Nov. 5, a shooting at Pure Ultra Club at 803 Main St. left five injured, sparking a series of measures, including restricted late-night parking around the area and the eventual implementation of a 2 a.m. closing time.

“I know it might be construed as desperate treatment to one area, but the area is a nuisance and needs different treatment,” Gray wrote in the email.

“Various concerns to also include (sic) does it hurt legally and politically our move to acquire these properties,” Gray wrote.

Asked Thursday about the email, Gray said he was probably referring to the city’s $10 million loan pool. That fund is frequently used to help owners of beleaguered lots demolish buildings, but Gray said it also can be used to acquire properties. However, when asked directly, he would not clarify whether Myrtle Beach is making an effort to buy lots on the superblock.

“That would be proprietary financial information that property owners wouldn’t want to disclose to you, I guess,” Gray said.

In the past weeks, several property owners have been approached by Scott Taylor, a broker with Metro Properties Group, LLC. The Sun News could not reach Taylor by phone on Thursday. Jim McCrackin, a lawyer who has drafted paperwork for at least some of the deals, said Thursday he could not comment on confidential information.

Landowners that have been in discussions for sales said that Taylor would not disclose the buyer.

Allen Deaton, owner of Beach Bingo and the building it inhabits at 819 North Kings Hwy, said on Monday that his sale, brokered by Taylor, is closing Feb. 8. He said he was pleased with the deal, and that the buyer seems “serious” about it and has put a significant amount of money into an escrow fund that would be forfeited if the agreement falls through.

Tom Pardue, the artist who runs Tomtom Studio Gallerie at 807 North Kings Hwy, said he is being forced to leave his space by Feb. 1 because the building is being sold. William H. Alford, the owner of the building, could not be reached by phone after multiple calls to his business, A & I Fire and Water Restoration.

Paula Alitzer said she is selling her property at 515 Ninth Ave. N. The building once was her father’s grocery store, and she later inherited it. But in early 2015, it was the scene of a deadly shooting that police called a “murder-for-hire,” leading to the conviction of 31-year-old Kevin Tyrone Bryant this December.

Shortly after the shooting, the city pulled Club Levelz’ business license under its nuisance clause.

“There was a shooting there and that means you have to close up your business and you can’t run your business, and then it is the land owner who is punished,” Alitzer said.

Some city officials were unavailable to comment Thursday evening, and The Sun News could not reach Mayor John Rhodes and Councilmen Randal Wallace and Mike Lowder by phone. City Manager John Pedersen declined to comment. Councilwoman Mary Jeffcoat said she would have to make calls before responding. After a call with Councilman Phil Render disconnected, he said in a text message: “Slipped off my ladder touch base in a bit.”

Councilman Mike Chestnut said he could not say anything about whether the city is buying land in the superblock.

“Whatever’s gonna happen, I just hope it’s good and it’s gonna be for the betterment of the entire community down there,” he said.

Asked to clarify whether he did not know or whether he legally could not comment, Chestnut said, “I’ll just say I don’t have any comment.”

As the group represented by Taylor continues buying and soliciting properties, a handful of businesses have recently been forced to leave the superblock.

Two businesses had their licenses — and thus their right to operate — suspended at the end of November. Natalie Litsey, of Natalia’s Bar and Grill, could not be reached Thursday and declined to speak with a reporter earlier in the week. Litsey testified to keep her business license at a city council meeting on Jan. 10.

Ronald Ronda, a manager for Pure Ultra Club, which recently forfeited its chance to make an appeal to keep its license, could not be reached by phone Thursday.

Several others with operating businesses have been contacted by Taylor, the broker, and are considering offers.

Diego Bermejo, the owner of People Solutions business center at 507 Ninth Ave. N, said that even though he recently bought his building, he also was approached to sell. He will meet with Taylor next week.

Bermejo spoke with The Sun News on Wednesday. He said he had put significant time and effort into bringing his building into compliance and spent almost two months working on it before he could open.

“If it is the city behind it, I don’t feel it’s fair,” Bermejo said.

This story was originally published January 19, 2017 at 6:48 PM with the headline "Someone is buying superblock property. Email suggests it could be Myrtle Beach.."