Mozingo steps down from planning, but will keep changing Myrtle Beach’s skyline

For decades, Derrick Mozingo has helped to define the look of Myrtle Beach. Now, the architect has stepped down from his role as chair of the Planning Commission, the body that makes recommendations on new developments in Myrtle Beach.

“Maybe people were getting tired of me, so I figured it was time to move on,” he joked. “Only thing I’ve served longer is the term I served with my wife, almost 30 years.”

A member of the commission for almost 14 years and chair of it for six, Mozingo is one of the longest-serving chairs ever. During his time on the panel, Mozingo weighed in on projects such as the creation of The Market Common, the Second Avenue Pier and the Hilton 22. He was also part of the group that worked on a broad re-write of zoning code enacted in 2015, helping to preserve open space with large “setbacks,” or the amount of room required between a building and the edge of the lot it sits on.

“I think first and foremost [Mozingo] was very much into quality-of-life issues, not just for the people who are already here but for the people who are coming,” Planning Director Carol Coleman said. “He picked out best parts of a project and addressed inadequacies.”

Sally P. Howard, a 12-year member of the commission, said Mozingo was particularly invested in saving trees and preserving green space for residents.

The designer said he also sought to make projects more economically feasible for developers, and the new zoning code includes higher height and density allowances in some areas, mostly near the shoreline.

The re-written code also made the approval process simpler for developers, with the ability to go to the Planning Commission for a preliminary hearing so that builders get feedback before investing significant time or money in a project. But with the new hearing, several developers have begun to leapfrog over the commission as they present their plans to city council. Some housing projects in the last year have gone directly to council for the first of two necessary approvals, stopping at the Planning Commission in between.

“Sometimes when they take that different route and go to city council and then come to us, it kind of puts a lot of pressure on us, just, it’s almost like we’re being forced into this project,” Mozingo said.

But, he added, the Planning Commission can only make recommendations – and city council has voted in a different direction from that recommendation before.

‘A more modern appearance’

As a private citizen, Mozingo has also had an outsized impact on the look of the Grand Strand.

His firm, Mozingo and Wallace, is well known for its oceanfront high-rises. “As you look at the skyline of Myrtle Beach, hopefully you can probably pick out most of our projects because they do have a different appearance, and in that context maybe more of a modern appearance,” he said.

But Mozingo and Wallace has pivoted, since the housing market dipped roughly a decade ago, to more projects funded by public money. Along with work on the Avista Resort in North Myrtle Beach or Atlantica Resort in Myrtle Beach, the firm now includes in its resume projects like the North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex and that city’s municipal building, which includes chambers for city council and several city offices.

“Business has been good. It’s really good, it hadn’t really been this good since 2006, 2007 when the market crashed,” he said. “Our whole business, it’s kind of changed a little bit.”

That change led to one of Mozingo’s favorite projects – the new culinary school for Horry Georgetown Technical College near The Market Common. The facility stands out not just aesthetically but for its function as a lab for students to learn the culinary arts.

“It was probably one of the most complex projects we’ve ever done. We’re very proud of it, architecturally, as well,” he said.

It also sits on one of the quickest-growing parts of Myrtle Beach, which, until recently, was not represented on Planning Commission. Now, Carl Sivertsen, a resident of The Market Common area, is filling Mozingo’s seat on the panel.

And with a little more free time in between his firm’s projects, Mozingo said he may take a few trips.

“Every time I go to a city or somewhere where there’s buildings, I’m always interested in going to check out the architecture,” Mozingo said. So [my wife] said, ‘let’s go to an island somewhere where there’s no buildings.’ ”

This story was originally published January 23, 2017 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Mozingo steps down from planning, but will keep changing Myrtle Beach’s skyline."