Myrtle Beach has closed on first three superblock properties. But how much did they pay?

Purchase agreements for three lots on the downtown superblock officially have closed, signaling the beginning of Myrtle Beach’s push to demolish much of the block for a library and children’s museum.

The lots are the sites of the former Natalia’s Bar and Grill, which recently lost its license, and Ibiza Hookah Lounge. A third parcel, located in the interior of the block behind Lovely Law Firm, is vacant. The seller, Shai David, could not be reached by phone Monday morning.

City Manager John Pedersen said the city was told at closing that Ibiza has been evicted from its space. Horry County court records indicate that Ibiza was ordered to leave Dec. 14. Sam Stathos, an attorney for David, said the lounge attempted to appeal the decision but did not post the bond necessary to do so.

Regardless, David has more than doubled his initial investment in the land. The Downtown Redevelopment Corp., a nonprofit arm of the city, bought all three for $820,000, according to Horry County land sale records. In the most recent sales, David bought the three properties in separate transactions from mid-2014 to fall of 2015 for a total of $305,000, according to records.

“Some of those properties were bought in distress,” said Chuck Martino, chairman of the DRC. “I know for a fact that Shai David got pretty good prices when he bought some of his property that he has there, because they were … in disrepair.”

Martino said offers made to private property owners are in line with appraisals the DRC received as they began looking at the land. The city has said its redevelopment agency will use a $10 million loan pool earmarked for redevelopment to finance its project.

However, Horry County assessed the lots at a total taxable value of $592,250, or about 28 percent less than the city’s purchase price, for 2016.

“The prices were based on the fair market value of the buildings,” Martino said.

This article has been updated with additional details on the status of Ibiza Hookah Lounge’s eviction appeal.

This story was originally published January 30, 2017 at 11:33 AM with the headline "Myrtle Beach has closed on first three superblock properties. But how much did they pay?."