Development finally coming to former Deer Track Golf Resort after sitting empty for years

Development of an empty lot at Deerfield Plantation, formerly Deer Track Golf Resort, in Surfside Beach has finally begun, after it sat vacant since the resort closed in 2006.

Retreat at Ocean Commons and Montage at Ocean Commons will be located on the former South Course of the resort. Builder D.R. Horton is working on Retreat at Ocean Commons.

“Featuring natural gas, the community will feature a mix of single-story and two-story homes ranging in size from 1,613-square-feet to 3,164-square-feet,” the D.R. Horton website reads. “Open concept living areas and spacious kitchen designs are the hallmarks of these D.R. Horton homes.”

Montage at Ocean Commons will consist of custom and semi-custom homes, according to the Ocean Commons website.

Representatives from Ocean Commons and D.R. Horton were not available for comment.

According to Cliff Rudd, board member of the Deerfield Plantation Property Owners Association (POA), who specializes in drainage, construction on the site has already begun.

“They’re building several model homes, streets, ponds,” Rudd said.

The development comes after lawsuits and environmental issues that previously tied up the property due to concerns that stemmed from the potential for flooding because of lack of drainage.

Because of the concerns, development on the land was not permitted until 2015.

In 2015, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that the owner of the South Course could receive a previously approved general permit for storm water discharge, which freed the land up for redevelopment, The Sun News reported.

According to Bill Megert, past president of the Phase II B POA, flooding has been an issue in the past for Phase II B residents after Hurricane Floyd hit in 1999, when about half of the homes were flooded.

In the late 2000s, Horry County worked toward eliminating flooding by doubling the storm water drainage outflow capacity from the South Course, The Sun News reported.

However, the original plan for the land included spots for 270 homes, which left little space for storm water ponds or other drainage options.

“We’re not saying don’t develop it,” Megert told The Sun News in 2015. “We’ve gotten overrun with coyotes, snakes, rodents and other things. We want something done, but we don’t want to put our people in harm’s way. Development is fine. If they want to develop 100 homes we can handle that kind of water. But 270 home is impossible.”

Now, the plan contains about 156 homes as well as seven ponds to help with storm drainage, according to a community map on D.R. Horton’s website.

Rudd said that everything looks up to code in regards to the ponds, and showed no concern that the development will result in further flooding.

However, for many residents, other concerns stem from traffic congestion on roads as well as the numerous amount of homes that will be located in the area.

“Most of these people bought their property because they thought they’d be facing a golf course,” Dick Johnson, president of the Deerfield Plantation POA, said.

With the development, homes that once faced the course will face Ocean Commons.

On top of that, Ocean Commons will exit onto Platt Blvd. like many other neighborhoods in Deerfield Plantation.

“There are going to be hundreds of vehicles,” Johnson said.

Properties for Ocean Commons are currently for sale, according to the D.R. Horton website.

This story was originally published June 24, 2017 at 8:10 PM with the headline "Development finally coming to former Deer Track Golf Resort after sitting empty for years."