21st Ave. North in Myrtle Beach is being redeveloped. This is what’s changing.

The Myrtle Beach oceanfront is changing as old structures are set for demolition to make room for a new hotel.

At a Myrtle Beach City Council meeting Tuesday afternoon, council members passed the first reading for a new Marriott hotel that will replace the current Breakers registration building and the Breakers tower nextdoor to the south, located at the end of 21st Ave. North.

“They’re looking at going in in two phases,” Carol Coleman, Myrtle Beach planning director, said. “With redevelopment there will be demolition, demoing a couple of their buildings and then building a new tower right at the end of 21st in the first phase and then an additional phase would bring a twin towers in on the other side of the newly created public space at the end of 21st.”

The public space will consist of a 60-foot vista that will represent a “maritime forest,” which will be made up of three already existing 20-foot public beach accesses.

The vista will be located between the two new towers that will make up the hotel. Coleman emphasized that drivers coming down 21st Ave. North will now be able to see the ocean rather than buildings.

“It would be more of a park space and it would be open to the public,” Coleman said.

Further up 21st Ave. North, developers plan to add two new mixed-use developments that would house retail, restaurants and entertainment.

One of the developments would be built underneath an already existing parking garage, located at the corner of 21st Ave. North and Withers Drive. The parking garage would remain on top of the development, and would be expanded into seven stories.

The other development would be built on the north side of 21st Ave. North, and would house residential spaces on top of the commercial spaces.

“It includes Soho,” Coleman said. “They’ll incorporate it. On the other side, River City Cafe and Hot Tomato, those would come down and a new structure would go up, but that’s in the long-term phase three.”

Coleman said that by the end of construction about five buildings along 21st Ave. North will be demolished.

The development will need a second reading from City Council. After that they will work with the Myrtle Beach Community Appearance Board. Construction is set to begin fall 2018.

“If we get new development along the oceanfront we’ll continue to see the improvement in the way it appears, the way it looks, the caliper of people that are coming here,” Coleman said. “There’s been sort of a resurgence in that area. There’s a very successful restaurant community right there on 21st, and the hope is we’ll create more opportunities so that people that are staying, that are visiting, there’s more to do right in the immediate area. It’s a win win for everyone.”

This story was originally published October 24, 2017 at 5:15 PM with the headline "21st Ave. North in Myrtle Beach is being redeveloped. This is what’s changing.."