Why this part of rural Horry County may be getting new retail stores, other businesses

Before Horry County began contracting with private companies to repair and build its roads, the county did much of that work itself, and operated coquina mines to provide needed material for those projects.

Now, one of those former county-owned coquina mines — near Longs and Loris — could become a large mixed-use development complete with retail stores, trade shops, industrial uses and scenic nature trails around a lake.

That project could soon be underway as the Horry County Council voted earlier this week to sell a 37.8-acre piece of property, which includes an 18-acre lake that used to be the coquina mine, to a company owned by miner and developer Bill Griste. A final vote on the sale will happen in two weeks, and then will go through a three month closing process.

Though county property records show the land being worth around $113,000, Griste has agreed to pay $275,000, in part because he owns a 23-acre piece of property with a lake on it next door, he said. County Council will have to give a final approval vote to the sale, but Griste said he hopes to move forward on developing the property sooner than later.

As the two properties side-by-side abut a long stretch of the Highway 9 Bypass, Griste said he envisions placing a number of projects on the land, for both the public and business owners. He said he’d like to see a grocery store, a gas station, retail stores, trade shops with industrial space and outdoor recreation facilities spread through the property. Griste said it’s too early in the process to name specific companies that might locate there, but that he’d pursue businesses to open up their doors in the project.

Residents in the Longs and Loris area, Griste said, “they need some services. They’re going to need gas stations, they’re going to need grocery stores, maybe some other retail. There’s a need for trade shops out there.” Trade shops generally refer to small businesses that specialize in a trade — be it electrical work, masonry, welding or auto repair — that include a small amount of office space and a larger industrial-type space to perform the trade.

“I want to see if I can pull this off,” he added.

Griste said he’s not planning to build housing in the area.

Perhaps the biggest challenge Griste faces with the project is placing a diverse array of land uses next to one another. Generally, Horry County planners prefer to have similar land zonings near one another, meaning that certain areas are deemed commercial areas, some areas are deemed residential and others are deemed rural. But Griste said he hopes to work with county planners and county officials to place very different land zonings near each other to accommodate each piece of the project. For example, a grocery store and other retail stores would require commercial or retail zoning, while trade shops may require industrial zoning and the outdoor recreational area would require an outdoor amusement or park zoning.

“I want to show you that this can be done,” Griste said. “Not too often do you see a pristine property next to a commercial property.”

It’s not yet clear if county officials will sign off on the project, though County Council member Mark Causey, who represents the Longs and Loris area, said he’s had conversations with Griste about it and signaled his cautious support. Causey said it will depend what specific plans show and “how intense” the land uses are, but that the project could be a net benefit for the area.

“If he gets some trade shops out there, it could be a benefit to the area. It could clean up the area, it all depends on what he’s doing,” Causey said. “We’d be certainly be willing to look at his plans.”

The county officials who pushed forward the land sale also signaled their initial support for the project.

“After review and evaluation by the County, the proposal recommended for acceptance by the County included proposed uses of the property for a trade shop, batch plant, retail/commercial use, and outdoor recreation,” county attorney Randolph Haldi wrote in a memo to council members.

To get the various zoning and building plans approved, Griste will have to win approval from county planning staff, the county Planning Commission and County Council. Horry County spokesperson Kelly Moore said the property is currently zoned as forest agriculture, an older, broader zoning category that allows for a multitude of uses, including both recreational and commercial uses.

According to a draft of the sale agreement, Griste would be barred from using the property for certain things, such as a mobile home park, a junk yard, a location for radio towers or a site for oil drilling. Griste must also ensure that anything built on the property doesn’t cause surrounding properties to flood due to stormwater runoff.

For the outdoor recreation piece, Griste said he envisions building nature trails around the lakes, and possibly allowing some camping, though not an RV park. He said there could possibly be fishing and kayaking allowed on the lakes.

Moore said the county originally purchased the coquina mine property in 1988 and used the materials from the mine until the 1990s, when operations ceased. In recent months, the county determined that the property was “surplus” and could be sold, and the county issued bids in April. Griste said he jumped at the opportunity to purchase the property, and said his project would fit in with the area.

“You wouldn’t be disturbing or having to do a lot of infrastructure stuff there, it already exists there,” he said. “I’m going to try to come up for some uses that are good for the community.”

This story was originally published August 20, 2021 at 6:00 AM.