Horry County buys land for S.C. 31 interchange in Carolina Forest, moving project forward
Horry County leaders Monday evening announced that the county had purchased 23.36 acres of land in Carolina Forest that the local government plans to use for a highway interchange along S.C. 31.
The interchange along S.C. 31 would provide a mid-point exit between U.S. 501 and International Drive, and would connect August Plantation Drive, along River Oaks Drive, to Revolutionary War Way, along Carolina Forest Boulevard. County leaders said in a news release that the project is expected to alleviate congestion along River Oaks Drive and Carolina Forest Boulevard.
Horry County is buying the 23 acres for $1.15 million, or about $49,000 per acre, from the Forestar Real Estate Group based in Arlington, Texas. The deal closed Dec. 17. The county’s news release stated leaders are currently vetting responses to a Request for Qualifications (RFQ), and expect to select a company to design and build the interchange in January.
“Following those negotiations, the county will have more information regarding the construction cost and project timeline,” the release noted.
Last week’s purchase of the land is the second time in recent years the county has tried to purchase the acreage from Forestar, the last time being in 2019.
The money for the purchase stems from the county’s settlement agreement over its hospitality fee with Myrtle Beach and other municipalities in the county, which it reached in early 2021. In 2018, after the county had agreed to use hospitality fee money for Interstate 73 and county public safety, Myrtle Beach and the other municipalities sued, arguing in part that hospitality fee money collected in their borders shouldn’t be spent on county departments.
The hospitality fee money was frozen while the lawsuit wound its way through the courts and negotiations between the governments. With the lawsuit settled earlier this year, the county and cities were able to again collect the 1.5% sales tax on hotel stays, restaurant meals and event tickets. Horry County estimated during its annual budget negotiations this summer that it will collect around $15 million annually from the hospitality fee, and council members agreed to split that money up into three buckets.
One-third of the money was budgeted to hire additional police officers and other public safety personnel, one-third was slated for undetermined road projects, and the final third was budgeted for the Augusta Plantation interchange on S.C. 31. This fall, County Council member Dennis DiSabato proposed using the one-third budgeted for road projects for I-73, though the council struck down that plan by a narrow margin. It’s possible a similar plan is proposed in 2022.
