Former site of Myrtle Beach-area amusement park could become home to FedEx building
The former site of a failed amusement park in the Myrtle Beach area could become home to a new FedEx building.
Horry County land records show that a commercial permit request was submitted Jan. 19 to build a 250,000 square foot FedEx commercial building. The cost of construction is valued at more than $12 million. The request is under review and a permit has not been issued, land records show.
The former Hard Rock Park and Freestyle Music Park property sits at Fantasy Way, along the Intracoastal Waterway in Horry County. It has sat mostly vacant for years as graffiti dotted what was left of the former attractions, and suspicious fires were reported on numerous occasions.
Former Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes, who died of COVID-19 complications about a year ago, was part of an investment group purchased the former park site in 2018 for $3.5 million. His business partners in the venture were never made public.
Around the time of his purchase of the 125-acre site, Rhodes told The Sun News he hoped to take advantage of the waterway and the business opportunities it provides.
“I promise it will not be another theme park,” Rhodes said in 2019.
In 2019, a developer requested that Horry County re-zone the former amusement park property to create a warehousing and distribution district, The Sun News reported at the time.
The land was previously zoned to only allow amusement activities.
Formerly known as the Hard Rock Park, and briefly the Freestyle Music Park, the site was once expected to be a draw for tourists, sitting just on the outskirts of Myrtle Beach. The park closed permanently in 2009. The site had changed hands a few times, including when a group of investors from China bought the land in 2016. Some of the rides for the park have been sold internationally, with one being used in Vietnam.
