Myrtle Beach international student workers could get dorms. What to know about the plan
The annual summer tradition of international student workers packing into high-priced, crowded Myrtle Beach area apartments may soon begin to dwindle.
Plans are underway to create a housing complex specifically for these J-1 students, named after the U.S. visa program that allows them to work in the U.S., according to Mark Lazarus.
Lazarus is one of the business leaders involved in the project.
The privately-funded complex, which could open as early as summer 2023, would initially offer beds for 380 students with plans to expand up to 3,000 beds, Lazarus said.
Lazarus declined to provide a total cost estimate, but a developer on similar projects told The Sun News they typically cost about $7 million per building.
More than 3,000 J-1 students come to work annually in Horry County, according to U.S. Department of State data.
Lazarus, who regularly employs J-1 students at his local amusement and water parks, told The Sun News that finding safe, affordable housing is a constant issue these temporary workers face traveling here with little knowledge of the area.
Last summer, Myrtle Beach Police found three J-1 students living in a garage with limited air conditioning and cited the owner for not having the proper permits or licensing.
Horry County’s booming real estate market isn’t making that endeavor any easier, as rent prices continue skyrocketing.
Ahead of this year’s busy season, Lazarus said he’s prepaid security deposits at several locations to secure 102 beds to ensure his incoming employees had places to stay.
He’s hopeful that the creation of a new campus-style housing complex — a project that’s seen success in other major tourism hubs — will eliminate those concerns in the future, for the students and their employers.
Similar projects provide housing for students working in hospitality
Lazarus, who declined to name his partners in the endeavor, said his group is looking to hire Wisconsin-based Holtz Builders, which specializes in “seasonal workforce housing,” according to Dan Bullock, the company’s president.
Bullock told The Sun News that Holtz Builders first began in this niche market 10 years ago when city leaders in their hometown of Wisconsin Dells began recognizing the need.
The southern Wisconsin city is home to numerous resorts and theme parks, and the area has grown to be among the nation’s leaders in hosting J-1 students as a result of the housing complex, Bullock said.
The company has since gone on to build nine more seasonal workforce housing complexes in Wisconsin and five in Tennessee, including one set to open this June near Dollywood.
The complexes are similar to college dormitories — and fall under similar housing laws — with four people per room on two bunk beds, Bullock explained. Each room has a separate bathroom, and the buildings have common areas, including kitchens and laundry rooms that are video monitored to increase safety.
“Then affordability is key,” he said. “You have to build your facility to keep rents low because if you don’t, they’ll just go somewhere else.”
Bullock estimated that rent at the Myrtle Beach complex would initially be $150 per week.
Proposed housing complex would go before Myrtle Beach planning authorities
Lazarus declined to say exactly where the proposed housing complex would be located in Myrtle Beach, but said they plan to seek zoning for a planned development district within the city. His hope is to break ground on the project around August and have it ready for J-1 students to move in by May 2023, he added.
Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune praised the prospective project as a potential boon for the city to attract the best J-1 students as part of an effort to turn the area into more of a year-round destination.
The city recently condemned and began demolition of four downtown motels where J-1 students sometimes stayed, but Bethune dismissed the idea of an increased need for this housing complex being related.
“What I think this project does is it elevates the type of J-1 housing that we have to offer, and we need to put these students in safe housing,” she said. “Having eight students in a small room that is not designed or meant to be for that many people is not safe housing.”
No official plans have been submitted to the city yet.
