How long will it take? A look into the timeline for Myrtle Beach’s re-imagined downtown
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Arts and Innovation: Downtown Myrtle Beach revitalizes
The iconic South Carolina city is facing an urban metamorphosis. Once vibrant enough to win a listing on the National Register of Historic Places, Myrtle Beach’s core today is dotted with empty buildings, overgrown lots and real estate fliers. But over the next 15 years, a monumental plan to repopulate the district has potential to catapult its downtown back to the thriving area it once was.
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Mayor Brenda Bethune said the city expects to stay on pace with the deadlines officials set for themselves as the arts and innovation district takes shape.
“The city’s advanced master plan incorporates many projects that are large in scale. It is crucial that we have timelines in place for each, so that we stay focused and accountable to the community,” she said. “People need to see that we are staying on taking and taking these projects seriously.”
The document lays out milestones the city intends to reach through 2035, along with a second set of goals that are more flexible as work commences.
Phase One: 2020-2022
- Nance Plaza improvements
- City Hall need assessment
- Police station, municipal court and structured parking
- public parking improvements
- Construction documents for proposed Broadway theater in partnership with Coastal Carolina University
- Opening of HTC Aspire Hub co-working space
- Utility, roadway and streetscape and infrastructure engineering
Phase Two: 2022-2025
- Design and construction of a realigned Broadway Street
- Parking improvements and better pedestrian connections
- Design of a new municipal library
- Design of a children’s museum
- Increased activity in ground floor locations
Phase Three: 2025-2035
Midway through the next decade, downtown Myrtle Beach will feature cultural assets, more organized parking and a state-of-the art public services complex for police and government if all goes according to plan.
- Mixed use ground floor active uses
- Mixed use residential
- U.S. Highway 501 realignment
- New municipal center
- New police station
- New municipal court
This story was originally published March 21, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
