How many vacant buildings are there at Broadway at the Beach? Here’s what we know
Broadway at the Beach is one of Myrtle Beach’s most popular visitor destinations. It brings in millions of people who want to shop, play mini-golf, visit an aquarium or eat at a restaurant.
However, not every building on the property has an attraction available for vacationers to peruse. Broadway at the Beach has some vacancies, although it’s doubtful these pose a problem to the site.
Burroughs & Chapin owns Broadway at the Beach and keeps a lease plan of the property on its website, which the company updates.
Burroughs & Chapin’s public relations firm, LHWH Advertising & Public Relations, did not return a request for comment before publication.
With about 140 restaurants, shops and attractions at Broadway at the Beach’s primary location, only eight were ‘Available’ or ‘Lease Pending’ on the lease plan available on Burroughs & Chapin’s website. These eight properties comprised more than 43,000 square feet of the more than 700,000 square feet available at Broadway at the Beach.
The number of vacancies dropped compared to earlier in 2024. In March 2024, a lease plan on Burroughs & Chapin’s website showed 13 properties comprising 57,000 square feet as ‘Available’ or ‘Lease Pending’.
Indeed, the dropping number of vacancies coincides with one expert’s opinion that minimal empty storefronts aren’t an inherent issue for places like Broadway at the Beach.
Mark Mitchell is an associate dean at the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration at Coastal Carolina University. In a February 2024 interview, Mitchell said that vacant buildings aren’t necessarily bad for retail shopping locations like Broadway at the Beach.
Too many storefronts without tenants would indicate trouble, he said. Still, Mitchell noted that having open space also gives companies like Burroughs & Chapin room to maneuver and exercise discretion regarding what types of businesses they want to add to Broadway at the Beach.
“Property owners can, and you could argue ought to be somewhat selective in the businesses that they select. ... it’s natural there’s some inflow and outflow,” Mitchell said. “You hope that new shiny thing that folks want to go check out counteracts that ‘Been there done that no sense going back.’”
Experts have previously argued that customers are shifting from buying T-shirts and mementos on vacation to experience-based retail that creates lasting memories. Despite some vacancies, Broadway at the Beach plans to add new attractions that align with this trend.
In March 2024, the site opened the Tiger Woods-backed Popstroke putting course and restaurant.
In November 2024, Broadway at the Beach secured a deal to bring a new surf park to the complex at the former Palace Theater location. Its projected opening is in 2027. The new surf park was initially planned for City of Myrtle Beach-owned land before Broadway at the Beach secured the deal.
More new attractions could open at the property soon. In late December 2024, a demolition crew destroyed two buildings that previously housed restaurants. Burroughs & Chapin has not announced what will replace them.
Regardless, a few empty storefronts may matter less in the winter, which generally has less traffic than the peak summer months.
Broadway at the Beach attracts mostly vacationers during the summer, while traffic on the property typically slows down during wintertime. Some stores generate as much as 20 percent of their yearly revenue each July.
