Two abandoned hotels under same owner catch fire within months. What we know
An abandoned Myrtle Beach hotel caught fire on Sunday, just months after a nearby hotel under the same owner also went up in flames.
Between 3rd and 4th avenues North on Ocean Boulevard, crews appeared to be working to demolish both hotels mid-morning Monday. Large dumpsters sat outside the abandoned buildings, and the sound of construction equipment was met with the sound of people playing in a nearby swimming pool.
The Sea Gypsy at 304 N. Ocean Blvd. drew attention from fire crews and media over the weekend when a portion of it was engulfed in flames. While the fire was extinguished by emergency personnel, the building suffered visible damage only two days after the scheduled demolition of the property had begun. An investigation into the fire is still underway, but to some Myrtle Beach locals, these events sounded similar to those of another area fire in the spring.
In May, the Coral Sands at 301 N. Ocean Blvd. suffered a similar fate. The abandoned hotel was damaged by a two-alarm fire. On Monday, people were inside sweeping debris out and removing plywood from the front windows. Portions of the large property were already demolished earlier this spring.
The fire and demolition followed a years-long investigation by the Myrtle Beach Police Department into illegal activity at the hotel after a lawsuit by law enforcement alleged that prostitution and illegal drug sales were happening within its walls.
“The fire remains under investigation and the Myrtle Beach Fire Department will release its cause,” Myrtle Beach spokesperson Meredith Denari said in an email regarding the most recent fire. “That said, the Sea Gypsy and Coral Sands properties are next to each other and were both boarded up and without power at the time of the respective fires.”
No cause was determined for the Coral Sands fire, according to Capt. Jon Evans of the Myrtle Beach Fire Department.
Both hotels are owned by Rainmaker Holdings, LLC of Myrtle Beach, which bought them both on Sept. 5, 2024, for a combined deed amount exceeding $4.5 million, according to Horry County land records.
The registered agent for Rainmaker Holdings is G. Ben Thompson, a Myrtle Beach developer. The Sun News was able to contact Thompson’s son, who declined to share his name and said that he and his father had no comment on the matter.
Portions of the Coral Sands have already been demolished, and the hotel’s remaining buildings are undergoing asbestos abatement before their removal in the coming weeks, Denari explained.
“Remediation for the Sea Gypsy, as part of the Coral Sands property, was already underway prior to the Sea Gypsy fire,” Denari wrote.
She added that asbestos abatement will begin on the Sea Gypsy later this week, after which the property will also be demolished.
“I expect it to be down within the next few months, if not sooner,” she wrote.
