Over 10 shops, restaurants coming to revitalized Conway mall. One will be a Walmart
A defunct Conway strip mall will soon find new life as the home for more than 10 new business locations.
Construction to revitalize the Coastal Centre strip mall, located along 16th Avenue and Church Street in Conway, began in July.
Now, excitement is brewing as signs for stores are appearing along the property and residents speculate about which businesses will fill the space, which remains on track to open by summer 2026.
Several large national retail chains will make the mall home, including places to shop and dine.
The retail strip originally opened in 1969, housing stores such as Winn-Dixie and Kmart. But the mall underwent years of decline, with the closure of Kmart marking a permanent shift in its success, The Sun News previously reported. Storefronts emptied and remained vacant, eventually being classified by the City Council as abandoned under the state’s Abandoned Buildings Revitalization Act.
Rise Partners, a commercial real estate firm acquired the property in October 2024, eyeing revitalization. Now, the mall is expected to house more than 140,000 square feet of national retail.
Carter Smith, a leasing manager with Rise Partners, said that the total number of shops coming to the mall is “still fluid,” but the current plan is for eight to 10 new construction storefronts to be added and four to five existing spaces to be filled. There will also be three newly constructed freestanding buildings closer to the road, some of which will have drive-throughs.
The total number of stores will depend on how much space each tenant needs, Smith said.
“I think it will be just transformative for the Conway market,” Smith said. He noted that several of the tenants coming to the mall already have a location or two in Myrtle Beach, and he anticipates that having them in Conway will save residents time while allowing them to take advantage of the different shopping and eating opportunities the mall will provide.
Smith could not share what businesses have been confirmed for the retail hub, but excited chatter began online in mid-October when a sign went up, announcing the impending arrival of a Burlington.
A visit to the construction site by The Sun News on Wednesday afternoon revealed that a sign announcing a Five Below would be coming soon was also recently put up.
City Councilman William Goldfinch shared several more of the incoming businesses, confirming that there will be a HomeGoods, Walmart, Parker’s Kitchen, J Peter’s Grill and Bar, Marshall’s and Ulta, as well as plenty of green space.
Goldfinch described the mall as an important “stepping stone” to attract even more retail to Conway — one day, maybe even a Target, he speculated. He said that the mall used to be a “focal point of Conway” when he was growing up there, and it looks like it might become one again.
He expressed excitement about the mall coming to a central and widely accessible part of the town, where Conway residents will be able to access services they typically have to drive out toward Myrtle Beach for.
The revitalization project remains on schedule, with no delays from the area’s recent stormy weather, Smith said. Tenants will begin their interior builds in late spring 2026, and will begin opening from late summer 2026 through the early fall, according to Smith.
“We’re full-steam ahead and counting down the days until these tenants open,” Smith said.
This story was originally published October 27, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
