Myrtle Beach won’t stop construction replacing tennis club with new houses

The city of Myrtle Beach won’t stop a controversial new subdivision developers plan to build over the Grande Dunes Tennis Club.

“It’s outside of City Council authority ... This is within the rights of the private property owner. City council cannot step in and say, ‘Oh no, you can’t do this,’” Director of Communications and Creative Services Meredith Denari told The Sun News. “It’s within their rights. It’s within what’s permitted under its current zoning. It’s permitted within the PUD. It is their legal right to do this, and they have received approval to do so.”

The property is zoned to allow use for a tennis facility, but also single-family residential housing, meaning it’s not up to Myrtle Beach City Council to approve a rezoning. According to the city, the change is also not considered an amendment to the Grande Dunes Planned Unit Development (PUD).

“Apparently, this subdivision did not rise to the level of a PUD amendment. It did not come to City Council,” Mayor Mark Kruea said. “We don’t have the ability to put the genie back in the bottle on this.”

As with last week’s Myrtle Beach Planning Commission meeting, where agent J. Cameron Parker represented applicant MB Tennis LLC, concerned residents showed up at Tuesday’s City Council meeting to voice their opposition.

Plans for the proposed subdivision, dubbed the Tennis Tract, would bring 31 new single-family houses and four new drives to the Grande Dunes Planned PUD.

To the frustration of those residents, the commission voted to approve the subdivision, saying that whether the Grande Dunes Tennis Club should be replaced is outside their purview. Members noted that new-use was already permitted for the site, the Tennis Tract would meet PUD open space requirements and MB Tennis LLC said there weren’t restrictive covenants in place to prohibit the development.

Over the weekend, upset social media users flooded Facebook with complaints about the proposed subdivision, lamenting the tennis club’s storied local history featuring United States Tennis Association teams, private lessons, camps tournaments and more.

At Tuesday’s Myrtle Beach City Council meeting, several residents used public comment sessions to bring their concerns about losing the Grande Dunes Tennis Club and frustrations with the commission meeting to council members. Some argued creating the new subdivision would require a zoning change or an amendment to the PUD.

“When I found out about the tennis courts, there was a fire that started burning in me … I played on those courts many years ago, and my kids grew up on those courts,” Terri Springs told Council. “State law says that any amendment to a zoning district must be adopted by ordinance. That includes a PUD amendment, and staff cannot bypass council by calling a zoning change a subdivision; This is not a subdivision.”

However, city officials maintain that a rezoning isn’t necessary and the Planning Commission doesn’t have the power to decide whether a PUD amendment is necessary.

“All city and state laws were followed,” the city said in a social media post Tuesday. “We know this may be disappointing for those who hoped City Council could stop the proposed subdivision to keep the tennis club open. However, City Council does not have the authority to approve or deny the property owner’s decision to pursue this subdivision. That is the function of the Planning Commission.”

This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 5:14 PM.