Superblock owners urge Myrtle Beach planning commission to bring life back to forgotten downtown

Superblock business and property owners urged the Myrtle Beach Planning Commission on Tuesday to craft any future zoning changes around a plan that would bring new life back to an area of downtown that has been forgotten.

“If you look at the pictures in the hallway we had ample parking. We had ample stop lights,” said Superblock property owner Michael Hobeika, pointing to old photographs of downtown lining the halls of City Hall. “Well when we lost our parking and when we lost our stop lights, we lost the ability for people like you to patronize our area. When we did, we lost our retail and we lost our clothing shops and we lost our mom and pop stores.”

Owners said that they felt like their corner of Myrtle Beach had been forgotten and overlooked in redevelopment plans. They asked for help as city planners prepare to study possible zoning amendments that could change the future of the 6-acre Superblock.

A public hearing on zoning changes for the Superblock set for Tuesday afternoon was more of a technical formality than a reality, but the public still shared ideas.

Planning Director Carol Coleman said the public hearing was written into the Myrtle Beach Planning Commission’s meeting agenda under the assumption the board would need to hold a hearing for zoning changes. The pending ordinance doctrine – that halted any new bars from opening in the block – called for future zoning amendments. But the city has yet to study the Superblock or make recommendations.

Coleman asked board members whether they wanted to form a subcommittee to study the area and potential zoning changes or whether they wanted city staff to study the issue and return with recommendations. The board agreed to let city staff do the legwork.

The Planning Commission was given until Jan. 1, 2017 to make recommendations for the City Council to consider under the pending ordinance. The ordinance passed in its second reading in December. It grandfathered in the rights of current businesses in the Superblock area.

Assistant City Manager Fox Simons told the commission it was up to the board whether or not to hold the public hearing. “There’s really nothing to comment on since there’s really nothing presented to you to comment on,” he told the board.

Commission chairman Derrick Mozingo, Jr., invited anyone who wanted to speak to do so.

“I own the oldest building in that block,” said Hobeika, who owns the building that housed Farlo’s Burrito Bar. “In 1932 we had this building built on top of another building that had been there since the 20s.

Hobeika said they “have almost 400,000-square-feet of retail space in that block,” but only 42 parking spaces. “You can’t make it work. It’s stressed beyond the max,” he said.

“We need your help,” he told the board. “We want to have it just like everybody else in the city and have good commerce and good trade and good activity.”

Mozingo agreed that downtown should not be excluded from future redevelopment plans.

“This is certainly an area that’s blighted and it needs some attention,” he said. “I remember coming as a kid to Myrtle Beach and that was a thriving area… But now the way the traffic is set up … it essentially cuts them off from the oceanfront and it becomes a no-man’s land.”

Hector Melendez, owner of the Pure Ultra Club, told the board the downtown area needs to be defined with its own identity.

“I would say 90 percent of the people they don’t know that we have a Main Street and that is very, very sad,” he said. “I think there is where we have to start. Define downtown. We have a downtown. We look at all of these pictures – that was downtown. That was good times. … I want to bring that back to downtown.”

Melendez said he moved to the city 17 years ago and “decided to invest in Myrtle Beach” because he believed in its vision and future. With the city’s help, he said, the area could thrive once again with its own unique identity.

Mozingo agreed. “This is a gateway to our town that certainly needs revitalization,” he said.

Andrew Paulussen, owner of House Parts, said that he would like to see the city take a more concerted effort into addressing the “stagnant issue” of rehabbing the Superblock.

Assuming that the realignment of U.S. 501 will happen, Mozingo said they should start looking toward a future vision for the Superblock that will create excitement and revitalization.

The Superblock has been identified as an area of downtown bound by Ninth Avenue North, Main Street, U.S. 501 and Broadway Street.

Mozingo said that they should have another public hearing to gather input when recommendations are proposed.

Board member Joyce Karetas encouraged the public to share their thoughts and concerns with the city’s planning department in the coming months as staff studies the area.

This story was originally published January 5, 2016 at 6:59 PM with the headline "Superblock owners urge Myrtle Beach planning commission to bring life back to forgotten downtown."