Myrtle Beach-area development could add shopping center, hundreds of homes and 501 traffic light

CONWAY — A major shopping center and hundreds of homes could be built in the heart of one of Horry County’s fastest-growing communities.

The developer considering these projects has been meeting with Conway officials in recent weeks about the city annexing property near the corner of Gardner Lacy Road and U.S. Highway 501 — across from the Carolina Forest Walmart.

“This is the furthest along it’s gotten,” Conway City Administrator Adam Emrick said.

No applications have been submitted to the city yet, but a conceptual plan on the developer’s website describes 1,600 multifamily units being built adjacent to a shopping center with 500,000 square feet of retail space. The only tenants identified so far are a Popeyes and a Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers.

Emrick said the Popeyes and Freddy’s properties are already in the city limits and would be outparcels of the shopping center. However, he noted that some of the other property being eyed by the developer isn’t in Conway, though it borders the city limits and could easily be annexed.

The developer also wants to add a traffic light near the Carolina Forest Walmart, city officials said, though it’s unclear if the S.C. Department of Transportation would approve that signal.

Conway officials first met with the developer, Florida-based Impeccable Development, about the proposed shopping center more than a year ago, said Jessica Hucks, the city’s planning director. Impeccable initially sought to rezone property for the two restaurants, but recent conversations with the city have focused on annexing land that stretches along Gardner Lacy Road in front of Carolina Forest High School.

Robert Tanner, the Impeccable Development representative who has been talking with city staff, could not be reached for comment.

City officials have voiced concerns about the proposed number of units and they don’t believe the developer would be able to get approval for that density. However, they said it would be impossible to say exactly how many units would be acceptable until they see formal plans.

Parts of the project could not be built on the property now in unincorporated Horry County because that land doesn’t have the necessary zoning. City officials doubt county leaders would be willing to rezone the land because the county has recently turned down other residential projects in that area.

“The [site] nearest to the high school … is going to be controversial,” Hucks said. “The shopping center not so much, but it is a large number of multifamily units that would be proposed.”

If city leaders opted to annex the property, Hucks said they would likely require a development agreement as they have with other recent large projects. These contracts typically include fees and other concessions from developers to offset the impact of the new homes and businesses.

For a city that’s been in growth mode, those annexations wouldn’t be surprising. 

Conway gained more residents than all but 10 of South Carolina’s 217 towns and cities between the 2020 Census and the summer of 2022, according to census estimates. The city has also approved annexations in recent months that would clear the way for thousands of new homes to be built. 

As for the Gardner Lacy project, Hucks told City Council Sept. 3 that she expects public pushback because there are already so many neighborhoods in that area.

With an enrollment of nearly 3,000 students, Carolina Forest is among the state’s largest public high schools. It’s also operating at 127 percent capacity, according to county records.

City officials emphasized that they aren’t opposed to additional homes in busy areas, especially if there’s pedestrian access to businesses. They also see a need for more housing near Coastal Carolina University.

“This is where you would want density to be is on that side closest to the college [with] easy access to 501,” Hucks said. “If you have the shopping center there and that much density, the goal is that the people who live there would utilize that shopping center which would help reduce the amount of traffic. But traffic, of course, would be a concern.”

City Councilman William Goldfinch questioned whether the residents of the multifamily units would actually use the proposed shopping center.

“Are we creating a solution or are we creating a problem?” he asked.

There are parts of the project that appeal to city officials.

For Conway, there’s a financial benefit to accepting the type of development that’s been proposed.

The owners of businesses, second homes and rental properties pay higher property taxes in South Carolina.

Owner-occupied homes also don’t pay property taxes for school operations. The same isn’t true for commercial properties, including apartments and second homes.

“The commercial’s great,” Hucks said, adding that even nearby county residents would benefit from having shopping centers within walking distance.

This isn’t the only major Carolina Forest development Conway is eyeing.

One proposal in the Postal Way corridor would consist of more than 1,100 units, including retail space and townhomes, and would offer a live-work concept similar to The Market Common on the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.

County officials refused to rezone property for the Postal Way project last year, but city officials have said they would be willing to consider the development if enough properties are annexed to establish a connection to the site. 

The developer is following those annexations, too.  

“We’re sort of waiting until the pieces of the puzzle fall into place,” Sean Flynn of Thomas & Hutton, the engineering firm helping with the Market Common-style proposal.

Conway officials have pointed out that the city provides water service all the way to the Kroger shopping center at Carolina Forest Boulevard. If enough properties on that side of U.S. 501 come into the city, all that commercial land could become part of Conway.