From Post and Courier Myrtle Beach: Wasting away in Myrtle Beach: Margaritaville plans to build resort downtown
All of those tourists covered with oil could soon have a new place to waste away.
Margaritaville, the brand created by the late trop-rock singer Jimmy Buffett, plans to build a resort near the intersection of 17th Avenue North and Withers Drive in Myrtle Beach.
The resort will feature three major buildings, including a main hotel, a 210-foot accommodations tower for parking and check-in, and a 50-foot amenity center with a pool deck and bar/restaurant.
″(It’s) the perfect brand for Myrtle Beach,” Mayor Brenda Bethune said. “The type of clientele that Margaritaville attracts in their other locations is not only the Myrtle Beach visitor, but I think it will bring new visitors here that know who their brand is and want to experience what they have to offer.”
The hotel will include ballrooms, conference rooms and a Margaritaville gift shop. On the second floor there will be space for additional developments, which could include restaurants, cafes, bakeries, bars, retail shops and other stores, according to city records.
“With a brand like Margaritaville or the other large brands that have been building on our oceanfront in the last five years, they don’t go places that they don’t see promise in the way things are being done and promise for the future,” City Councilman John Krajc said. “Margaritaville putting such a big stamp on Myrtle Beach with the size of hotel that they’re building says a lot about their feelings about our city.”
The resort’s amenity center will be connected to the hotel through a pedestrian bridge over Ocean Boulevard. It will be the second such bridge in the city.
Myrtle Beach’s Community Appearance Board — the panel that reviews building designs and permits — will consider a conceptual building permit application Dec. 7 for the new resort.
Some details about the plan have not yet been revealed, including the cost, the number of beds and the timeline of construction. Bethune said more information would likely be released after the application is approved by the board.
In late September, Myrtle Beach City Council approved general plans for the land parcels that will hold the resort. Although the city confirmed at the time that the hotel was a flagship, they did not reveal which one.
City leaders said the hotel will be slightly different than others along the oceanfront.
While the hotel itself will be on the west side of Ocean Boulevard, the amenities, including the pool deck, will be on the east side, in front of the ocean. Bethune said she was a fan of this element of the plan.
“It takes the investment off Ocean Boulevard and extends it into our second and third row, which is so important and something we’ve been encouraging people to do for years,” she said.
The height of the amenity building will be shorter than the hotel, which city officials said will allow hotel patrons to see over the amenities and out into the ocean. Ken May, the city’s planning and zoning director, said the lower height is also meant to help reduce shadowing on the beach and along Ocean Boulevard.
“I hope this will be a trendsetter,” May said, regarding the design.
The boardwalk will also be extended at least two blocks north to accommodate the development.
The new resort will join other Margaritaville staples in the city, including LandShark Bar & Grill along the boardwalk and the Margaritaville restaurant at Broadway at the Beach.
These plans come months after a separate Margaritaville resort was announced in February. The Compass Margaritaville resort will be located in the Crescent Beach section of North Myrtle Beach and is expected to have a pool, fitness center, restaurant and 150 rooms.