SURFSIDE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – The Town of Surfside Beach will get $225,000 from the County Transportation Committee to upgrade 3rd Ave South between Highway 17 and Poplar Drive. This will be in addition to $100,000 from the state.
“Third Avenue South was kind of left out of that when we did the renovation on Surfside Drive,” said Surfside Beach Mayor, Bob Childs. “So what we’re going to do now is to kind of mirror Surfside Drive on 3rd Avenue South.”
Mayor Childs said business owners in the area have been asking for upgrades for several years.
Lee Zulanch, owner of Benjamin’s Bakery on 3rd Avenue South, said he’s excited for the area to look more like Surfside Drive.
“One of the great things about Surfside is that it is working to be more pro-business,” said Zulanch. “One of the aspects that they have done is with the remodel of the downtown block where they have the wider sidewalks and plantings. It is definitely much prettier and much more business-friendly.”
Mayor Childs said they plan to update parking, add street lamps, widen sidewalks and fix storm water issues on 3rd Avenue South.
“It is definitely going to look nicer,” said Zulanch. “It will definitely modernize the area which is sorely in need.”
However, Zulanch said there may be some challenges that come with the revitalization.
“There’s only so much real estate,” he added. “So expanding the sidewalk is going to impact the parking and that is going to be a huge concern. We don’t to create the hidden gem block with no ability to get to it but foot traffic.”
Mayor Childs said the first step will be hiring engineers to work on storm water fixes. He also said the town is still looking for more money to start the additional projects.
