MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – The City of Myrtle Beach will discuss the idea of bringing a hotel to Market Common on Tuesday, but this isn’t the first hotel that’s been proposed for the area, and the city is hoping a different location will help residents accept the idea.
The new Hampton Inn is proposed for the area across from the former Piggly Wiggly. The Myrtle Beach City Planning Director Carol Coleman says the space is a different area than what was proposed for the first hotel, and that should give people who live in the area a different feel.
“It’s a good use to have out there,” says Coleman. “It brings in a lot of new blood in terms of having people who can go there and shop and participate in activities, but the problem is you would’ve had that traffic coming in and out, transient accommodations where people live year round.”
Ed Carey has lived in the Market Common for nearly a decade, and he says plans for development in the area have changed numerous times.
“This is the original talk, you know, a year ago to put a hotel here. It wasn’t on the original plan,” says Carey.
Previous plans included constructing a hotel in the middle of Market Common, and surrounding it with townhomes. Coleman says the idea was great, but the location just wasn’t right.
“I don’t want to ruin the quality of life for people who are already there, but I also want the quality of life for the people who are coming there to be good as well,” says Coleman.
The developer is asking to bring a 100-room Hampton Inn to an empty piece of land that’s roughly four acres in size.
“This corner right here is where the hotel would be, where this field is,” points Carey. “The site plan is 3 ½ acres.”
Carey says he’s fine with that location, but city leaders heard mixed reviews from other people who live in the Market Common.
Coleman says since the hotel is further away from the homes, she thinks more people will get on board with the plan, but because the hotel would sit where a large parking lot was originally proposed, space for customers is still a problem.
“The more you take parking spaces out of the allocation numbers, in the long run, I think you might have some issues,” predicts Carey.
Coleman says this plan still has to go through the Myrtle Beach Planning Commission and city council before it’s approved. She says the group wants to know what Market Common residents have to say. The planning commission meeting is Tuesday at 1:30 p.m. at Myrtle Beach City Hall.
