North Myrtle Beach Real Estate
More stories about losing the old style of Myrtle Beach proliferate in the papers.
Here's some opinions pro and con from The State in Columbia..
Locals fear loss of area’s charm
By SAMMY FRETWELL
sfretwell@thestate.com
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH — Kathryn Bassett doesn’t like what’s going in Cherry Grove but figures she can’t do much about it.
Signs of intense development surround the beach cottage her family built 50 years ago.
Across North Ocean Boulevard, workers are constructing a mammoth parking garage and a multistory condominium project. Down the street, they’re putting up a 17-story tower at the Cherry Grove pier. Heavy trucks rumble up and down the two-lane road in front of her house.
For Bassett, a quick-witted 90-year-old with a warm smile, it won’t be long before the small beach community she loves becomes a crowded resort.
“I think it’s all stupid,” she said. “We always thought we had a family beach. We don’t have a family beach anymore.”
More change is expected as developers supplant beach houses with high-rise projects in Cherry Grove, a sand spit at the tip of North Myrtle Beach. Looser state rules for oceanfront development have spurred much of the change since 2000.
More condominiums mean Cherry Grove will lose the homey beach-cottage character that has long defined its seashore, longtime residents and visitors say.
“We love Cherry Grove, but we don’t like that,” Sandy Hoffman of Chapel Hill, N.C., said, nodding at the high-rise down the beach from her rented home. “I was shocked when we drove in this year. That wasn’t there when we came last summer.”
Cherry Grove still has rows of cottages and small motels. A handful of condominium projects have developed over the years, but — for the most part — the little community reminds many people of how the Grand Strand used to be in the 1950s and ’60s.
Year after year, people rent weathered beach houses with names such as “McLeod Castle,” “Whistling Whale,” and “Seacapades.”
Because the state and city have eased oceanfront development rules since 2001, much of the beachfront is open for large-scale projects in an area that previously allowed only beach houses. Dozens of beach cottages are for sale as landowners seek to cash in on the condo boom.
At least four major oceanfront projects are under construction or planned at the heart of Cherry Grove, from 19th to 45th avenues. Some second-row development is tied to those projects.
Property along that stretch is valued at $95 million on the Horry County tax books, but it is expected to rise.
MORE CONDOS
Those rising land values will dictate more high-density development in Cherry Grove, said Brian Haggerty, whose Atlanta company is developing a condominium building where beach cottages stood.
Having favorable rules for building — in this case, less-restrictive oceanfront setback lines — has been a key to the redevelopment craze at Cherry Grove.
“The setbacks are critical in any development,” Haggerty said. “It’s not how much land you buy, but how much land you can build on.”
Lincolnton, N.C., residents Gary and Susan McConnell, whose family owns a beach house near the Cherry Grove Pier, said they have plenty of fond memories of the community, but it’s time for change. Projects such as the Prince Resort will spruce up the area’s image, they said.
“We were delighted when we found out,” he said. “Something like this coming in will obviously be well maintained and would enhance this area.”
Next to the cottage, Greg Hartness, of Parkersburg, W.Va., rents at 2600 N. Ocean Blvd. are empty lots that once held beach cottages.
“Cherry Grove is beach houses,” he said. “But it’s kind of hard not to see the construction cranes around here.”
Haggerty’s company, Vision Investment and Development Inc., will build a $20 million condominium project (The Grove) on the site, with units selling for nearly $500,000. County records show the four beach houses on the property sold last year for a combined $6.8 million.
Bassett hopes to hold onto her land. But real estate agents might one day wear her down.
She was recently offered $3.5 million for the beach house her husband built. She doesn’t remember how much her family paid for the land, but oceanfront lots in the 1950s could be purchased for $1,000 or less.
“Cherry Grove used to be the place to live, but now it’s just getting bigger and bigger,” Bassett said.
Note: Some project news may be dated and obsolete.
Myrtle Beach Condos Guide
Here's some opinions pro and con from The State in Columbia..
Locals fear loss of area’s charm
By SAMMY FRETWELL
sfretwell@thestate.com
NORTH MYRTLE BEACH — Kathryn Bassett doesn’t like what’s going in Cherry Grove but figures she can’t do much about it.
Signs of intense development surround the beach cottage her family built 50 years ago.
Across North Ocean Boulevard, workers are constructing a mammoth parking garage and a multistory condominium project. Down the street, they’re putting up a 17-story tower at the Cherry Grove pier. Heavy trucks rumble up and down the two-lane road in front of her house.
For Bassett, a quick-witted 90-year-old with a warm smile, it won’t be long before the small beach community she loves becomes a crowded resort.
“I think it’s all stupid,” she said. “We always thought we had a family beach. We don’t have a family beach anymore.”
More change is expected as developers supplant beach houses with high-rise projects in Cherry Grove, a sand spit at the tip of North Myrtle Beach. Looser state rules for oceanfront development have spurred much of the change since 2000.
More condominiums mean Cherry Grove will lose the homey beach-cottage character that has long defined its seashore, longtime residents and visitors say.
“We love Cherry Grove, but we don’t like that,” Sandy Hoffman of Chapel Hill, N.C., said, nodding at the high-rise down the beach from her rented home. “I was shocked when we drove in this year. That wasn’t there when we came last summer.”
Cherry Grove still has rows of cottages and small motels. A handful of condominium projects have developed over the years, but — for the most part — the little community reminds many people of how the Grand Strand used to be in the 1950s and ’60s.
Year after year, people rent weathered beach houses with names such as “McLeod Castle,” “Whistling Whale,” and “Seacapades.”
Because the state and city have eased oceanfront development rules since 2001, much of the beachfront is open for large-scale projects in an area that previously allowed only beach houses. Dozens of beach cottages are for sale as landowners seek to cash in on the condo boom.
At least four major oceanfront projects are under construction or planned at the heart of Cherry Grove, from 19th to 45th avenues. Some second-row development is tied to those projects.
Property along that stretch is valued at $95 million on the Horry County tax books, but it is expected to rise.
MORE CONDOS
Those rising land values will dictate more high-density development in Cherry Grove, said Brian Haggerty, whose Atlanta company is developing a condominium building where beach cottages stood.
Having favorable rules for building — in this case, less-restrictive oceanfront setback lines — has been a key to the redevelopment craze at Cherry Grove.
“The setbacks are critical in any development,” Haggerty said. “It’s not how much land you buy, but how much land you can build on.”
Lincolnton, N.C., residents Gary and Susan McConnell, whose family owns a beach house near the Cherry Grove Pier, said they have plenty of fond memories of the community, but it’s time for change. Projects such as the Prince Resort will spruce up the area’s image, they said.
“We were delighted when we found out,” he said. “Something like this coming in will obviously be well maintained and would enhance this area.”
Next to the cottage, Greg Hartness, of Parkersburg, W.Va., rents at 2600 N. Ocean Blvd. are empty lots that once held beach cottages.
“Cherry Grove is beach houses,” he said. “But it’s kind of hard not to see the construction cranes around here.”
Haggerty’s company, Vision Investment and Development Inc., will build a $20 million condominium project (The Grove) on the site, with units selling for nearly $500,000. County records show the four beach houses on the property sold last year for a combined $6.8 million.
Bassett hopes to hold onto her land. But real estate agents might one day wear her down.
She was recently offered $3.5 million for the beach house her husband built. She doesn’t remember how much her family paid for the land, but oceanfront lots in the 1950s could be purchased for $1,000 or less.
“Cherry Grove used to be the place to live, but now it’s just getting bigger and bigger,” Bassett said.
Note: Some project news may be dated and obsolete.
Myrtle Beach Condos Guide
Labels: myrtle beach real estate, north myrtle beach condos, Prince Resort
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