Myrtle Beach City Council gave initial approval to an agreement trading city-owned alleyways along Ocean Boulevard for land tied to a proposed $90 million Margaritaville-branded resort, pushing the oceanfront project closer to breaking ground near 17th Avenue North. The deal isn't final yet — it still needs a second council vote before anything can move forward.
Innisfree Hotels development division manager Jason Nicholson told council the company is ready to commit serious money the moment approvals clear. “Right out of the gate, we're going to spend $90 million to construct the development,” he said, according to The Post and Courier. The newspaper reports the 296-room hotel, on the second row, would anchor a larger complex featuring a pool, lazy river, and an event center built specifically for upscale weddings, with the 188-foot hotel standing on 406,206 square feet of land at 17th Avenue North.
A separate account from WMBF News describes plans for a beachfront pool complex with a lazy river and waterslides, linked to the hotel by a pedestrian bridge. That station also reports the development would replace the former Chesterfield Inn, and that developers hope to begin construction in early December — though that timeline remains the developer's stated hope rather than a locked-in date.
Alleyways Swapped for Land and Boardwalk Money
The agreement that cleared its first reading would see the city sell seven city-owned alleyways along Ocean Boulevard to Innisfree Hotels, according to WBTW. The Post and Courier characterized the broader arrangement as a series of alley swaps meant to provide connectivity, with the city receiving land and cash at fair market value in return.
Part of that package would help fund the expansion and restoration of the boardwalk stretching from Plyler Park to 16th Avenue North, the station's report notes, along with public parking and public restrooms as part of the improvements tied to the deal.
Jobs Promised, But Figures Still Developer Estimates
Nicholson told council the project would generate at least 350 local construction jobs, and at least 200 full-time annual jobs once the resort is built, per the same WBTW account. Those numbers reflect the developer's own projections rather than an independent city or state estimate.
A Shaky Tourism Backdrop
The Margaritaville push arrives as Myrtle Beach's broader tourism numbers have softened. Hotel occupancy rates across the area fell by just over 2 percent year over year in the second quarter, while accommodations-tax revenues dropped almost 4 percent, according to the Post and Courier's coverage of local tourism promotion efforts. Visit Myrtle Beach President Stuart Butler put it bluntly in October: “This is potentially the worst (economic) climate we've faced since 2009,” he said, per that same report.
Even so, big-ticket development proposals keep piling up along the Grand Strand. City leaders separately agreed to an incentive framework for a $150 million surf park and hotel project near Broadway at the Beach, with a September council vote clearing the way for up to $20 million in last-dollar aid. An economic impact analysis attached to that surf park proposal projected $58.1 million in annual on-site spending and $12.7 million in additional off-site spending, the Post and Courier reported. Elsewhere, a ceremonial groundbreaking was held in June for Margaritaville Vacation Residences Myrtle Beach, described in that coverage as the area's first celebrity-branded condominium community, while myhorrynews.com reported council's unanimous first-reading approval in April of a separate 400-unit oceanfront hotel planned between 26th and 27th avenues North.
For now, the Margaritaville alleyway agreement remains a first reading only. As WPDE reported, the proposal still needs a second-reading vote before the agreement can take effect, leaving the project's December groundbreak hopes contingent on that next council decision.
