Is there enough parking to re-develop Myrtle Beach’s Pavilion site? What experts think

The Pavilion was one of Myrtle Beach’s defining landmarks of the 20th century. Only the memories remain now.

The amusement park opened in 1948 and quickly etched its place in many visitors’ and Myrtle Beach locals’ memories. Now, those rides and memories have been replaced by a primarily grassy field and a now-closed zipline course. After nearly two decades sitting vacant, it’s unclear if that is changing soon.

The Sun News is doing an in-depth look at whether Broadway at the Beach, one of Myrtle Beach’s most visited landmarks in recent years, will continue to pull in visitors in the future. But before Broadway at the Beach was one of Myrtle Beach’s capstone attractions, it was the Pavilion.

The Pavilion shut down in 2006. In its place is Burroughs & Chapin Pavilion Place, which hosts events like The World’s Strongest Man and Carolina Country Music Fest. Burroughs & Chapin’s Myrtle Beach Farms Company Inc. owns the property.

Burroughs & Chapin repeatedly declined to provide comment to The Sun News, despite company Chairman of the Board Deborah Burroughs agreeing to set up an interview with Senior Vice President Commercial Division April Martin that never occurred.

Director of Public Information for The City of Myrtle Beach Mark Kruea told The Sun News that the city is working on a master plan for the Pavilion area, which includes a proposed mixed-use development project on city-owned land. However, Kruea added there were no specific plans for the property itself.

One problem that could be holding up the development of the property is parking.

Kruea said it’s a good problem to have, but downtown Myrtle Beach generally lacks parking. Part of the city’s planned Arts & Innovation District will include adding parking, although where that will be and how many spots need to be added are unknown.

“We don’t have enough parking downtown. That’s very true and something that we’re conscious of,” Kruea said. “Obviously, there’s only so much real estate available as we add uses off Broadway Street as we create the Arts & Innovation District. We’re conscious that we need to add some parking for those additional uses. So, if we build a library or another multi-story building, part of it could be a parking deck.”

The Pavilion land itself has no parking either. Compared to Broadway at the Beach, another Burroughs & Chapin-owned property that has parking surrounding the restaurants and shops, adding places for cars to park could make developing the Pavilion site less attractive, said Associate Dean and Professor at the E. Craig Wall Sr. College of Business Administration at Coastal Carolina Mark Mitchell. For Mitchell, Myrtle Beach is a destination most people drive to or have a rental while here on the Grand Strand.

In Mitchell’s opinion, adding parking spaces on the property would reduce the space available for development, which could limit the land’s potential use.

“You’d have to decide again if you’re going to develop that for commercial development; where are you going to put the vehicles?” Mitchell asked.

Mitchell added that parking is an integral component because of Myrtle Beach’s tourism economy.

“We’re a drive-in destination that people tend to drive around either their car or rental car while they’re here,” He said. “We want to drive up to the business that we’re going to, we like to park right out front and go right in.”

However, the parking issue is probably not why the Pavilion site has yet to be re-developed, according to the city. Indeed, the Pavilion Parking Garage, a five-story complex built in 1986 and owned by Myrtle Beach Farms Company Inc., is across the street from the property and was open before the amusement park closed.

Assistant City Manager for the City of Myrtle Beach Brian Tucker added that while parking is an essential variable for any development in Myrtle Beach, the Pavilion site doesn’t have a problem with parking, and lots could be added without difficulty.

“That parcel is plenty large enough to accommodate parking for whatever the end use is,” Tucker said.

Part of the reason the land has sat vacant for nearly 20 years could be that Burroughs & Chapin has been waiting for an enticing proposal, one they have yet to receive.

In a Jan. 19, 2024 interview, Tucker said Burroughs & Chapin, who has declined to speak to The Sun News repeatedly, is taking its time deciding what it wants to put on the property. He added that resort and amusement venue proposals have all been considered for the site, including many more ideas that never came before the city and thus died. For Tucker, Burroughs & Chapin’s reluctance to move forward with a project is because the Pavilion site is unique and has massive potential. It’s proximity to the beach and proximity to millions of visitors each year only make the property more enticing.

“I think they want to make sure that whatever happens on that site is a legacy project that really elevates the city,” Tucker said in a Jan. 19, 2024, interview with The Sun News. “It shouldn’t just be fill-in-the-blank. It should be something monumental.”

But that monumental project has not come to pass yet, and while the site has sat empty, other massive projects got underway in the Myrtle Beach area. Market Common opened in 2008, and The Margaritaville Hotel is expected to open in 2025.

In addition to the Pavilion site, the company also owns the former site of the more than 35-acre Myrtle Square Mall tract, according to Horry County Land Records. The mall was demolished in the early 2000s, The Sun News reported in 2018. The land already has parking lots, which could be used for future development, but the property typically sits vacant aside from hosting events like the Myrtle Beach Jeep Jam.

Indeed, Burroughs & Chapin’s pattern of letting properties sit for years extends to projects it has developed. The land that became Grande Dunes was previously mostly forest before turning into a massive, high-end neighborhood with golf courses, shopping and amenities. The project came to fruition in the early 2000s, after Burroughs & Chapin first began formulating it in the 1990s.

As far as what the company intends to do with the Pavilion site, Burroughs & Chapin will continue to patiently wait for the right deal.

“In our conversations with them, and to their credit, they could have done something on that site 100 times,” Tucker added. “Part of it is they want to make sure that whatever happens there next is significant.”