75,000 Sq. Ft. Office Building in Myrtle Beach SOLD

Core Commercial - The Pinnacle Group has just sold a 4-story, 75,000 square foot office building known as Founders Centre I located in Myrtle Beach, SC.  The office building was acquired by a group of investors.  The Founders Centre I is situated on approximately 8 acres in the heart of Myrtle Beach’s financial and business district within walking distance to several major banks as well as the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.  The building's tenant mix is anchored by the National Bank of South Carolina.  For more information, please visit our website at http://www.myrtlebeachcommercialrealestate.com/.

Industrial Sector Lags Despite Manufacturing Gains

NREI - Widespread improvement in the industrial sector won’t occur until 2011 and 2012 despite recent economic and manufacturing gains.  That is according to a new report issued by Encino, Calif.-based Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services.  While the manufacturing sector grew for the tenth consecutive month in May on the strength of new orders and production, industrial vacancies will remain elevated throughout 2010 as tenants have more space than they need.  However, some industrial markets like Houston, a port city, are better positioned to rebound faster as tenant demand rises and greater employment growth is expected. 

Click on the link below for the full article:
http://bit.ly/ahlfug

Myrtle Beach boardwalk ranked third in nation

The Myrtle Beach boardwalk came in third on National Geographic's top 10 list of the nation's boardwalks, the latest in a string of top rankings for the city and the new walkway.  The list credits the boardwalk with rehabilitating Myrtle Beach's downtown. Boardwalks across the country stacked up as follows:

1. Atlantic City Boardwalk, N.J.
2. Coney Island Boardwalk, Brooklyn, N.Y.
3. Myrtle Beach
4. Ocean City Boardwalk, Md.
5. Ocean Front Walk, Venice Beach, Calif.
6. Rehoboth Beach Boardwalk, Del.
7. Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Calif.
8. Sandwich Boardwalk, Mass.
9. Virginia Beach Boardwalk, Va.
10. Wildwoods Boardwalk, N.J.

The boardwalk also found the national spotlight last month when NBC's "Today" show featured the walkway in a segment on Travel + Leisure magazine's boardwalks. Add that to Myrtle Beach's ranking in USA Today's Top 5 Affordable Destinations in May, which also prominently featured the boardwalk. The $6 million boardwalk, which opened in May, stretches 1.2 miles.

Pace of Hotel Investment Deals Quickens

Co-Star - Investors are demonstrating confidence that the hotel sector is rebounding at midyear, shelling out large sums for marquee properties from Manhattan to Atlanta to San Francisco.  Analysts believe the lodging market is entering one of those rare moments of equilibrium where both buyer and seller enjoy opportunities. The uptick in sales is occurring after the hospitality sector, hit by dramatic declines in revenue per available room (RevPAR), saw property sale prices crater like no other commercial property category.  But now RevPAR declines are waning and hotel prices are starting to firm up after falling as much as 50% from their 2006-07 peaks.  Investors seem intent on taking advantage of bottom-of-the-cycle prices to establish a foothold in the recovering market, although most properties are trading well below replacement costs and historical valuations.  Sellers, meanwhile, are cashing in on the dearth of quality product on the market, improved borrowing conditions and the willingness of buyers to accept lower initial yields.

Click on the link below for the full article:
http://bit.ly/dw2nVj

Gains creep up quietly in Myrtle Beach area

Sun News - The commercial real estate market improved slightly in the first half of 2010, according to Realtors and experts, but challenges getting financing and a still shaky economic environment will mean a slow path to recovery.  While it may not look like it with a significant number of vacant buildings throughout the Grand Strand, the market for office, retail, multifamily and industrial space is improving.  Stokes Graves, the president of Core Commercial, said that business is up from last year. While there is too little data to show exactly what the improvements are, the indicators point to a brighter future, he said.  "I think last year was definitely a recessionary time," Graves said. "I think we're coming out of the recession and entering a recovery period."  Commercial real estate sales are difficult to track because many of the transactions never get posted in the Multiple Listing Service database.  The slow improvements on the Grand Strand seem in line with the national trend, which has begun to recover as well.

Click on the link below for the full article:
http://bit.ly/bs5h82

S.C. 31's winding path hits new turn in Myrtle Beach area

Sun News - Clearing for the path of the extension of S.C. 31 is moving along, but permit problems could keep drivers off the new road for a few more years.  Environmental questions over extending the road 4.2 miles from its existing end point at S.C. 544 farther south to S.C. 707 could hold up the project a number of months beyond what the state Department of Transportation and Horry County officials had hoped.  The permit issue arose because the road's existing permit had to be altered. When S.C. 31, also known as Carolina Bays Parkway, received its original permits in 1998, the road was designed to end farther east at U.S. 17 Bypass just north of Holmestown Road.

Click on the link below for the full article:
http://bit.ly/b16xiE

State puts beach development under scrutiny

Sun News - South Carolina's environmental agency is looking to tighten a 22-year-old oceanfront development law that has failed to stop the march of new condo buildings and houses toward the sea - despite a 1988 mandate to limit building on the beach.  A special panel, to be appointed by the Department of Health and Environmental Control board, will come up with specific changes for the legislature to consider in 2012.  The DHEC board approved forming the panel Thursday at the request of department staff members. The panel would use data from an extensive two-year state study that said South Carolina's effort to limit new seaside development hasn't worked as intended.  Any recommendations to toughen the law could affect thousands of seaside property owners and put DHEC on a collision course with development interests.

Click on the link below for the full article:
http://bit.ly/d4ssc4

North Myrtle Beach unveils study of tourism tax proposal

Sun News - A study released Thursday predicted a proposed 1 percent sales tax for tourism promotion in North Myrtle Beach could generate about $4.5 million in the first year and a possible 3,000 new jobs in the city.  The proposed tax also will likely fuel the debate between the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce and businesses that support the tax, and other businesses and council members who are concerned about its impact on permanent residents. A similar debate became a major issue in last year's municipal elections in Myrtle Beach, which passed a tourism promotion sales tax in 2009.  The North Myrtle Beach study, which was requested by the chamber, was conducted by Don Schunk, a research economist at Coastal Carolina University. It looked at the economic impact of tourism on the city and the potential impacts of the sales tax there.  

Click on the link below for the full article:
http://bit.ly/cuGz4p

Plans revived for big Hampstead development

Star News - A proposed Hampstead subdivision's request to change its master plan design will bring the project back before Pender County's planning board Tuesday after a 2½-year delay.  The developers of the residential and mixed-use project on 376 acres formerly called St. George's Reach, off County Club Drive, have changed its name to Hawksbill Cove.   They will be asking the planning board to approve a revised master plan because they were unable to buy the land to build a connector road along a previously approved route, said Patrick Davenport, the county's director of planning and community development.  Besides moving the proposed connector road 700 feet to the south, the new plan calls for the construction of an extension road from Country Club Drive that ties into the existing Transfer Station Road, which intersects U.S. 17.  The connector road's relocation would reduce the amount of commercial, office and retail area to 50,000 square feet from the 200,000 square feet initially planned. It also would reduce housing units by 45 to 1,105 units, consisting of 710 single-family homes and 395 multi-family homes. 


Click on the link below for the full article:
http://bit.ly/arOXZm

Coke distribution center moving from Wilmington to Leland

Star News - Coca-Cola Bottling Co. Consolidated is moving its Wilmington regional distribution center across the river.   The Charlotte-based bottler's offices and operations at 921 Princess St. will move later this year to the space that now houses MarKraft Cabinets in the Leland Industrial Park. MarKraft no longer needs the 80,000-square-foot facility and is looking for something smaller.  "We are very excited about this new facility in the Wilmington market and believe that it will help us enhance our ability to serve our customers," said Coca-Cola spokesman Lauren Steele.  The Brunswick County Economic Development Commission worked with the bottler for several months to make the deal happen.


Click on the link below for the full article:
http://bit.ly/bFgqSN

Coastal Carolina University OK to buy Quail Creek Golf Course

Sun News - The S.C. Budget and Control Board unanimously approved a measure Wednesday allowing Coastal Carolina University to purchase a Conway golf course that the school previously leased under a controversial agreement.  Coastal proposed to buy Quail Creek Golf Course, 107 Citadel Drive, for about $3 million from Chestnut Holding LLC, a West Virginia-based company. CCU has leased the 188-acre course since 2005 as part of its professional golf management program in a deal that could have been extended to 2020 but came under criticism for costing more than if the school purchased the property.

Click on the link below for the full article:
http://bit.ly/aaryMI