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REALTORS BREAK GROUND FOR FUTURE HEADQUARTERS

BY LAURA LEWIS, Staff writer - Brunswick County Beacon

The future facility, to be built for an estimated cost of $3 million, including land, at 101 Stone Chimney Road, will consist of 14,265 square feet encompassing a banquet facility, staff offices, education lab and board of directors' conference room, in addition to 380 parking spaces.

The banquet facility, to exceed 5,000 square feet, will include a catering kitchen and seating capacity for 425. It will be used by BCAR to hold membership meetings and education classes and also will be available for use by the public.

The projected completion date for the building is fall 2007, though building committee chairman Alan Holden said they're hoping it will be even sooner-by next summer, if construction stays on pace.

The architect for the facility is Richard Pearce of Pearce Architect and Planning, and the general contractor is Lee F. Cowper Inc., both of Wilmington.

Others taking part in the groundbreaking were Jim Beam, chief estimator for the project, superintendent Greg Meshaw, BCAR president Beth Suggs, project manager Len Jenkins, building committee members Tori Humphrey and Grady Watkins and BCAR executive vice president Susan Pike.

Somebody asked me earlier why we got such a good price [on the property], and I said, well, Jim Beam was involved, Holden joked at the start of the ceremony, drawing laughter.

Those who have been in the real estate business for a long time have always dreamed that we would have a place like we're about to have, Holden said.

What makes this particularly special, he said, is that years ago there was a real estate group in one end of the county and another in the Southport area.

Then the two saw the benefit of coming together because our cause was one, Holden said.

He said it is hoped the building will serve as an example of what the years to come are going to be, and that is a first-class building and first-class service in the real estate industry.

Holden said the facility will be not just for realtors, but also available for the public to use because realtors involve themselves in the community and give back to the community.

The facility will be available for such events as weddings, government meetings, whatever the community may deem necessary, as long as it works within the guidelines of the organization, Holden said. So it is hoped that we'll all spread the word-it's not just a realtor building, it's a building for the community.

Holden said BCAR also plans to extend use of the building as a meeting place for out-of-towners who are staying in Brunswick County.

One problem they're most concerned about regarding the new building, he said, is sewer availability.

We do not have a sewer line out here by this highway for us to tie into, he said. However, Brunswick County is assuring us they're going to be moving forward, and the timeliness of the availability of sewer is going to be the same time we finish the building.

Sometime on or about June, he said, sewer is expected to become available. Holden also said they hope to be in the building by next summer as long as construction stays on schedule and they have a dry winter.

The new facility is desperately needed because BCAR has outgrown its original 1,000-square-foot facility, association CEO Susan Pike said.

BCAR currently is renting space across from Brunswick Community Hospital.

The association has grown so dramatically, Pike said. We're in interim quarters now.

At present, the association doesn't have space for large gatherings, said Sabrena Reinhardt, BCAR education and events coordinator.

Following the groundbreaking, BCAR members feasted on barbecue catered by Bart's.

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EXPLOSIVE GROWTH

By Jenny Burns - The Sun News

Builders see Brunswick County as the next promised land.

The development hot spot is the nation's 29th fastest-growing county, according to new Census numbers.

And the number of building permits pulled in Brunswick nearly doubled in 2005 from the year before, according to Market Opportunity Research Enterprises.

That's attracted the attention of the Grand Strand's big builders.

Centex Homes, D.R. Horton and Bill Clark Homes have been building in Brunswick County for several years, but more national builders - including 26th-ranked Portrait Homes and 3rd-ranked Lennar Corp. - are moving in as well as a host of smaller builders.

D.R. Horton has been selling in Brunswick for about a year at The Farm at Brunswick, an 805-unit development of single family and townhomes.

Doug Brown, D.R. Horton's coastal Carolina division president, said the company is always looking for new opportunities in Brunswick.

Portrait Homes will build townhomes and single family homes on the former Calabash Golf Links.

"The market seems to be moving that way. Land prices in Horry County are getting rather high and it's hard to find anything in Pawleys Island Information or Litchfield Information," said David Trimmer, Myrtle Beach division president of Portrait Homes. "We're trying to get in on a piece of the action like everyone else."

Finding available land these days means either going west or north because south of Georgetown there are conservation areas, said Lawrence Langdale, president of Thrive Horry County and vice president of Coldwell Banker Chicora Development.

That makes Brunswick enticing because builders can buy land within a 10-minute drive to the ocean and close to town centers, Langdale said.

"There's still a lot of property there that's close to accessing the ocean. You don't have to live so far away. We're pushing a 20-minute boundary to the beach [in Horry County]," said Langdale, whose company recently bought land in Brunswick.

Builders say Brunswick planners and county officials also seem to be more receptive about development and in some cases are less restrictive than Horry County.

Higher home prices

Average home prices have consistently been higher in Brunswick County than Horry County.

Last year, the average price for single family homes in Brunswick broke $300,000 - a mark Horry County hasn't passed.

Cathy Six, new homes director for Coldwell Banker Sloan Realty in Sunset Beach, said 35- and 60-foot height limits have kept higher buildings out and made the Brunswick area attractive to homebuyers. Six handles sales for small builders in the south Brunswick Isles.

"People are shocked at our prices. Our condo prices tend to be higher than Myrtle Beach," Six said.

But that hasn't slowed sales. Six sold 54 waterfront condos in three weeks.

"We haven't seen that slowdown that they're seeing in Horry County," she said. "Average price didn't increase that much for single family but it did quite a bit for condos."

First quarter sales are up in Brunswick.

Homes and condo sales jumped 12 percent to 1,406 homes compared with the same period last year, according to Market Opportunity Research Enterprises.

Total sales in Horry County are also up 8 percent for the first quarter from 4,622 to 5,021, but resale condo sales declined 26 percent to 1,348.

Beth Suggs, president of the Brunswick County Association of Realtors, said Brunswick felt some slowdown in the first quarter, but the second quarter has picked up.

Prices, too, have increased.

The first quarter 2006 average price for new condos in Brunswick was $292,993, an increase of 21 percent from $241,641 last year.

New single family homes' average price only increased one percent to $243,934 from $241,810.

Tempting talent

Eyeing the burgeoning market, real estate attorney Shep Guyton said he's looking at opening an office in Brunswick County in addition to his Myrtle Beach office.

"Their growth doesn't appear to be slowing down at all. There's more price jumps up there," Guyton said.

The board of Realtors is also growing. Membership has increased from 488 agents two years ago to 1,300.

The Grand Strand's largest builder, Centex Homes, has several pieces of land under contract in Brunswick, which would add to the company's three communities currently selling in the area.

"Our market research says there's strong demand to live in Brunswick County. It's certainly an area that we're looking to continue to build in for a long time," said Ken Balogh, Myrtle Beach division president for Centex.

Developer Dock Street Communities, which builds live/work townhomes, expanded into Brunswick because of its beauty.

"We felt like Sunset, with its pristine quality of beaches and lack of congestion, gave people an alternative. You can be close to all the action but get away from it," said Sam Burns, Dock Street president.

Real estate folks and builders say Brunswick still has a lot of room to grow. Some even expect it to climb higher in the Census's 100 fastest-growing county rankings.

A year ago, it didn't make the top 100 list. This year, for population growth between July 1, 2004 and July 1, 2005, the county came in at 29th in the Unites States with a 5.4 percent population increase.

Horry County also made the list - checking in as the 67th fastest-growing county in the nation.

"I actually believe that it [Brunswick County] will move up that list," said David Sandifer, commissioners chairman and owner of Holden Beach Properties. "There's a massive amount of development and rezoning that we are doing. It's mind blowing."

Sandifer expects Brunswick to become the bedroom community to Horry and New Hanover counties - where residents can escape the busy life, but be close to the entertainment of Wilmington and Myrtle Beach.

"So far we've been able to resist most of the bells and whistles. They don't have to live there. They can go to a laid-back place to live," Sandifer said.

BRUNSWICK COUNTY REAL ESTATE AFFILIATES

Ocean Isle Beach Real Estate
Brunswick County Commercial Real Estate

Ocean Isle Beach Rentals
Brunswick County New Communities

21st ANNUAL CAROLINA BEACH MUSIC FESTIVAL ROCKS THE CAROLINA BEACH STRAND

Carolina Beach, North Carolina: Carolina Beach rocks during the 21st Annual Beach Music Festival held Saturday, June 3rd. The Carolina Beach Music Festival is Pleasure Island's annual summer music extravaganza that features the best in beach music. This year’s festivities kick off on Saturday morning at 11:00am with continuous live music until 5:00pm by The Band of Oz (11am) Coastline (12:30pm), Craig Woolard Band (2:15pm) and Tommy Black and Blooz (3:45pm). Gates open at 10:30am, so bring your beach chairs, sunscreen, dance shoes and spend all day listening and dancing to great music on Carolina Beach’s Oceanfront Beach Stage (Harper Ave. & Cape Fear Blvd.).

Later that same evening the party continues with a Shag Dance Contest sponsored by American Harbor Mortgage Co. at the Carolina Shag Club (103 N. Lake Park Blvd., behind El Zarappe Mexican restaurant) in Carolina Beach. Doors open at 8:00pm and the shag competition begins at 9:00pm with Milton “Kingfish” White as the deejay host. Sign up for the competition or have fun watching as serious shag dancers kick up their heels and boogie for more than $1,000 in cash prizes. A cover charge of $5 will be charged at the door.

Make a weekend of your visit to Pleasure Island. Discover Carolina Beach’s simple pleasures and unexpected treasures. Hike the Venus Flytrap Trail at Carolina Beach State Park where this rare carnivorous plant grows wild; cast your rod and reel from the Carolina Beach Fishing Pier; venture out on a kayak/canoe nature tour or a narrated tour boat cruise along the waterway; check out daily catches at the Carolina Beach Marina. Just minutes away, explore Kure Beach—North Carolina’s small wonder—where you can fish from the state’s oldest fishing pier; observe sharks and marine life at the North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher; stroll along a 5-mile stretch of undeveloped beach at Fort Fisher State Recreation Area; explore Civil War history at Fort Fisher State Historic Site; or take the North Carolina Ferry across the Cape Fear River. Relax on the wide sandy beaches of Carolina, Kure and Fort Fisher. Shop the island’s beach boutiques for souvenirs and summer fashions. Dine at restaurants specializing in fresh seafood and regional fare. At day’s end, bunk in at one of the island’s ccommodations that range from large oceanfront hotels and condominiums to independently-owned motels, beach cottages, or a bed-and-breakfast inn.

SUNSET CROWD CLAIMS ZONING NEVER APRROVED

Brunswick County Beacon-BY LAURA LEWIS, Staff writer

A large crowd of Sunset Beach residents turned out for Monday night's meeting, so large that a portion of the standing-room-only residents had to be moved to an adjacent room to ease a potential fire-code violation.

At issue was a proposed zoning measure known as CR-1 or conservation reserve that island residents said has not received a proper hearing or notice.

The town claims that due to an oversight dating back to 1992, CR-1 was never formally adopted.

Though a public hearing and subsequent vote on the zoning were slated for Monday, council decided after hearing residents' protests to table the matter and send it back to the town planning board for a thorough review.

Resident Minnie Hunt complained the zoning is being shown on key portions of Sunset Beach island town maps even though it has never been officially adopted.

And Jan Harris argued that as a founding member of the Bird Island Preservation Society, she also has noticed the zoning somehow slipped by.

“You think that all of us would not have noticed that you zoned Tubbs Inlet, Madd Inlet and all the other stuff you're claiming to have zoned in 1993?” Harris said. “Please at least give us the courtesy of listening to us, letting us be heard and looking at the data we've got here, which will clearly show you that we're right and the information you're giving is wrong.”

Sue Weddle said the only thing that was officially zoned was Bird Island.

“Read it carefully,” Weddle said. “Please don't act in error.”

Mayor Ron Klein said revisiting the matter was unnecessary, stating if they do it with one they'd have to do it with every ordinance “anytime somebody brought up an objection.”

But Councilman Ron Watts suggested the matter be reviewed, stating he also had received no details about it.

“No one's given it to me; I haven't seen it, either,” he said, which drew a “thank-you, Ron” response from the crowd.

“This is not a game,” Watts added. “I don't see why we don't listen through this.”

Councilman Len Steiner said a public hearing isn't going to change “something that's already happened.”

“We're not discussing any changes [to the zoning],” Councilman Carl Bazemore added.

Hunt said she first noticed the zoning on a map showing its designation on both ends of the island and “all around the back.”

“I owned property on the beachfront at that time,” she said. “I never got a notice. If we had heard anything about CR zoning on the island, you think we would just not have shown up? You know the island [residents] would have shown up.”

“I understand that,” Bazemore said, drawing laughter.

In response to a question from Bazemore about what the group hopes to accomplish, Hunt said their goal is to follow proper procedure.

“We're trying to accomplish the fact that we need to zone like we're supposed to, by state statute and other than just deciding to stick it on,” she said.

Responding to another question from Steiner, Hunt said, “I have a problem that it's not zoned, and it's being shown on the map, the official Sunset Beach zoning map, as zoned that way.”

Steiner said that could be a matter of interpretation.

“Maybe we'll just have to let a jury figure that out,” Hunt said.

An earlier motion for a public hearing on the matter was then amended to send the matter back to the planning board.

“I recommend it go back to the planning board for their thorough review and analysis and report back to us ... whether in fact this was properly zoned,” Steiner said. “And to review the CR-1 zoning and what the permitted uses are.”

VOTER TURNOUT LOW IN BRUNSWICK ELECTIONS

By Steve Jones-The Sun News

They weren't stampeding polling places.

Less than 10 percent of the county's approximately 60,000 registered voters stopped at one of the county's 23 precincts on primary day 2006, leaving some poll workers bored and others rearranging church schedules and talking about how they quit smoking.

Seven-year-old Sarah Hughes - who sings professionally at area churches - charmed a few voters and poll workers as she belted out gospels in the parking lot of the Waccamaw precinct. But her appearance was impromptu while a relative voted.

"Too many people take for granted the right and privilege to choose our government," said Marj Macy of the Village at Calabash, who voted at the Calabash Fire Department despite suffering from a degenerating disc. "I think people need to realize that we the people are the government."

Those who did vote apparently chose, among others, political newcomer Bill Fairley over longtime Republican activist and Brunswick school board Vice Chairman Shirley Babson in the 8th District state Senate race.

Fairley had a commanding lead over Babson at press time with five precincts left to report.

All results are unofficial until votes are canvassed, which will be Tuesday in Brunswick County. If any runoff or other second votes are necessary, they will be held May 30.

"I'm itching to get to the November election," said Fairley, who will face incumbent Democratic Sen. R.C. Soles in the general election. "I'm satisfied we have a vision for the area that's not shared by R.C. Soles and I'm looking forward to talking with the voters about it."

Fairley beat Babson by nearly 3 to 1 in Columbus County and had a more than 4 to 1 lead in Pender County voting with just two precincts left to report.

Turnout was light in all three counties, according to elections officials.

Pearly Vereen, former chairman of the Brunswick County Board of Commissioners, who sat outside the Waccamaw precinct Tuesday afternoon, said he thinks voters don't vote because they feel their votes don't count. That's not always been the case, he said, recalling elections that were decided by just a few votes.

John Matthews and Doerthe Needham, two Carolina Shores residents who voted at the Calabash Fire Department, said they get most of the information on candidates from the newspaper and decide from that who will get their votes.

"I try to read as much as I can," said Needham, a former teacher who called voting a privilege.

SETTING SAIL: PLANNED PORT WILL ADD TO TRIAD'S INDUSTRIAL BOOM

In another sign that developers are feeling confident about the Triad industrial warehouse market, G-T Gateway LLC has filed plans to build a 504,000-square-foot distribution center in Browns Summit near Bryan Park.

But the development firm isn't the only company bullish on the Triad. At least eight industrial buildings totaling more than 2.3 million square feet are either under construction or planned in the region's two largest counties. The projects signify an investment of at least $90 million, not including finishing costs, land acquisition and other expenses.

The reasons for the building boom are varied, ranging from the region's increased reputation as a warehousing hub to the landing of projects like a Dell Inc. manufacturing plant and a FedEx air-cargo sorting hub.

Something else also has Triad commercial brokers and developers talking -- a planned port near Southport. In January, the N.C. State Ports Authority announced it was planning to purchase 600 acres in Brunswick County to build the N.C. International Port, which would be able to handle 2 million containers a year when it opens in about 2015. By comparison, the state's largest port, which is in Wilmington, handled just more than 780,000 containers in fiscal 2005.

While none of the developers involved in the current projects cited the future port as a reason for development of the buildings, experts say the new port could contribute even further to the trend of larger distribution centers for the region.

But the eight industrial sites already in the works aren't waiting for the future of Southport.

G-T Gateway already has filed with the Greensboro Technical Review Committee for its project, though company officials declined to comment.

Hap Royster, a principal with Triad Commercial Properties, which markets the G-T Gateway portfolio, confirmed that the development company had bought about 77 acres near Bryan Park and had filed a site plan for the building, but declined to provide further details, including whether the firm had a tenant already signed for the space. He said that the acreage purchased by G-T Gateway was enough to hold both a 500,000-square-foot and a 250,000-square-foot building.

Triad Commercial is also representing the owners of McConnell Business Park in eastern Greensboro, who plan to move forward with a speculative warehouse building that will be 300,000 square feet when first constructed, but will be able to be expanded to up to nearly 1 million square feet.

That site, which has already been graded, was slated to be reserved for an unnamed logistics firm that was looking at the region, but that deal did not come to fruition, Royster said.

Other construction projects either under way or planned in Forsyth and Guilford counties include:

• Childress Klein's 304,000-square-foot warehouse at Union Cross Business Park, which does not have any tenants signed yet;
• The expansion of the former Rhodes distribution center at Rock Creek Center by an additional 200,000 square feet;
• Highwoods Properties' 417,200-square-foot Enterprise Park II building, which has inked Carson-Dellosa as a major tenant; and,
• Plans for a speculative industrial building of at least 280,000 square feet on land at Rock Creek Center that has already been graded.

Brokers said that the Triad's reputation as a logistics and distribution center, which was further solidified by Dell's decision to open a manufacturing plant in Winston-Salem last year, is the main reason for the building boom. But those interviewed also said that in the future, the new port will likely play into the area's real estate market.

"The Triad, in its geographic location to the N.C. ports ... is in an ideal location," said Jimmy Yokeley, director of distribution center development for the Ports Authority. "Once the N.C. International Port is built, we'll be able to serve exporters and importers in the Triad even more than we are today."

Greensboro is already home to the Piedmont Triad Inland Terminal, a part of the Ports Authority, which handles staging for empty and loaded containers for shipment to the coast.

The Ports Authority estimates that it has an economic impact in the Triad already of 6,341 jobs and $3.9 million in tax revenues, based at least partly on companies that are located in the Triad that use the ports on a regular basis.

The building of the N.C. International Port, along with an expansion under way at the port of Wilmington, will put the state on par with port facilities in Charleston, S.C., and Norfolk, Va., as being among the largest on the East Coast.

"We're not embarrassed to admit that we're a tier-two port at this point," said Susan Clizbe, communications manager at the Ports Authority.

One potential deal for the Triad is a distribution facility being considered by Ashley Furniture, Yokeley said. The company has identified North Carolina as a possible location at least in part because of the future port expansion, he said. Russell Turner, who is planning retail facilities for Ashley in the Triad, told The Business Journal in February that the region was also under heavy consideration for such a distribution facility.

"If you look at it intuitively, if you look at the location of Wilmington, a lot of those folks probably want to put their shipments directly onto trucks and get them out of there and to more strategically located distribution centers close to one or more interstates," said David Hagan, president of Hagan Properties in Greensboro, who gave a presentation on ports to members of regional real estate trade groups earlier this spring.

Royster, with Triad Commercial, agrees that there will be some sort of impact, with the expanded shipping capability of the state just adding to the Triad's allure.

"The ports will be an extension of the distribution infrastructure that we already have in place with the confluence of highways," he said. "It's just another piece of the puzzle."

© 2006 Business Journal of the Greater Triad Area

OCEAN ISLE BEACH VACATION RENTAL

Many consumers ask: "What is a vacation rental?" The general definition of a vacation rental is a home, townhome, or condo, owned by a private individual, that is available for rent. The primary benefits of staying in a vacation home versus staying in a hotel are:

• More Space
  Instead of small-spaced, two-bed rooms, vacation rentals allow the entire family to stay under the same roof. This kind of accommodation is well-suited for extended stays.
• More Amenities
  These properties offer more amenities than hotels, such as fully-equipped kitchens, fireplaces, and private hot tubs and pools.
• Great Locations
  Vacation rentals are often, literally, directly on the beach or on the slopes providing ski in/out access… try that from your hotel room!
• Privacy
  Free from the people and environment that comes with noisy hotels, privacy is one of the biggest benefits of vacation rentals.

ECONOMIC PROGNOSIS PROMISING

By Bonnie Eksten

NORTH CAROLINA HISTORIC REAL ESTATE: UNVEILING OF THE PLAQUE

Historic home for sale in Wilmington North Carolina plans to unveil its plaque.

Wilmington, NC (PRWEB) April 17, 2006 -- On Tuesday May 2nd, from 11AM to 12PM, The Fine Coastal Living Team will celebrate Wilmington's history through the unveiling of the historical plaque for the Horace Bagg House located at 114 North 6th Street. Each year, The Wilmington Historic Society awards approximately 25 plaques to homes over 75 years old with the goal of documenting their history and educating the public.

Currently listed for sale at $585,000, the Horace Bagg House has undergone complete renovation without sacrifice of its historic elements. Modernized features include new wiring, plumbing, insulation, sheetrock, water heater, 2 HVAC units, and hydro-stop covered roof. In the remodeled kitchen, you'll find granite counter tops, new stainless steel appliances, tile flooring, and a gas fireplace. Off-street parking is also included.

Consistent with the Queen Anne architecture of its time, this North Carolina historic home is complimented by a wraparound porch decorated with original gingerbread trim. Inside, refinished hardwood floors and an original Eastlake style mirrored mantel help you step back in time to the late 1800's when the home was constructed.

The Horace Bagg House was originally owned by Captain Horace Alexander Bagg, born 1828. Captain Bagg's career in Wilmington North Carolina included public offices as deputy sheriff of the county, city clerk and treasure, chairman of the Board of County Commissioners, and chairman of the County Board of Education. After his death in 1910, the home was passed to his son Horace W. Bagg until 1931. The home was owned by the Bagg Family until 1957.

The plaque will highlight this history and provide information about the home's architecture and date of construction.

"Historical plaques provide a personal snapshot of Wilmington and its people," explains George Edwards, Executive Director of the Historic Wilmington Foundation. "The purpose is to educate the public and provide historical insight."

Since its formation in 1966, the Historic Wilmington Foundation has approved over 450 plaques, each hand-painted and unique in content.

The public is welcome to join The Fine Coastal Living Team and the Historic Wilmington Foundation for the unveiling of the plaque. Refreshments will be served.

BRUNSWICK COUNTY REAL ESTATE HOME SALES STRONG DESPITE JANUARY THAW

BY CAROL TRAPANI, Staff writer Brunswick Beacon

NORTH STRAND PREPARING FOR GROWTH

By Janelle Frost

This article is interesting mainly because it shows how Ocean Isle Beach Real Estate and surrounding Coastal North Carolina Real Estate is exploding all around Brunswick County.

James Neely and his wife, Caren Neely, have not traveled anywhere in more than six years.

The Little River residents used to take two trips a year.

"There's no reason to go anywhere," said James Neely, who has lived in Horry County for 23 years.

The North Strand is "exploding" with restaurants, shopping stores and people, said 66-year-old Neely, who is a mortgage broker and real estate agent.

Neely, like so many other longtime residents and visitors, has seen the Grand Strand area increasingly grow over the years. And that growth is becoming even more evident on the north end.

From North Myrtle Beach and outlying areas to the state line, the increase in families is bringing in more housing and commercial developments but is also putting pressure on the schools and roads in the area, causing the need to improve and expand them.

By 2010, officials expect the population along the North Strand to increase to 36,696 - a 31.2 percent increase from 2000.

Therefore, North Strand leaders are looking to bring in more businesses, hospital facilities, roads, schools and recreation centers to help keep up with the increasing growth.

The price tag - to build more schools and roads - can easily get up to hundreds of millions of dollars, including a $240 million bond referendum approved by voters in 2004 to renovate and build Horry County schools throughout the county.

"We're set up to meet the challenge," said Ed Prince, chairman of the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce. "We're increasing services to accommodate more people that come to live here and continue to expand schools and roads. As the area continues to grow, it makes us make sure we continue to increase infrastructures," Prince said.

Brad Dean, president of the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce, said the North Strand is poised to escalate over the next 10 to 15 years. That growth would affect the entire Grand Strand, which also is growing at a fast pace, he said.

"Tourists that come here don't see county and city lines," Dean said. "The more roads and accessibility to flying in we have, the more it's going to increase growth along the entire Strand."

North Strand's northern neighbor, Brunswick County, N.C., is growing with people without the corresponding support services, so far. Businesspeople in the North Strand are stepping up to provide that. Also, businesses along the Grand Strand are expanding into Brunswick County, N.C. officials say.

But they expect businesses in Brunswick County to catch up with population growth within the next few years. They say new commercial developments are already coming in.

A shot in the arm

As housing and businesses expand in the North Strand, growth puts pressure on roads and schools. Also, health officials are trying to increase health services to help families from western Horry County to North Myrtle Beach into Brunswick and southern Columbus counties.

New roads such as S.C. 31, known as the Carolina Bays Parkway, and the planned Main Street Connector, as well as improvements to U.S. 17, are seen as assets to the area as they improve traffic flow, alleviate congested roads and give motorists the ability to bypass areas such as Little River to get to their destination.

In 2004, more than 75,000 cars traveled on average per day on some roads along the north end, according to officials.

The connector, also known as the North Myrtle Beach Connector, will begin at Main Street in North Myrtle Beach and cross U.S. 17 and the Intracoastal Waterway to tie in with S.C. 31. It will then extend to S.C. 90. The $70 million project is expected to be completed by 2009.

"The roads being built have enhanced the interconnectivity between the areas," Dean said. "S.C. 31 now connects the North Strand to the South Strand, which has opened business opportunities along the entire Strand and allows people to travel more freely," he said.

"The Main Street Connector also will be a tremendous shot in the arm for the economy," he said.

Soaring student growth

By 2010, the North Myrtle Beach schools, which serve the most rapidly developing part of the North Strand, could add 1,755 students. If classrooms generally have 25 students, that's an additional 70 classes of children.

Horry County Schools is in the midst of a building project that includes construction of six schools, and 20 additions and renovations to existing schools by 2010.

At the North Myrtle Beach primary, elementary, middle and high schools, a total of 5,163 students are expected to enroll by 2010, compared with a total of 4,315 students last year and 3,408 in 2000, said Joe Burch, planning coordinator for the Horry County Schools district.

Kids are learning in portable classrooms as the system attempts to renovate and expand permanent buildings to keep up with the growth. Officials say that because there will continue to be pressure on the facilities with extra students, the portables will always be needed as they continue to accommodate students.

Another classroom section and multipurpose gymnasium were added to the North Myrtle Beach High School, and a new North Myrtle Beach Elementary School was built on Highway 57 about three years ago. Plans call for additions and renovations to the middle, primary and intermediate schools, with construction beginning this summer on the primary and middle schools.

"We're growing faster than we can keep up with it," Burch said, "but we will continue to find ways to alleviate [overcrowding] and provide the education that people expect from us."

Meeting health care needs

As more retirees and young families are moving into the area, health officials are also trying to meet all of the health care needs of the community.

People look for access to quality health care, said Tim Browne, chief executive officer of Loris Healthcare System.

Currently, Loris Healthcare officials are looking to add 50 beds at Seacoast Medical Center, as well as to bring a radiation oncology center into North Myrtle Beach in partnership with McLeod Regional Medical Center in Florence.

The only radiation oncology center in Horry County is on 48th Avenue North in Myrtle Beach. Officials say their vision is to expand services and have them closer to home.

Browne said people have been able to access great health care at Seacoast since the medical center has been open for the past five and a half years, and that the addition of beds there would allow people to be able to spend the night if needed. Currently, the medical center is outpatient.

Neely, who lives near Seacoast, said he hopes to get the addition, instead of having to go all the way to Myrtle Beach to the hospital.

"All ZIP codes in and around Seacoast are growing at a fast rate," Browne said. "Our strategy is to make sure we have two strong hospital services to accommodate people from the coast all the way to Loris and Brunswick."

Brunswick County officials say they understand why some facilities or businesses along the North Strand are attracting Brunswick residents because the area does not have some of the same types of facilities and because they are closer and more convenient to go to than in other areas.

However, "that's changing some as we have growth," said Tripp Sloane, president of Sloane Realty in Ocean Isle Beach, N.C. "We have a lot of residential growth in the area, eventually competition will come in. Commercial growth always follows residential growth," Sloane said.

The area has already started on some commercial growth. For example, there's a new Food Lion between Calabash, N.C., and the state line, with retail stores in the shopping strip, Sloane said.

He said the area is also bringing in a Lowe's to the entrance at Ocean Isle Beach, and that there are parcels for restaurants, retail stores and office space.

"It will probably be 3 to 5 years before Brunswick can be considered on the same playing field as North Myrtle Beach," Sloane said. "It may be longer."

N.C. officials are optimistic that the population growth will continue to increase opportunities for businesses to come.

Brunswick County has seen a 14 percent population growth since 2000, officials said.

Population growth is drawing developers to build a 107,000-square-foot sports complex along the North Strand on S.C. 90, which could be finished this summer.

The complex will include an indoor hockey rink, as well as soccer, volleyball, basketball and dodgeball courts. It will also have a Gymnastics and More and eateries, including a sports pub and grill for the family.

The developers say the growth in Little River, North Myrtle Beach and Brunswick County adds to the reasons the private business partners find the area exciting.

"People will drive 30 to 50 minutes to go to a facility that has the sports they are looking for," said David Frost, general manager of SportsZone, which will be part of the sports complex. "There's no other sports facility like this in the area."

TREES WINNING IN BILLBOARD BATTLE, ADVERTISERS SAY

Associated Press

WILMINGTON, N.C. - Some advertisers on North Carolina roads are complaining that you can't see their billboards for the trees.

North Carolina is one of 18 states that allows billboard owners to cut down publicly owned trees to keep their signs in view. But the billboard industry says the laws are still too restrictive, and allow some signs to become overgrown.

"It's a real problem," said Paul Hickman, general manager for Fairway Outdoor Advertising in eastern North Carolina. "If you can't be seen, you're out of business."

State laws and regulations restrict what can be cut and order the sign owners to pay for trees they remove. The industry wants the state to ease the rules governing the number and size of trees that can be cut, and lower the cost.

In presentations to committees of the General Assembly and the State Board of Transportation, the North Carolina Outdoor Advertising Association asked that the clearing zone be extended from 250 feet of roadside to 500 feet.

It also wants reconsideration of rules that bar cutting of some larger trees and that set a high price for the tree clearing.

"If it was a legally erected billboard, we would like to clear it out," association executive director Tony L. Adams said. "That's what we're asking for."

DOT administrators said they are still studying whether the tree-cutting rules need to be changed. A DOT "focus group" of government, environmentalist and industry representatives failed to resolve the issue after a year of talks.

A similar effort nearly a decade ago took nearly five years to resolve, and this time it doesn't look any easier. Environmentalists promise a fight, saying billboard companies already have generous access to their audience on the highways.

"What is an individual business compared to the rights of the community?" said Lois Nixon of Scenic North Carolina. "Who else claims a right to cut down trees on public property?"

The organization is the state affiliate of a national group that wants strict enforcement of outdoor advertising and highway beautification laws.

In 1993, the state Court of Appeals ruled that it found no convincing argument that billboards have a right to be seen. The court also said billboard owners are not owed compensation if governments plant trees on public land that obscure billboards.

The ruling also applies to trees that grow naturally on the rights of way - the publicly owned strips of land on either side of highways.

Charles Floyd, a former University of Georgia professor of real estate who now lives in western North Carolina, fought the tree-cutting permit system that was put in place in North Carolina in 2000.

He said billboard companies are already getting visual access to highways and that access is probably too generous.

"Billboards are not a use of the land but of the highway," Floyd said. "And billboards are the only business that uses the highways and makes money from them without paying for them."

Hickman said concerns are overstated.

"Trees are probably our most easily renewable resource," he said.

 

OCEAN ISLE BEACH REAL ESTATE