Margaritaville resort planned for Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach city leadership discussed plans Thursday to bring a Jimmy Buffet-inspired Margaritaville resort to the Grand Strand.

WMBF reports the plans would transform a vacant parking lot and a plot of land along Ocean Boulevard, between 17th Avenue North and 18 Avenue North.

“The intent is for it to be iconic,” said a developer.

While the board didn’t take any official votes Thursday, members did seem happy with the vision to create a building truly unique to Myrtle Beach.

“There’s been other attempts at Margaritaville Resorts, as a brand in this area, and it’s really great to see this legacy of these parcels be put to use like this,” said a city of Myrtle Beach Community Appearance Board Member (CAB).

The project’s creators said the resort would also feature the city of Myrtle Beach’s second-ever pedestrian crossover bridge, connecting a car garage to the resort.

‘Margaritaville’ will feature a restaurant and pool. Developers also plan to extend the boardwalk to connect the resort with the rest of the city.

“There won’t be a lot of these in the city, so what do we do to make this a showpiece and do that tastefully without a distraction to traffic, and to keep Ocean Boulevard activated?” said a developer.

While most of the discussion was positive, some CAB members raised concerns about the crossover bridge’s design not matching the overall theme and the building potentially looking like an oversized surf shop in Myrtle Beach’s skyline.

“With the surfboards, it reads more beachwear store than a restaurant or high-end restaurant. You’re almost lessening the brand,” said a member of the CAB.

The project developers can go back to the CAB as many times as needed for conceptual reviews to get feedback before they finalize their plans.

Developers said they’re hopeful they’ll be back next month.