Market Commons Builders & Master Plan-Where is it going? (Myrtle Beach: rent, homeowners insurance)

[FromtheTundra]

Hi I'm new to the area and don't know much about certain builders, local developments, or what some of these developments will look like in a few years.. My wife and I looked at some of the single family and the townhomes yesterday in the Sweetgrass Square area of Market Commons. Does anyone know anything about this development? I also cannot seem to find a real up to date map or master plan for the Market Commons area? I noticed some of the businesses in the area seem closed. Does anyone know if this is a product of the economy, or were they just businesses that would never have taken off anyways? I would like to hear the good , bad and ugly of the Market commons area. Would you or wouldn't you buy into one of these "new urban" neighborhoods. (I think of them as prepackaged communities) Sort of Disneyesque. They do have their charm though.

[LogicX]

Great questions - I began on a similar journey, and documented a bit here, and in my blog post. (There you can find a link to the original PDF/map of the Withers Preserve master plan).

Having moved from Boston to Myrtle Beach, I now rent in DR Horton's Highlands community and I've since purchased witherspreserve.com - former site for Withers Preserve, which was the name given to a much larger area after the air force base property was handed over. I intend to do a more thorough writeup of the history, current offerings, and links to various opinions, as well as sharing my own. I'll see about working on that further over the holidays.

The short answer is that thus far, all the developers I've seen leave something to be desired.
My quick observations are that:
Lennar & Beazer skimp on structural strength
DR Horton has poor finishing at the moment, due to poor oversight of sub-contractors
Dock Street Realty is building extremely dense homes, and I've yet to meet an owner or tenant who has said good things, but I don't have any details.

I'm waiting to see Cresswind come in the spring, and I'm eager to see if the banks are successful in selling any of the remaining property to prospective developers in the near future.

As far as businesses: Too many tried to start during the downturn, when there were high hopes for the prospects of a budding community. When the housing downturn struck, developers went out of business, and businesses in market common were left with high rents, and fewer customers, and customers with less money, and fewer tourists. Some went out of business. Doesn't mean the area is doomed: This happened all over the country.

To put things in perspective, Lennar sells on average 10-15 homes a month in Emmens Preserve. Customers are primarily retirees from the north buying single-story homes.

[dlcamp]

You know, I've followed the building of Market Commons since they first started the project. It's beautiful. I've thought about and even looked into opening a business there. There's only one thing that bothers me and it's like that proverbial elephant in the room - the ROBERT GRISSOM PARKWAY ends on the other side of the MB Airport.

If only Market Commons could have been built on the other side of the airport. It would have made all the difference! It's cut off from the center of Myrtle Beach. Looks to me like a fatal flaw and there's just no good way to fix it.

[wanttobewarm]

Regarding Cresswind...

what the heck is a pickle ball court?

" The Club will feature an outdoor pool, pickle ball courts, tennis courts, bocce ball courts, walking paths and more. "



I love the Market Common's, very walkable ...lots of open space. A tad more upscale than most places I've seen in the area. Seems that the have fun events going on from time to time, also a farmers market which I enjoy...

Have a great sunny day, it's COLD in Boston! Can't wait to head back!

[goldenage1]

Originally Posted by wanttobewarm

Regarding Cresswind...

what the heck is a pickle ball court?

Read about it here: USA Pickleball Association It looks like a cross between tennis and badminton, with a hollow ball. It is very popular in the 55+ communities.

[CTyankee54]

We have a friend who lives in Conway that absolutely loves pickle ball and it is most popular with the 55+ crowd.

We love Market Common but didn't buy in the MC neighborhoods because we found that we could get more bang for our buck living a little further away from MC. But, we do spend a good bit of time there as they have lots of festivals and activities in addition to the shopping. I don't know that it will ever be as popular a destination for tourists as the downtown MB area but it has its charm. Would we have bought there if cost was not an issue?...probably not since our lifestyle is different than that planned for MC. Plus, there is a tourist element there in season along with the associated traffic. Something to consider as you look at that area. Oh, and homeowners insurance will be higher because it's on the east side of the intercoastal waterway.

The new extension on Harrelson Blvd down to Business 15 makes the end of Grissom at the airport less of an issue. But, it does take a round about drive to get there from MB.

Finally, my observations on builders align with LogicX...he's spot on.

[wanttobewarm]

Pickleball sure looks fun! Thanks for the information!!

[mbhopeful]

i lived in the market common for one year, left a lot to be desired. outragiously high rent, let security go and parking garages are public parking. stores are mainly for tourists and not locals and unfortnately management just doesn't get it thats why so many have moved out.

[Pawleysbound]

We have a second residence in a 55+ community and I had never heard of pickleball either before moving there.

It is really popular in these types of communities. I've never tried it, BUT a warning....many of our friends have injured themselves playing pickleball - torn rotator cuffs, knee injuries, etc. I don't mean to put a downer on the game, but it is fast moving similar to tennis. It's probably a little tougher on the body than it looks. There are lots of seniors out there in great shape, so I'm sure it's wonderful exercise and fun to do. It's also a great way to meet new friends. If you plan to try it, play safe and have fun.