Hardwood Flooring in Myrtle Beach, SC

The Myrtle Beach oceanfront could be graced with a new landmark along its waterfront, as the city is considering a developer proposal.

During a workshop and meeting, project planners presented the planned unit development, PUD, to the Myrtle Beach City Council on Nov. 12, 2024.

According to the presentation, the property will have 227 units with an actual height of 251 feet and a pool on the ground level. The facility will have an area for kids and a fitness place. The hotel’s renderings also show a penthouse lounge, 520 square feet pool and bar with seating area on the roof.

Based on images in the presentation, the planned hotel will be a Hilton Grand Vacations named Ocean 23, like its neighboring property, Hilton Grand Vacations Ocean 22, at 2200 North Ocean Blvd. The proposed hotel will be at the current location of the Boardwalk Beach Resort and several other nearby land plots.

Renderings from the presentation show the new high-rise replacing the Boardwalk Beach Resort. Horry County Land Records shows that the limited liability corporation SCG 2300 LLC bought several parcels along 23rd Avenue North in Myrtle Beach. Horry County Land Records also show that SCG 2300 LLC purchased the parcels in July 2024.

The county’s website shows each plot had a transfer, or selling, price of $12 million. It’s unclear if SCG 2300 paid $12 million for each parcel or if SCG 2300 LLC bought all the plots in a single purchase for $12 million.

The LLC has ties to a large development firm in the Grand Strand area. According to the South Carolina Secretary of State’s website, J. Patrick Lowe is SCG 2300 LLC’s registered agent. Lowe is a founding member and senior partner at Strand Capital, a North Myrtle Beach-based development firm specializing in building ocean timeshare and condominium projects.

Projects the firm claims to have worked on include the Atlantic Breeze Ocean Resort, Anderson Ocean Club and the planned Margaritaville of Myrtle Beach hotel on its website. Lowe did not return a request for comment before publication. The hotel still needs final approval from Myrtle Beach before starting work.

City Manager Jonathan “Fox” Simons said during the meeting the PUD could go before the city council for a second reading at its Dec. 10, 2024 meeting.

City of Myrtle Beach Creative Services Manager Patrick Lloyd confirmed via text Dec. 2, 2024, the second reading of the 23rd Ave. PUD is on the city council’s agenda for its Dec. 10, 2024, meeting.

The Sun News

Ben Morse is the Retail and Leisure Reporter for The Sun News. Morse covers local business and Coastal Carolina University football and was awarded third place in the 2023 South Carolina Press Association News Contest for sports beat reporting and second place for sports video in the all-daily division. Morse previously worked for The Island Packet, covering local government. Morse graduated from American University in 2023 with a Bachelor’s Degree in journalism and economics and is originally from Prospect, Kentucky.

If you’ve encountered a canine visitor in your yard or on your house’s camera, there are a few usual suspects in South Carolina.

The Palmetto State is home to three species of furbearers you might mistake for a stray dog: coyotes, red foxes and gray foxes. All three are out roaming more than usual.

Here’s how to tell the difference and how you can keep unwanted explorers off your property.

Foxes and coyotes share narrow snouts, pointed ears and bushy tails, but their sizes are different.

“A coyote is kind of a German shepherd-type looking animal, that kind of similar shape to it,” said South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Furbearer Project leader Jay Butfiloski. “They’re not exceptionally large animals, but they look kind of like a medium-sized dog.”

Coyotes typically weigh 30 to 45 pounds, according to SCDNR, and stand about 23 to 26 inches at the shoulder. Foxes, on the other hand, stand 15 or 16 inches at the shoulder and weigh between 7 and 13 pounds.

“Foxes are much smaller,” Butfiloski said. “You’re talking about a 10-to-12-pound animal, but they’re kind of long-legged from their size, so they look a little bigger, but they’re definitely thinner.”

While the red fox has black legs, a white-tipped tail and a distinctive orange or red coat, both coyotes and gray foxes can have reddish fur as well. The gray fox’s rusty coat around its face, neck and ears sometimes leads to misidentification, but when in doubt you can identify a gray fox by its black-tipped tail.

According to Butfiloski, you’re most likely to see foxes and coyotes when activity increases in the summer months, during pup-rearing season, or the winter months, during mating season.

But that’s not the only reason you might see a coyote or a fox this winter. Both animals tend to be more active from dusk until dawn. As sunset comes earlier with the onset of daylight savings, human schedules overlap more with the animals’ activity.

The decrease in foliage in the colder months also contributes to sightings. With less vegetative cover, foxes and coyotes are more exposed to the human eye.

Outside of just the winter months, technology has increased domestic wildlife sightings because more homes are equipped with cameras than ever before.

“It’s not really a new phenomenon,” Butfiloski said. “They’ve always been there, you just never saw them because you weren’t looking at 3 in the morning. Now, boom, you get notifications to your phone that something came through your yard at 3:00, which normally you would have never known about.”

Neither coyotes nor foxes pose much danger to humans, but they are wild animals and should be treated as such.

While smaller animals like chickens and rabbits are vulnerable to foxes, only coyotes are dangerous to larger pets and livestock. Butfiloski said coyotes may attack pets more during the pup-rearing and mating seasons.

“With the breeding season, it’s more of a competition thing because, for all practical purposes, they’re a glorified dog, so in a lot of cases, they have very dog-like behavior,” Butfiloski said.

During pup-rearing season, coyotes might act extra-protective and be more aggressive, while male coyotes may be more territorial during mating season.

“I’ve always told people, just like if you walk your dog down the street and encounter another strange dog, sometimes you don’t know what’s going to happen. Maybe nothing, they may just kind of size each other up, go about their business, or there may be a fight.”

If you can, bringing your pets in at night will keep them safe from the canine hunters. It’s also a good idea to be prepared on walks with pets and treat coyotes like an unfamiliar dog.

“Keep them on a short leash where you can pull them up if you need to. As far as coyotes go, you don’t turn and run because sometimes it can trigger a pursuit instinct,” Butfiloski said. “Just like when you encounter another strange dog, you pick your pet up and you just start backing up, keeping your face to them.”

If you’ve seen coyotes or foxes in your area, there are a few ways you can deter visits.

“A fence is not a guarantee, but it does help,” Butfiloski said. While gray foxes and coyotes are skilled climbers,“they have to be sufficiently motivated to want to get in that fence to do it.”

Clearing brush and hiding spots also makes your yard less attractive to foxes and coyotes. In addition to providing a place to lounge during the day, underbrush can be a great place to find food for a coyote or fox because smaller animals like rabbits hide in the vegetation.

If you’re trying to keep coyotes and foxes away, you should also make sure you’re not leaving any food out. While you might consider scraps in your trash can garbage, for a wild animal they can make a meal.

Animal feed is another attraction for hungry coyotes and foxes. Even bird seed can attract them and, beyond the food itself, the predators might make a meal of the animals you’re trying to feed.

Shortly after North Myrtle Beach terminated the services of former City Manager Mike Mahaney, the council has designated Ryan Fabbri to serve as the temporary replacement.

Ryan Fabbri, the Assistant City Manager who assumed the role of acting city manager on September 19, 2024, following the placement of former City Manager Mike Mahaney on leave, has now been appointed as the interim city manager, taking on the associated title and responsibilities.

Mahaney was terminated by the city in late October. North Myrtle Beach provided him with a sum of $126,000 as a confidential settlement to prevent a public grievance hearing.

On Monday, the city council voted Fabbri into the role until a new city manager is appointed. With the new title, he takes on the responsibilities of administering the business of the city including managing city operations, the department heads, and over 450 city employees.

Ryan Fabbri

Ryan Fabbri is the former Pawleys Island Town Manager. Ryan Fabbri resigned as Pawleys Island town administrator in May 2022 citing conflicts with members of Pawleys Island Town Council.

“It’s unfortunate that it’s had to come to this after nine years of dedicated and faithful service to the Town,” Ryan Fabbri said in an email to the council members.

Ryan Fabbri officially left his position at Pawleys Island Town Hall on June 2, 2022.

Fabbri assumed the role of the Pawleys Island’s initial administrator in 2015, having succeeded the mayor who had previously served as a part-time administrator. In 2013, Ryan Fabbri was appointed as the Pawleys Island’s assistant administrator by then-Mayor Bill Otis.

He resigned after the town clerk, Preston Janco, left to become a planner for the city of Myrtle Beach.

In his letter to council, Fabbri said “recent events have given me cause to reevaluate my employment with the Town of Pawleys Island.”

Speaking at his office in Town Hall, he declined to elaborate about those events, but said “the environment here has become unbearable for me.”

Fabbri is now set to administrate for the city council of North Myrtle Beach in order to accomplish the objectives of the city and implement the council’s established policies.

In addition, he will be granted a salary increase to $200,000 and will be eligible for retirement benefits starting from the date he assumed the role of acting city manager, with retroactive effect.

A person who bought a Powerball ticket at a gas station near Interstate 26 prior to Wednesday’s drawing was one number away from winning the game’s $240 million grand prize, South Carolina Education Lottery officials said Thursday in a news release.

Although the ticket buyer didn’t win the game’s jackpot, the person will be rewarded with a $50,000 payday for coming so close, according to the release.

Now the search is underway for the winner.

The five-figure winning Powerball game was sold at the Murphy Express gas station/convenience store at 2818 Augusta Road in West Columbia, officials said. That’s in an area which is densely packed with retail businesses and restaurants just off Exit 111 on I-26.

The ticket matched four white ball numbers and the red Powerball number in Wednesday’s Double Play drawing, a feat that has odds of 1-in-913,129 of occurring, officials said.

Because the ticket buyer originally purchased the $1 Double Play option with their normal Powerball game, the five-figure prize was won in the second drawing held after the regular Powerball drawing, lottery officials said.

The winning numbers in Wednesday’s Double Play drawing were 14, 35, 43, 48, 54 and Powerball: 1.

The winner has 180 days to claim the prize, according to lottery officials.

The winner will be allowed to retain some privacy, as South Carolina is one of 11 states — along with Arizona, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, New Jersey, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Virginia — that allow lottery winners to remain anonymous.

“Sign the back of your ticket and put it in a safe location until you’re ready to come forward to claim the prize,” lottery officials said.

For complete information on claiming prizes, go to sceducationlottery.com.

The Murphy Express on Augusta Road is expected to receive a commission for selling the winning ticket.

Just outside of the Midlands area of South Carolina, there was another $50,000 winning ticket from Wednesday’s traditional Powerball drawing. That ticket was sold in Greenwood at the Hot Spot gas station/convenience store on U.S. 25 South, according to the release.

The winning numbers in Wednesday’s regular drawing were 1, 23, 25, 28, 61 and Powerball: 13.

Like the winning ticket in the Double Play drawing, this game matched four of the first five numbers drawn and the Powerball number, officials said.

Because there was no grand prize winner in Wednesday’s traditional drawing, the jackpot for Saturday’s Powerball drawing has risen to $260 million, according to the game’s website.

Anyone looking to buy a ticket must make a purchase by 9:59 p.m. Saturday for the 10:59 p.m. drawing. Tickets are $2, and could cost more with additional options.

The odds of winning Powerball’s grand prize are 1-in-293 million.

In a breaking news situation, facts can be unclear and the situation may still be developing. The State is trying to get important information to the public as quickly and accurately as possible. This story will be updated as more information becomes available, and some information in this story may change as the facts become clearer. Refresh this page later for more updated information.

A developer wants to build new expensive homes near the Myrtle Beach oceanfront, but details still need finalizing. The City of Myrtle Beach Planning Commission examined a mixed-use high-density plan in its Nov. 19, 2024, meeting.

Horry County Land Records shows the land is less than an acre large and previously sold for more than a million dollars in August 2024. LP Property LLC now owns the property, and the South Carolina Secretary of State’s website shows Myrtle Beach’s Joshua Laniado is the company’s registered agent.

In an interview with The Sun News, Laniado said four three-floor homes will be built on the property and will not be mixed-use. He added the homes would sell for $700,000 when finished but didn’t give a timeline for completion of construction.

Laniado said the plan needs approval on two readings from the Myrtle Beach city council before receiving final approval. The project joins other projects to add more upscale homes to the oceanfront area of Myrtle Beach.

In January 2024, construction began on the seven-unit townhome development along North Kings Highway near the Whiskey Roots restaurant at 205 North Kings Highway. The Sun News reported in January 2024 that the townhomes could be short-term rentals and cost about $600,000.

The project isn’t Laniado’s only one along the Grand Stand. In 2023, Laniado was involved in building a new hotel called Ocean Escape Resort in North Myrtle Beach and is overseeing the redevelopment of the former location of Shark Attack Adventure Golf, which closed in 2017.

The Sun News

Ben Morse is the Retail and Leisure Reporter for The Sun News. Morse covers local business and Coastal Carolina University football and was awarded third place in the 2023 South Carolina Press Association News Contest for sports beat reporting and second place for sports video in the all-daily division. Morse previously worked for The Island Packet, covering local government. Morse graduated from American University in 2023 with a Bachelor’s Degree in journalism and economics and is originally from Prospect, Kentucky.