Last Updated on 5/17/2013

Published on 8/30/2012

Anchor store rumored to be Walmart; developers not required to name tenants

Pawleys Island, S.C. — Sunbelt Ventures submitted all the necessary materials on its redevelopment of Pawleys Plaza to Georgetown County and the plan will go before the Planning Commission on Sept. 20.
The conceptual drawing of the 119,500-square-foot main store does not have the word “Walmart” on it.
Planning Director Boyd Johnson said the county does not require developers to name tenants when submitting rezoning requests.
Pawleys Plaza is currently approved for 100,800 square feet of retail use. The redevelopment would total 147,000 square feet.
The property is already zoned as a “planned development,” but because Sunbelt is making major changes, including altering the boundaries and adding square footage, the plan must be reviewed by the Planning Commercial and be voted on three times by County Council.
Commercial properties within 500 feet of Highway 17 on Waccamaw Neck are inside the county’s Architectural Overlay Corridor.
Although Sunbelt is subdividing the property so the parcel containing the 119,500-square-foot building is beyond the 500 feet, Johnson said they plan on meeting the county’s architectural standards.
One of the concerns is the roof on the new building. The county does not allow flat roofs on buildings along Highway 17 on Waccamaw Neck.
If approved, the new building will likely have a series of pitched roofs like the Fresh Market store farther north on the highway.
Sunbelt also submitted a traffic study, done by Stantec Consulting Services, to the county.
Recommendations in the study include:
• Install a new traffic light at Petigru Drive and Highway 17.
• Allow access to the plaza in only two spots off Highway 17: northbound and southbound at Petigru Drive and southbound near the existing Bank of America building.
• Allow access to the plaza through two driveways on Petigru.
According to Johnson, Sunbelt already has “verbal” approval for the new traffic light from the South Carolina Department of Transportation. Sunbelt would have to pay to have it installed.
According to the study, the redeveloped plaza would create 8,724 weekday trips, 118 entrances and 75 exits per hour in the morning, and 404 entrances and 420 exits in the afternoon/evening.
The study found that existing turn lane lengths are adequate at Highway 17 and Petigru Drive and Highway 17 and Waverly Road.
The Planning Commission meeting on Sept. 20 will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the new Performing Arts Center at Waccamaw High School.

By Chris Sokoloski
csokoloski@gtowntimes.com