A big mixed-use project near Conway's Highway 501 corridor heads to City Council on Monday, and neighbors are watching closely.
Conway's Planning Commission voted 5-1 on Thursday, Oct. 8, to recommend the development along Mill Pond Road, WMBF reported. Developer Rise Partners is behind the plan, which would bring new businesses and more than 230 homes.
The city's Oct. 19 council packet fills in the details. Council will hold a public hearing and first reading on a development agreement with RP Conway Mill Pond LLC for about 67.49 acres along Mill Pond Road, Highway 501 (Church Street), Camelot Street, Carolyn Street and Lochwood Lane. It will also take a first reading on rezoning the land from Highway Commercial, Low/Medium-Density Residential and Conservation Preservation to a Planned Development district.
What's planned
The planned development would allow commercial anchor stores, retail shops, commercial outlots, apartments, open space, conservation areas and stormwater facilities. It caps the residential portion at 236 multifamily units, at no more than 21.3 units per acre. Commercial buildings could rise up to 50 feet, and apartment buildings generally up to 40 feet, with 65 feet allowed only in one designated spot.
A traffic study in the packet describes about 270,000 square feet of retail plus sit-down and fast-food restaurants and a coffee shop. It also included a gas station, but the staff report says the developer agreed at the Oct. 8 meeting to drop the gas station.
There's a catch on timing. Under the agreement, the city can't issue a building permit for the apartments until the main anchor store's parcel is owned by its operator, that building has a permit, and its foundation inspection is complete. Staff say the point is to make sure the commercial side moves first.
The developer would be responsible for designing, permitting, building and initially paying for the infrastructure, including streets, sidewalks, traffic signals, water and sewer lines, stormwater systems, streetlights and a pocket park. The agreement also addresses possible Tax Increment Financing and a Municipal Improvement District to help reimburse those costs, though staff note those revenues aren't guaranteed and the developer stays on the hook either way.
The developer must also build a public street connecting the existing Kirkland Drive stub to Camelot Street before the first apartment can get a certificate of occupancy.
The agreement wouldn't take effect just because council adopts it. It kicks in only after the developer closes on buying the property, with a deadline of Dec. 31, 2027. It would run for five years, with up to four automatic two-year extensions.
Staff recommend approving first reading but list several unresolved items, including blanks and incomplete exhibits, that must be fixed before final reading.
Wetlands and traffic
The biggest worry for neighbors is water. The current plan would affect about 4.87 acres of wetlands, and some residents fear that could make flooding worse along a road where many already deal with it.
"When a developer seeks to remove federal protections from wetlands that protect my home and my neighbors' homes from flooding, that's not being a good neighbor," resident Andrea Chichester said.
Rise Partners says it will build larger stormwater ponds to hold 20% more runoff than the property holds now and will stay out of the FEMA flood zone along Crabtree Swamp. "We're not touching the flood zone," said Joshua Cox, project engineer with Forsyth Group. He said the project still has to go through state review, including a stormwater plan with a full engineering report.
A traffic study recommends new signals and extra turn lanes at several intersections. If approved, developers expect to finish the project by the end of 2029.
Why it matters for Contractors
If council approves, this is one of the larger mixed-use jobs on the horizon in Horry County: anchor stores, shops, restaurants and up to 236 apartments, all on one site. Before any building goes up, there's heavy civil work: clearing, grading, stormwater ponds sized above code, wetland permitting, new roads, water and sewer, and traffic signals. That's a long run of work for site, utility and paving contractors. The commercial buildings come next, then the apartments, since the agreement holds the apartment permits until the anchor's foundation is inspected. With a 2029 finish target and state stormwater review still ahead, it's early. But Monday's vote is only first reading, so there's time for contractors to follow along before final approval.