This 1940s Myrtle Beach church is turning into an upscale food court? Here’s the plan.

The abandoned First Presbyterian Church along North Kings Highway in Myrtle Beach isn’t much to look at now.

There’s a broken window on the east side, and birds have taken residence inside a sconce over a rear entrance. The building could also use a new coat of paint and some sanding.

A Georgia-based company has plans for the venue however — including an upscale food court, bowling alley and virtual golf.

A brewery and outdoor dining patio are also in the plans.

“I actually think this is exactly what we’re looking for in the area in trying to bring people downtown,” said Myrtle Beach Planning Commission member Zeb Thomas III on Nov. 15 during a planning meeting.

The City Council last month declared the church abandoned, giving developers the chance to get tax breaks of up to 25 percent both on property value and income spread over eight and three years, respectively. To be eligible, developers must put at least $250,000 worth of investment into the site.

According to property records and city documents, First Presbyterian Church still owns the property, but is under contract with Golf Ventures LLC for a sale.

Mayfair Properties, the development team behind the concept, have converted old hotels and other sites in Charlotte, Columbia, Alpharetta, Ga., and Winston-Salem, N.C. into mixed-use venues.

More specifically, the Myrtle Beach site is being considered for a concept based off “Roar,” a 1920s themed site along Park Street in Winston-Salem where visitors can shop at a Ronnie’s, a pop-up country market and then grab lunch at the Blue Crab Seafood Bar or Joey Correll’s American Street Food.

Correll,who’s involved in the Myrtle Beach restoration, told The Sun News he could not provide more details about the Kings Highway locale, but city officials are eager to get the property back into use. The church building has been vacant since 2019. At that time, the congregation moved into a new church on Robert M. Grissom Parkway.

Amy Barrett, president and CEO of the Myrtle Beach Downtown Alliance, said the mixed-use concept is a perfect fit, and could encourage more pedestrian traffic in coming years.

“That’s how you create a system, as opposed to constructing isolated developments,” she said. “If you don’t have walkability, you don’t have a downtown.”

How we got here

At first, the building was set to become city office space. Then a new charter school was part of a collaboration with Coastal Carolina University.

The city considered purchasing the property in 2018 for $2.8 million with plans to move housing authority employees into the space, but that deal never materialized, according to previous Sun News reporting.

Located a half-mile from the city’s arts and innovation district, the 49,995-square-foot site is seen as a catalyst for larger-scale economic development.

Robert Lewis, a Columbia attorney representing the development team, said First Presbyterian church leaders favor the project since it means the building will remain standing.

“We’ve had a lot of conversation with the staff at First Presbyterian Church,” he told the planning commission Nov. 15. Dale Gallo, the church’s facilities director, was not immediately for comment but in an Oct. 10 affidavit, said less than 10% of the building is currently occupied.

Several steps still need to be completed before construction can begin. The planning commission next month is expected to approve a rezone into the city’s amusement district.

“This makes sense because it answers so many questions in regards to that property and what they’re proposing is pretty cool from what I’ve seen,” Kenneth May, the city’s zoning administrator, said.