The Roar deal suggested by the Bethune Administration, led by Brown Bethune, the Mayor’s spouse, seems to be another failure in the Arts and Innovation District.
The Highway 17 site of the former First Presbyterian Church has been left abandoned since 2019. As of our last reporting, the City of Myrtle Beach leased the property.
Mayfair Properties, located in Atlanta, Georgia, reportedly acquired the building with plans to transform it into a themed restaurant or attraction inspired by Roar, a 1920s establishment on Park Street in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
The Future of Arts and Innovation: Roar Make Never Roared?
Upon presentation to the Myrtle Beach City Council, Mayor Brenda Bethune of Myrtle Beach recused herself.
Her husband, Brown Bethune, of Tidelands Commercial Real Estate represented the purchaser. The promise was to use this site as a groundswell of new energy into the Arts and Innovation District.
Should Mayfair Properties have acquired the building as suggested, Brown Bethune, who manages Tidelands Commercial for his wife, received a substantial commission.
Roar is just one of many such failures in the Arts and Innovation District. The city is approaching $200 million in tax payer funded monies in the district. The concept continues to struggle.
Few private investors are interested in the concept.
In our article this week, Easter vacancy signs explain 42 empty storefronts in the A&I district, we explained why investors are scared to take the risk of investing in the Arts and Innovation District.
“One of the questions we still continue to ask is why aren’t we seeing the investment? And it’s not because we don’t know, it’s because we want to be able to articulate that why,” Myrtle Beach Assistant City Manager Brian Tucker told local media. “One of the biggest things is risk. Nobody wants to be the first one downtown to do a big thing. We feel like we’re setting the stage with public investment to do that, but there’s still an element of risk there.”
Apparently, Roar weighed the investment and came to the same conclusion as Assistant City Manager Brian Tucker.
Local News Via - MyrtleBeachSC.com
