A long-planned $250 million mixed-use development known as The Preserve is nearing groundbreaking in North Myrtle Beach, with developers saying construction is likely to start within roughly 60 days on a site just off Water Tower Road between Highway 22 and Carolina Bays Parkway.
The project has been in the works since 2021 and would eventually bring about 800 homes to the corridor, split between 370 luxury apartment units across one-, two- and three-bedroom floor plans, 207 built-to-rent homes and 227 paired villa lots. Developers have also set aside 10,000 square feet of commercial and retail space within the development, though rental prices have not been finalized; early estimates put monthly apartment rents in the neighborhood of $2,000.
The Preserve sits near another active project on the same stretch of Water Tower Road, the McDowell Corporate Center, an 8501 Water Tower Road development anchored by McDowell Construction’s own 10,000-square-foot headquarters. That project pairs 5,000 square feet of leasable commercial space with a 15,000-square-foot warehouse and additional build-to-suit parcels ranging from two to 8.5 acres, positioning the area near the junction of S.C. 31 and S.C. 22 as a growing hub for logistics and light industrial tenants alongside companies like UPS, Amazon and Pepsi Bottling Co.
City planning documents tie both projects to a broader Planned Development District designation for the corridor, which includes road widening, new sidewalks, street trees and a dedicated segment of the East Coast Greenway along Water Tower Road. Together, the residential density of The Preserve and the commercial footprint of the McDowell site reflect how quickly North Myrtle Beach’s inland corridor is filling in, even as final construction timelines for both developments remain contingent on permitting and infrastructure work still underway.
