South Park Village
Mrytle Beach, South Carolina
500 acres

Master Plan for a Decomissioned
Air Force Base

In 1993, an economic feasibility master plan was prepared for the 4000 acre Myrtle Beach Air Force Base which had recently been decommissioned. That plan designated a 500 acre portion of the former base as an urban village. In 1996 DesignWorks was hired jointly by the Myrtle Beach Air Base Redevelopment Authority and the City of Myrtle Beach to establish a master plan for South Park Village.

Following the great Olmsted tradition in American cities the master plan creates a major park system along a direct, continuous, and beautifully designed parkway. The parks also provide the master stormwater drainage system needed for the entire redevelopment area. The streets function as an anchoring grid designed on the existing network of military base roads, thus forming a high density core. There is the tradition of main street retail and high density mixed uses such as apartments above retail, office and apartments facing waterfronts, and a high tech industrial campus. The mixed uses and density are combined with strategically located large open spaces ensuring a plan that expresses the essence of a city.