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Conway pitches riverfront TIF and seeks Horry County Schools’ participation
Summary
City of Conway officials asked the Horry County Board of Education to join a proposed 30‑year tax increment financing (TIF) district for downtown riverfront redevelopment, saying the plan could fund a Riverwalk, marina and parking deck; city leaders said Ash Pond No. 1 is certified for recreational use and requested the district’s decision before a public hearing in early November.
City Administrator Adam Emerick asked the Horry County School Board on Oct. 21 to support a proposed tax increment financing district aimed at redeveloping Conway’s riverfront and downtown, saying the mechanism would harness growth in property tax value inside the mapped area to pay for parks, streetscape and parking.
“Any taxes derived over that baseline as of today are reinvested within the district,” Emerick told the board, explaining the TIF would fund projects including about 3.5 miles of Riverwalk, an inland 100‑slip marina, recreational amenities along the Ash Pond area of the former Granger Steam Plant site and improved parking. He said one ash pond adjacent to Marina Drive has been remediated and “DHEC has certified it as eligible for recreational use.”
Why it matters: The city is asking public bodies with taxing authority inside the TIF to agree to a forbearance of tax growth so revenue can be reinvested in the district rather than flowing to the general tax rolls for up to three decades. Emerick said the baseline assessed value for the parcels currently inside the TIF is about $2,700,000 and produces roughly $300,000 in annual tax revenue now; he argued reinvestment could significantly change that picture.
Board members pressed for detail on scope and timing. Emerick told the board the TIF would likely run 30 years and that some parcels Conway expects to receive from Santee Cooper are not all included in the TIF boundary. He said the city will provide a full financial plan and other documents to the board by email and asked the district to respond quickly because a City of Conway public hearing is scheduled for Nov. 4.
Cost and funding concerns surfaced, including a proposal for a parking deck Emerick estimated would cost between $8 million and $12 million. The city has no committed funding source for a deck, he said, and suggested hospitality fee revenue or bonding as possible backstops while the TIF matures. Emerick also told the board the city is exploring partnerships with Coastal Carolina University and Horry‑Georgetown Technical College to activate downtown with higher‑education programming.
What’s next: Emerick promised to send detailed financial materials to the board “either this evening or tomorrow,” and urged the board to decide before the end of the year to preserve the existing baseline assessment for TIF calculations. A City of Conway public hearing remains on the calendar for Nov. 4.
“We’re looking at a 30 year TIF,” Emerick said when asked about duration. “The only way to fund all the projects I mentioned would be to do a full 30 years.”
