Conway city staff proposes inland beach at annual budget retreat

CONWAY, S.C. (WBTW) — Conway city staff proposed an inland beach in downtown Conway at their annual budget retreat over the weekend.

The city wants to request to use land owned by Santee Cooper, a power and water utility company.

The project would also include multiple phases and ash pond redevelopment near Marina Drive.

City administrator Adam Emrick says one ash pond could be developed with a beach where people could kayak, paddle board and have an inland marina with about 100 boat slips.

“So part of that would be — you know, the potential for a large number of trails, maybe a beach, maybe a marina is something if we can get Santee Cooper’s board to approve it and the state legislature to approve it,” Emrick said.

Some Conway residents are fans of the proposal.

“I feel like it would bring more tourists to the area, not just Myrtle Beach and it would allow Conway families to get together more often here instead of traveling to tourist areas,” Tianna Adams, who lives in Conway, said.

Emrick said it could be paid for through a hospitality bond.

“It would be something really, really special for Conway,” Emrick said. “[We could} really build an amenity in our downtown that is not comparable to anywhere else. It’s something that would be sort of the equivalent of a state park, but in our downtown and riverfront area.”

It could be over a year before the city is given property from Santee Cooper, however, according to Emrick.