Hot on the release of new wave pool renderings, the Myrtle Beach Wavegarden Cove facility by American Surf Parks is ready to break ground. The facility will be a maximum-sized Cove covering five acres, or about six football fields within a 12-acre development.

“We just went through City Council again this morning and received overwhelming unanimous support for the project,” said Phil Dixon Jr, CEO of American Surf Parks. “The support of our City Council, City Manager, and the residents of Myrtle Beach have been amazing. We continue to work closely with Wavegarden to advance the project forward.”

The council also approved the long-form lease and the two percent developer incentive in the first reading. 

“We’ve been working on bringing Wavegarden Cove to Myrtle Beach since October of 2016,” Dixon said in an earlier statement. “It’s taken some time to find the right piece of land for this development. We think we’ve hit a home run with this location.”

American Surf Parks says the project will bring job and surf relief to the area. The development will create 50 new jobs and produce nearly half a million dollars each year in tax revenue to the city. But most importantly, visitors will have reliable surf. Quality waves are lacking in the area due to a shallow continental shelf extending several miles out into the Atlantic. This energy-sapping bathymetry leaves only a handful of surf-able weeks each year.

Myrtle Beach is a well-known vacation destination on the Atlantic coast attracting 20 million visitors annually. The American Surf Parks site will join other Myrtle Beach landmarks including a giant Ferris wheel, boardwalk, the Ripley’s Aquarium, as well as other family vacation go-to’s. Myrtle Beach and nearby Surfside Beach have both been designated Autism-Friendly destinations by the Champion Autism Network.

While Florida’s wave pool plans appear to be cursed, the states to the north are thriving. Rock Hill and Charleston South Carolina have preliminary pools planned along with Charlotte North Carolina. Virginia, one state further north has two Richmond pools on tap while Virginia Beach is working with Pharrell Williams to bring surf a couple of blocks from the boardwalk.