Myrtle Beach developer buys blocks of vibrant downtown Woodstock

A South Carolina company with experience developing in iconic Southern destinations such as Savannah’s Broughton Street and Charleston’s King Street has purchased a significant portion of Woodstock’s booming downtown, officials announced today.

Burroughs & Chapin, a real estate investment trust based in Myrtle Beach, has purchased several blocks along Main Street in Woodstock—the fastest-growing city in Cherokee County that’s gained recognition as a regional tourist destination in recent years. The purchase price was undisclosed.  

The five Woodstock Downtown properties in question— bounded by Main Street and Fowler Street to the south, and Wheeler Street to the north, plus a parcel south of Fowler Street—were developed between 2006 and 2012 by Atlanta-based Morris & Fellows, the seller. The firm was more recently selected by Alpharetta to plan and build a vibrant new mixed-use dimension in that city’s historic core, arranged around a greenspace.

Cheri Morris, Morris & Fellows president, said her company selected Burroughs & Chapin—owners and managers of experiential retail around the Southeast—to buy the Woodstock assets based on its work with iconic properties in historic shopping districts.

“Most importantly,” added Morris in a prepared statement, “they are committed to caretaking the unique appeal and value of historic context and cultural identity.”

Morris’ award-winning New Urbanism project aimed to echo Woodstock’s 19th century downtown and inject open-air gathering spaces to create a catalyst for economic growth. According to Morris, property values around downtown have ballooned from $34 million in 2006 to more than $382 million in 2021. Home sales north of $700,000 around Main Street, meanwhile, have become commonplace.

Austin Burris, Burroughs & Chapin’s director of acquisitions, said the purchase in Woodstock’s “unique urban core” is part of a planned broader expansion into metro Atlanta.

The new owners are “expected to continue to elevate and expand the area’s success as an entertainment destination,” according to a Morris & Fellows rep. We’ve asked if that will entail any changes in Woodstock’s downtown, and we’ll update this story with any additional info that comes. 

Notably, the sale excludes a historic train depot and its grounds, which Morris & Fellows owns and will keep to be part of an adjoining Woodstock City Center development that’s moving forward now.

The Woodstock City Council in February approved a letter of intent with Woodstock City Partners, an affiliate of Morris & Fellows, to a develop a boutique hotel and parking structure city leaders have long sought downtown. The 109 Main Street site in question was formerly home to Morgan’s Ace Hardware, a beloved old-timey retailer that relocated to another Main Street location.

Woodstock City Partners is purchasing the site for $1.5 million. Morris is planning to replace it with an $80-million private development that includes a boutique hotel with meeting space, an office component, and more retail and restaurant slots for Main Street.

The city, meanwhile, has agreed to use mostly SPLOST dollars to fund infrastructure improvements. Those include a 650-space public parking deck, an event and meeting facility, and upgrades to the area’s network of roads and pedestrian corridors.

Named by Money magazine as one of the top places to live in the U.S., Woodstock’s formerly sleepy downtown core has packed on a 32-acre master-planned community, miles of multi-use trails and parks, and an arts district since the turn of the century. Woodstock’s population has swelled by 70 percent in the past decade alone.

Morris & Fellows’ Woodstock Downtown project, as officials noted today, has been awarded the “Development of Excellence” by the Urban Land Institute, cited as “Development of the Year” by the Atlanta Regional Commission, and received the Congress for New Urbanism “International Charter Award for Best Neighborhood-Scale District.”

• In Woodstock's growing downtown, historic Reeves home reborn as arts center (Urbanize Atlanta)