Posted on Sun, May. 14, 2006

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Fun World to shutter in fall for new plans

By Janelle Frost

The Sun News

Playtime at Fun World Family Amusement Park in North Myrtle Beach will come to an end this fall.

New property owners plan to replace the park with a miniature golf course and restaurant. They also plan to tear down the adjacent skate park, go-kart area, and indoor arcade to build two-and three-bedroom townhouses.

Built in the late 1980s, city planners say Fun World was one of the first planned-unit developments in the city.

The current miniature golf course will operate through Sept. 15, said Chris Bethea, one of the owners of the golf course portion. The skate park, go-karts and indoor arcade will operate through October, Fun World general manager Tony Walters said.

Of the 14.24 acres of land at 700 Seventh Ave. S., 4.2 acres fronting U.S. 17 are 54 holes of miniature golf. The remaining 10 acres hold a skate park, go-karts, inflatable attractions, kiddie rides, an indoor arcade and a trackless train.

Bethea, who is a partner with Tom Merrell and Jim Sidwell in the golf portion of the amusement park, said they plan to reduce the size of the course from 54 holes to 36 and add a restaurant to the site.

Kristin Lebelt, 19, said she thinks it's great that owners are going to remodel the golf course. Lebelt and a group of her fellow Duke University students play together at Fun World whenever they come to the area. The group of friends recently visited the amusement park.

"It will make it more appealing and it will appeal more to college students," Lebelt said.

Bethea said they don't know what the theme of the new park will be at this time but that it will be similar to Lost Treasure Golf in North Myrtle Beach, which the three also own. Lost Treasure miniature golf has been open since 1994, Bethea said. He said Andrew Cooke, who is the general manager at Lost Treasure, will also oversee the new course at Fun World.

Owners hope to have the new golf course and restaurant open by early spring 2007.

Jack Hodges, who's partnered with Kenneth McDonald, said they plan to start construction on the townhouses in September. They hope to be done by June 2007.

Plans call for 20 or more buildings with between 104 and 112 units total. Each unit will have a one-car garage and the development will have a pool.

"The reason we decided to do townhouses is because other than single-family homes, there's almost nothing in the area with a closed garage," Hodges said. "We wanted to do an affordable townhouse with a garage east of [U.S.] 17."

They haven't decided on the selling price yet, but it will be affordable compared with other housing in the area, Hodges said.