The students in Professor Taylor Damonte's resort tourism planning class at Coastal Carolina University have created development plans for a hypothetical 80-acre site in North Myrtle Beach. Seven teams of students will present their proposals on Thursday, Nov. 20 from 1 to 4:30 p.m. in Wall Auditorium. The event is open to the public.

Although the plans the students produce are academic exercises, Damonte works with city planners and industry professionals to create a realistic development site case. This semester the assigned tract of land is bound by the Intracoastal Waterway, U.S. 17 and the new North Myrtle Beach Main Street Connector, which is scheduled to open in July, 2009.

The students will address a range of factors including market demand, financial feasibility from the perspective of both the developer and city government, along with quality of life issues. Design elements chosen by some of the students include tennis and other sports facilities, a boardwalk, a marina, a convention center, shopping and lodging facilities, and even a casino.

For more information, contact Damonte, director of Coastal Carolina University's Clay Brittain Jr. Center for Resort Tourism, at 843-349-2698.