North Charleston, Myrtle Beach share ‘Project Blue’ secrets

Maybe the folks in North Charleston and Myrtle Beach who choose code names for secret economic development projects share the same favorite color.

North Charleston is working on a deal code-named Project Blue. So is the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation, working with Horry County.

North Charleston’s project remains tightly under wraps. City Council tentatively approved unspecified economic development incentives at a meeting Thursday, and officials would disclose no information about the project or the incentives.

Horry County’s Project Blue, meanwhile, has been delayed by controversy, following newspaper reports that an executive involved with the plan to create a 1,020-job call center operation had spent time in federal prison for conspiracy to commit income tax evasion.

So is North Charleston pursuing that same project?

“If Myrtle Beach’s Project Blue is dealing with a call center, then it’s not the same as our Project Blue,” said North Charleston spokesman Ryan Johnson. “It’s just a coincidence.”

Brad Lofton, president of the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation, confirmed that the Horry County project is a call center.

“It’s not uncommon for counties to have similar-named projects that are totally different,” he said. “I’ve seen that happen on a number of occasions.”

“We need to do a little better of a job of it, I guess,” Lofton said.

North Charleston particularly seems to like “blue” as a code name.

A decade ago, Project Blue Bell was the moniker for efforts to lure a 3,000-job DaimlerChrysler cargo van plant to the city.

Reach David Slade at 937-5552 or Twitter @DSladeNews.