The Carolina Beach Boardwalk area is gearing up for a season of change.
This fall, town officials plan to close on the $12 million purchase of nine parcels of land in the boardwalk area, while the first phase of a new hotel is set to break ground on the boardwalk’s north end. Meanwhile, a social district proposal and conversations around a new zoning district nearby could help shape the area’s future.
According to Carolina Beach Mayor Lynn Barbee, town officials expect to go before the N.C. Local Government Commission in September for financing approval for the land purchase. The town can then close on the property, Barbee said, which is currently occupied by seasonal amusement rides.
Barbee would like to see the site develop as a community hub – a place to hold concerts, markets and outdoor movie screenings. The town will develop a formal plan for the area, with feedback from the public, once the transaction closes, Barbee added.
Jim DeGilio, executive director of the Pleasure Island Chamber of Commerce, said he hopes the land buy will create a “true center of town” that draws tourists and locals and results in more foot traffic for businesses in the boardwalk area.
DeGilio sees the development of the SpringHill Suites Carolina Beach, a new 140-room hotel that will anchor the boardwalk’s north end, as another boost for tourism.
“It brings more people that aren’t necessarily familiar with Carolina Beach. They may be there for a business event or a family reunion or a wedding,” DeGilio said. “Our hope is that when they leave, they look at the town in a positive light and decide to return for leisure travel.”
The hotel developer, Harmony Hospitality, has started applying for permits, said Jeremy Hardison, Carolina Beach’s community development director. Harmony officials plan to begin construction on the project’s first phase, an oceanfront amenity pavilion, this fall, with the hotel to follow.
One of the owners of Malama Cafe, LeeAnn Tluchowski, said a new hotel, especially one with conference space like the SpringHill Suites, is a positive for boardwalk area businesses like hers. It also gives the town the potential to generate more in future room occupancy taxes.
Roger Monk, one of the owners of restaurant The Tropical, said he hopes the hotel will bring more conferences and visitors to the boardwalk area, especially in the off-season when Carolina Beach becomes a “ghost town.”
“It is almost a shut-off valve come the end of September,” Monk said about visitors in the area.
Monk has helped lead a conversation about bringing a social district to Carolina Beach. Social districts allow people to buy an alcoholic drink at a participating establishment and consume it anywhere within a designated area.
He made a presentation to the Carolina Beach Town Council earlier this year about the potential for a district. Still, he said conversations about the specifics are currently on hold during a busy summer tourism season.
Near the boardwalk area, the town is proposing a new commercial transition district that could allow for more mixed-use development in the 200 block of Cape Fear Boulevard, Hardison said. The town’s 2020 Land Use Plan identifies the block as an area for higher-density, mixed-use development.
The proposed rezoning faced questions from the town’s planning and zoning commission in July, and the town council is set to hold a public hearing on the item this month, Hardison said.
As parts of the boardwalk area evolve, Barbee said he sees the changes as a way of increasing the area’s walkability and draw for visitors and residents alike.
“I’d love to see it back the way it was many years ago, where a family would come and spend several hours, and it would be this neat little place where you could have dinner and go shopping and (there was) something for the kids to do,” Barbee said. “It’s our city center is what it comes down to.”
