In January, the town of Carolina Beach announced plans to buy nine parcels of land in the town’s bustling boardwalk area.
The Carolina Beach Town Council unanimously approved the purchase as part of a mediated settlement agreement with Carolina Beach Land Holdings LLC, the current landowner. But months later, the purchase remains on hold as the town waits for a property appraisal.
The proposed purchase would include nine tracts that encompass the footprint of a seasonal amusement park.
“The property that those rides are on, the town has an offer in to purchase those,” said Carolina Beach Mayor Lynn Barbee. “It really hasn’t moved much, because we’re waiting on the property owner to come up with an appraisal that justifies the price that they want.”
That delay in appraisal stems, in part, from the history of the land in the boardwalk area, Barbee said.
“The boardwalk was cut up into these little, tiny parcels … because back in the day, people were setting up a little cotton candy stand or selling snow cones,” he said. “It’s hard to get valuations down there because when you look at just that one little piece of property, you say, ‘Well, this can’t be worth much.’”
“The value is in the cumulative,” he added. “Now, you’ve got a bigger piece of property you could do something with, so it has to have more value. And that’s really been the sticky part.”
According to property records from New Hanover County, the parcels have a combined tax value of more than $5.7 million.
If the properties don’t appraise at $15 million, Barbee said, the town would reconsider its purchase. If they do appraise for $15 million, town officials would begin the process of obtaining the financing.
The land deal stemmed from a mediated settlement of a lawsuit between Carolina Beach Land Holdings LLC, owned by Ken Cofer and Matt Murphy, and the town of Carolina Beach. The lawsuit, filed in 2023, centered on the town’s claim to an easement on a 0.02-acre tract along the town’s boardwalk. Cofer did not respond to a request for comment before publication deadline.
Barbee said he would like to see the property used as an oceanfront park that could accommodate the town’s community events, such as weekly fireworks shows and concerts. Currently, the town has had to spread its events out, hosting family nights, movie nights, the farmers market and more at Carolina Beach Lake because of a lack of space along the boardwalk.
“We’re hoping, if we could acquire this property, that we could expand that stage area, put some more open space out there,” Barbee said. “We would probably end up using some portion of it for parking, but that’s not really the goal.”
If the purchase goes through, Barbee said the town would work with a park designer to determine the “best use” of the property and create a master plan.
“We’d like to see that place be the area where everybody congregates,” Barbee said.
Read more on Pleasure Island:
Town’s History Stretches a Century
Beach Hotel Sails into New Chapter
Town Aims to Buy Boardwalk-Area Parcels
