A collection of properties along Howe Creek and the Intracoastal Waterway in New Hanover County now belongs to a family intent on preserving the unique compound.

Dolores Angel bought 30 acres worth of parcels, located in the 2500 block of Middle Sound Loop Road, for $17.5 million from Queens Point LLC, public records show. The six properties include marsh and wetlands, along with 12.5 acres of land, a 1940s-era house, a caretaker's home and docks on the water.

The Angels want to preserve the enclave referred to as Queens Point, protecting it from development for generations to come, a family representative said Monday.

Vance Young, a Realtor with Wilmington-based Intracoastal Realty Corp., represented the Angels in the transaction. He said the parcels hold moss-draped, centuries-old live oak trees that rival those of Airlie Gardens, along with "a spectacular elevated bluff." Young said the parcels also have "really stunning views" of the inlet to the ocean, the south end of Figure Eight Island and the north end of Wrightsville Beach, "as well as an incredible panoramic view of Howe Creek as it flows into the Intracoastal Waterway."

Young added, "Between the elevation and the trees, the setting is just magical. There’s no other word for it, and every time I go out there it just reinforces that incredible feeling and takes you back to what this area once was. It’s really the last significant parcel on the waterway in Southeastern North Carolina in my opinion."

County tax records show Dolores Angel and her husband, Stephen F. Angel, also own a home in Landfall, a neighborhood near their recent purchase. Stephen Angel is a member of the board of directors of GE and chairman of the board of Linde, a global industrial gasses and engineering company, according to the companies' websites.

State records say the seller entity belongs to partners Robert E. "Bobby" Long Jr., Kenneth "Ken" D. Miller and John L. Townsend III, who bought the property more than 20 years ago for nearly $5 million. Bobby Long is a businessman and philanthropist who helped rescue the PGA Tour stop in Greensboro in 2007, according to the Carolinas Golf Hall of Fame.

Buzzy Northen of Intracoastal Realty Corp. represented the sellers in the transaction. Technically, Queens Point could hold more than a dozen homes if developed, but Northen said, "The sellers chose the buyer because they were going to preserve the property.”

Like Young, Northen describes Queens Point as "iconic" real estate, saying, “It’s the most unique waterfront property in the Southeast.”

Young said the previous owners "were great stewards of the property, and although they could have sold the property for more money, they were very comfortable with the fact that the buyer had the same intentions."