Four waterfront projects in Dare County remain under consideration for funding by the state through the Waterfront Access and Marine Industry Fund.

State leaders created the $20 million Waterfront Access and Marine Industry Fund last summer.  Administered by the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), the fund supports the purchase of coastal waterfront properties and the development of public and commercial waterfront access facilities.

The state Advisory Committee for the Coordination of Waterfront Access within the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources selected 23 of 159 proposed projects for further consideration at a meeting on Dec.18.

The projects had already been reviewed by a citizen advisory committee appointed by DMF and an internal DMF committee.

The Dare County projects include the purchase of the 18-acre site in Buxton where the closed Pilot House Restaurant sits, the property on the south side of the harbor in Avon owned, in part, by Clarence Gibbs, and the marina in Manns Harbor owned by Outdoor Properties III, LLC.

The fourth project is a request for $2 million to assist the North Carolina Aquariums Division with replacement of the old Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head with a concrete fishing pier.  The state aquariums have requested an additional $2 million from the fund for planning and site development for a new pier on Emerald Isle.

DMF has asked proposal coordinators to submit formal presentations by Feb. 15.  The DMF citizen advisory committee, an internal DMF committee, and the state coordinating committee will review those presentations.  Louis Daniel, DMF director, is expected to announce the projects approved for funding by early spring.

In the request for formal presentations, DMF noted that multi-use facilities that benefit multiple user groups would receive priority consideration.

“The multi-use aspect is key.  The projects should benefit as many people as possible, not only recreational users but also commercial fishing and marine trades,” said Gordon Myers, deputy director of the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (WRC).

Myers submitted the proposal for the property in Buxton.

“With 18 acres and the large building that housed the restaurant, there’s tremendous potential there,” he said.

He said the property could support recreational access as well as slips, gear storage, and unloading sites for commercial fishermen.

Myers said a Coastal Area Management Act permit already authorizes a limited amount of dredging in Pamlico Sound near the property, but acknowledged that the distance from the site to Hatteras Inlet diminished its value to ocean-going boats.

“The site might not be ideal for larger fishing boats.  It’d be more appropriate for shallow draft boats that work in the sound,” he said.

Myers said potential funding partners for the project might include Dare County, the Division of Coastal Management, and the Clean Water Management Trust Fund.

“Although the proposal hasn’t received official approval from any boards, we’ve met with the staff of these groups and the response has been very favorable,” he noted.

The Buxton property is currently owned by Ernest Aubrey Murden of Ocean Sound LLC in Portsmouth, Va., and is listed for sale at almost $11 million by Cape Hatteras Realty and Construction

Myers said he believed the state could obtain the property for “significantly less” than the listed price.

In addition to the four projects in Dare County, four other projects in the northeast region of the state are under consideration.  

Those projects include the purchase of two acres next to Fishermen’s Wharf in Swan Quarter, expansion of a WRC boat ramp facility in Columbia, construction of boat slips on Department of Transportation property in Tyrrell County, and purchase of property in Engelhard for expansion of the Wanchese Seafood Industrial Park.