Developers have proposed big changes for the landmark Oceanana fishing pier and motel property.
The Atlantic Beach Town Council and Planning Board received a major site plan submission Tuesday at a joint meeting in the town hall boardroom on the proposed redevelopment. The owners of the Oceanana Motel, Pier House and manufactured home park at 700 East Fort Macon Road are hoping to redevelop the property by removing most of the existing structures and building 17 townhouses, 127 condominium units, a new pier house and a swimming pool.
The existing ocean fishing pier, the last one in Atlantic Beach, will remain.
Mayor Trace Cooper is one of the owners of this property and abstained from attending the meeting Tuesday. He said Thursday he and the other owners of the property have been considering redevelopment for about 15 years.
“The current Oceanana consists of a motel, a mobile home park and the pier house,” he said. “All of these structures have been sitting on the oceanfront for about 60 years and are no longer in good shape…We think it’s time to seriously consider investing in new buildings instead of putting expensive Band-aids on the old buildings.”
Town Planning and Zoning Director Michelle Eitner presented the board and council with the proposed major site plan Tuesday and said it was the first time the board or the council had seen it.
“They’ll do some upkeep and maintenance to the pier, but that’s the only thing that will stay (from the existing structures),” she said.
Mayor Cooper said developers wanted to include a hotel as part of the project, but they don’t think it’s viable due to construction costs, the hotel market’s seasonal nature and the current lending environment.
“We’re still hoping to include a hotel and may add it back in the future,” he said.
The mayor said the new Oceanana will have the same family focus, regardless of redevelopment, and the pier house and pier will remain open to the general public.
“When my grandfather opened the Oceanana in 1959, he marked it as the ‘family playground of the south,’” Mayor Cooper said. “We plan to maintain that vision, but with modern facilities that are more in keeping with what families expect today.”
Even if the site plan is approved, work won’t begin for some time yet. Mayor Cooper said they’re at least a year from starting any construction, which will likely take place in phases.
The boards opened the public comment period on the major site plan Tuesday, and due to electronic meeting requirements, the comment period was recessed for an additional 24 hours to allow written comments to be submitted. Town Manager David Walker told the News-Times Wednesday afternoon town officials had received “a couple emails.”
“We’ll hold off taking action until the (council) work session on (Thursday) Dec. 10,” Mr. Walker said. The work session is scheduled for 2 p.m. that day in the town hall boardroom.
Both the council and planning board expressed support for the proposal. However, Councilman Austin Waters said he’s an adjacent landowner near the Oceanana property and both he and another adjacent property owner are concerned about the proposed location of the project’s package treatment plant. The plant is proposed for the northwestern corner of the property, directly on East Fort Macon Road.
“It’s not a desirable thing to have a treatment plant next to residential (property),” Mr. Waters said. “This is a great-looking project, I’d just like something to be considered for that waste treatment plant. It’s just me and this one (other) guy that will be affected; the whole neighborhood will be affected.”
Mr. Waters said he thinks locating the plant on the eastern side of the property, where it won’t be next to residential property, would be preferable.
Atlantic Beach resident Molly Brown also spoke during the public hearing. Ms. Brown, who also lives just west of the Oceanana property, said Tuesday afternoon was the first she’d heard about the proposed project.
“It concerns me this waste treatment plant will be next to the house my husband and I just bought,” Ms. Brown said.
Atlantic Beach resident Susan Hatchell spoke favorably about the initiative. She said she was “really thrilled the pier will be retained,” however she also voiced concern the project might be “cramped” and “over-developed.”
“I think if you scaled it back, that would be good,” Ms. Hatchell said.
Atlantic Beach residents Arun and Patti Dewasthali said in an email Wednesday to town officials they too are concerned about the treatment plant’s proposed location. They also voiced concerns about stormwater runoff coming from the property, potential noise levels, parking lights shining in their windows and the potential for driving accidents that might hit their home on Dobbs Street.
Ms. Eitner said the Oceanana owners held an online neighborhood meeting via Zoom the weekend of Nov. 28-29 to discuss the proposed project. She said in addition to the concerns about the treatment plant location, others voiced concerns about potential light pollution.
Ms. Eitner said some concerns were voiced by mobile home park unit owners that they were “caught off guard” by this announcement. However, she said the developers have confirmed the re-development project is “in their lease that it’s going to happen.”
“I believe this developer has taken the steps to make sure this isn’t blindsiding people,” Ms. Eitner said.
Mayor Cooper said he thinks the proposed project was “well received” during the Zoom meeting.
“I think most neighbors are eager to see the old buildings and mobile homes replaced with new structures,” he said. The mayor also said mobile home park residents were first notified about the potential for redevelopment “over 10 years ago.”
“We sent out a letter a couple years ago,” Mayor Cooper said, “letting them know that we were starting to plan the redevelopment. Our leases contain a provision stating that redevelopment is possible and describing what happens when we decide to redevelop.”
The mayor said he does believe the mobile home park residents are disappointed the time may be finally coming.
“We have a great community there and are sorry that we may lose some of our residents as neighbors,” Mayor Cooper said. “But we’re working on a plan – likely some sort of discount – to encourage our current residents to become owners in the new Oceanana.
Read the full story here.
Related Links
If there is a home that you would like more information about, if you are considering selling a property, or if you have questions about the housing market in your neighborhood, please reach out. We’re here to help.
