Sunday, December 18, 2005

Long Beach Pier Farewell

Dozens of hurricanes left their marks and Floyd was even able to virtually destroy it, but the Long Beach Pier was always repaired and welcomed fishermen to the southeastern NC coast. Now after 50 years, North Carolina's longest pier at 1,000 feet is falling victim to a far more powerful force, Oak Island's development. The pier, tackle shop, camp grounds, restaurant, and bar will all be demolished to make room for a new condo development project that should be finalized in late January. Owner Tommy Thomes explained that at some point the property just became more valuable than the business. Tommy is planning a big New Year's Eve celebration as a send off for the pier and if you are in the area it could make for a fun evening. While we certainly understand the pressures that drive sales like this one, but at what point do we do we try more aggressively to slow development? No one wants North Carolina's coast to be a place where no buildings are more than 5 years old.

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