Following on upgrades made earlier this year, the Wrightsville Beach Historic Landmark Commission approved a series of changes for the Carolina Yacht Club on Monday, but wouldn’t let the club remove a door from the office area.
The commission, which must approve any changes that affect the appearance of any of the town’s 21 historically designated buildings, will let the yacht club make several changes to the men’s locker room space and add screen doors to the doors in both locker room areas.
The changes to the men’s room will mirror changes approved by the commission in January for the women’s locker room. Those changes will include installing new windows on the building’s north side, one of which is enlarging an existing windows, and will make it uniform with the changes to the women’s locker room made earlier this year. The club was also permitted to add new storm shutters for the windows, which commission members said reflected the classic design, as well as add screen doors to the doorframes on both locker rooms.
“I don’t think looking at it from a historic nature, that anyone will notice the difference,” said commission member Nancy Faye Craig.
The locker room buildings are west of the club’s seaside cottage and are visible from Waynick Boulevard. However, the commission did deny one request from the Carolina Yacht Club, despite the change not being visible from the street.
The commission rejected the club’s request to remove a door and add a window by the club’s administrative office, located behind the men’s locker room and not visible from the street. The club is remodeling the office and wouldn’t use the door under the new design, club manager Kevin Smith said. The commission said the club could make changes, but that it must keep the same configuration of doors and windows along the wall.
The Carolina Yacht Club, originally built in 1853 and rebuilt after 1955’s Hurricane Hazel, is the first establishment constructed in Wrightsville Beach. Buildings that are granted historical status are subject to only half of the local property taxes, but any changes to the exterior of the building must be approved by the commission.
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