The conditional use permit (CUP) for The Helm/Seascape project, a mixed-use development proposed for the vacant lots behind Johnnie Mercer’s Pier, is set to expire June 2015. During its March 12 meeting, the board of aldermen will decide whether to grant Tom Kievit of Coastal NC Real Estate, LLC’s request for a two-year permit extension.
Kievit’s application states the extension period “will be used to continue the process of refining the plan and finalizing development schedules and permits for a first class mixed-use development project.”
The original CUP was granted to Seascape at Wrightsville Beach, LLC in February 2007 for the Oceanview Resort project, a five level mixed-use development that conformed to the beach’s 40-foot height limit. The town set several conditions, including an onsite parking limit of 110 spaces and a ratio of no more than 90 percent residential and no less than 10 percent commercial.
Since then, the project proposal has changed several times and the CUP amended, first in August 2007 and then in October 2008. Each time, a public hearing was held and the CUP’s conditions were adjusted. The last amendment occurred Feb. 26, 2009, to allow for an elevated pool and terrace.
In recent years the permit has simply been extended, receiving a one-year extension in 2012 and a two-year extension in 2013.
Cameron Zurbruegg, a member of development partner Hendon Properties of Atlanta and part of Kievit’s team, spoke during a Jan. 30 phone interview about a new plan for the site, the Island Center, that would occupy approximately the same footprint as The Helm but include rooftop dining, self-contained parking and a mix of residential and commercial spaces. Zurbruegg cannot bring the proposal before the town because it exceeds the town’s height limit by 10 feet.
Wrightsville Beach Mayor Bill Blair said although he hasn’t seen those plans, a project like that could not be built using the current CUP, even if the town’s height ordinance was changed during the next two years.
To proceed with any plans other than The Helm project, Blair said, Kievit’s team would have to apply for another amendment to their CUP, a process that would include a public hearing.
“I don’t see a lot of risk in extending the permit in the hopes that something changes where they could build The Helm project, but I don’t think they will,” Blair said.
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