WECT TV6 - WECT.com - Wilmington, NC news and weather - Council Hopes to Help Revitalize Carolina Beach Boardwalk
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CAROLINA BEACH -- As temperatures rise, more tourists and residents are flocking to the beach. Now one long-time resident says he has a plan to help keep folks on Carolina Beach's boardwalk, and that plan is picking up steam.
Daniel Norris' family has been in Carolina Beach for generations and remembers the boardwalk when he was a child.
"It was the place to go. You could eat dinner, buy clothes. You could do anything you wanted to do," he said.
Over the years, the area has changed. Now some buildings stand empty.
But the town council is looking at plans to revitalize the area and bring people back to the boardwalk.
"I think it can happen again," said Mayor Bill Clark. "The crowds are picking up. Our room occupancy has been on the increase for three years now. It's hopping at the beach. This is only going to be a spark for better things to happen."
Norris hopes the town will plan for the future by looking to the past.
"Amusement park, restaurant... I would like to see it go backwards to being more of a hub than it is now," he said.
Plans are already in the works for a new hotel that will stand where the ocean plaza - a once-popular spot for dancing and music - once was. Next, the council will discuss plans to bring an amusement park to the old site of the Astor Hotel.
"We're just looking for a lot of improvements to come to the area," Clark said.
Reported by Sarah Warlick
