A long-time Carolina Beach mini golf course will soon be gone.
Matt Murphy, the owner of Wilmington-based SECOF Construction Company, applied for a permit last week to demolish the Carolina Beach Mini Golf Course located on the Carolina Beach boardwalk.
Murphy purchased the land the golf course sits on about a year ago. Mini golf has been played on the site for decades, stretching back to the 1960s, according to Murphy. The course is still operational and was open to the public last weekend.
Murphy is demolishing the course to make way for amusement rides that could bring in more money.
“The golf course is 60 years old so it’s worn out and not profitable,” he said.
The demolition will free up about 5,000 square feet that Murphy plans to use for amusement rides this summer. Murphy owns the land that was used in past years for amusement rides in the area.
Under an executive order signed by Gov. Roy Cooper, outdoor amusement rides are able to open at 50% capacity with social distancing and other health guidelines.
The Carolina Beach Town Council unanimously approved a conditional use permit to allow amusement rides along the boardwalk at their Feb. 9 council meeting. The demolition would allow the park to open with an expanded footprint.
Although Murphy said there are currently no long-term plans for the site, it could be developed, according to Carolina Beach Planning Director Jeremy Hardison.
The site is located in Carolina Beach’s central business district and could be developed as a commercial or mixed use building with commercial on ground floor and residential above, Hardison noted in an email to the StarNews.
So far, Murphy said he hasn’t received any calls or other push back from Carolina Beach residents about the proposed demolition.
“(The course) is very old and weathered,” he said. “It doesn’t offer a whole lot of aesthetics or value to the residents at this point.”
Reporter Emma Dill can be reached at 910-343-2096 or edill@gannett.com.