By Staff
Project doesn’t have bypass bridge concerns
By MIKE VOSS
Contributing Editor
Work on the Marina at Moss Landing is under way, and that has some people puzzled.
In-water work on the U.S. Highway 17 Bypass bridge across the Tar River is prohibited, at least for now, until June 15. That moratorium was implemented to protect some species of fish as they migrate upriver to spawn. State policy requires that activities, including pile-driving work, potentially creating an environment not conducive to spawning be suspended until spawning season concludes.
Efforts continue in an attempt to relax the moratorium’s restrictions so in-water work on the bridge may resume.
The projects are about a mile from each other. There’s a relatively simple reason the marina project is moving forward and work on the bridge is on hold, said Michele Walker, spokeswoman for the N.C. Division of Coastal Management.
The marina project is being allowed to proceed because its scope of work is much smaller than the bypass bridge project, Walker said.
The use of smaller pile-driving equipment and smaller pilings for the marina poses significantly less threat to spawning fish than the much larger bypass bridge project, she explained.
Walker said the marina project and bypass project went through the same permitting process, which included reviews by 14 regulatory agencies. If one of those agencies had raised concerns about the effects of the marina project on migrating fish, the marina project’s permit would have included conditions addressing that issue, Walker said. Not one agency raised such concerns, she said.
The Moss Landing and Marina at Moss Landing projects are being developed and managed by Progress Partners, of which Stan Friedman is the managing partner.
The marina will be built in three, possibly four, phases, Friedman said Tuesday. It is being built by Rowboat Dock &Dredge in Mooresville.
Boat slips will be available to Moss Landing buyers for lease or rent, with remaining slips offered for lease or rent to nonresidents in a priority order.
The marina will feature floating docks, electrical connections and 92 slips up to 50-feet long.
The marina is an important selling point when it comes to potential Moss Landing residents and a major reason people are buying homes at the development, Friedman said.
Moss Landing’s residential units include villas and townhouses.
The villas — buildings that house condominiums — hold seven residential units each. Those units range from 1,500 to almost 2,200 square feet. The third-floor penthouse on each villa is in excess of 3,200 square feet.
Townhouses, also known as townes, are individual residential units that range in size from 2,177 to 2,586 square feet. Their styles reflect homes in Washington’s Historic District.
The condominiums and townhouses range in price from $400,000 to $1.2 million each, according to the Moss Landing Web site. Twenty-one of the 86 residential units have been built.
The Moss Landing project includes walkways that will extend from the mainland over the city wetlands project and connect to an existing public boardwalk. The boardwalk will remain open to the public.
Cutline for corresponding photo: Workers remove an old piling Tuesday morning as they construct a boat dock at The Marina at Moss Landing. (WDN Photo/Paul Dunn)