Frisco Pier Contract Expires

Date: October 24, 2013
Contact: Outer Banks Group, 252-475-9034

Since the 1960s, Cape Hatteras Fishing Pier, also known as the Frisco Pier, provided recreational fishing and sightseeing opportunities on the shores of Cape Hatteras National Seashore.The pier was last fully operational, under Concessions Contract No. CC-CAHA002-98 (Contract), in 2008, with the exception of a brief period in 2010 when it opened and then closed after a short time because of safety and structural concerns.Over the past several years, the pier suffered storm damage, resulting in large sections falling into the Atlantic Ocean.Due to the pier's continued destabilization, the National Park Service (NPS) has decided to permanently cease commercial pier operations at this location.

In the event of contract expiration where operations are discontinued, the NPS must compensate the commercial operator for their ownership interest, also known in the contract as possessory interest.The compensation is for the structures used in the commercial operation that are affixed to NPS land, but assigned to the operator under the contract. These structures consist of the Frisco Pier, pier house, and parking lot.The NPS has worked with Mr. Eliot Tod Gaskill, owner of the company contracted to operate Frisco Pier, to reach agreement on the possessory interest value of the structures.A final agreement was reached on September 16, 2013.

Now that the NPS owns all interest in the structures, a project will soon be in place to remove the damaged pier and associated pier house.A timeline for removal is expected in the next couple of months.

Additionally, Mr. Gaskill agreed to sell Cape Hatteras Pier Drive, the access road connecting N.C. Highway 12 to the entrance of the pier parking lot, to the NPS.Once the closing process is completed, the NPS will begin work to repair the road and parking lot, which will provide public access to the beaches of Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

-NPS-