County commissioners have agreed to return Brunswick River Park to Belville, opening the door for the town to proceed with a planned riverwalk project.
At their regular meeting Monday, commissioners voted unanimously to execute a deed transferring the park to the town, which originally deeded the park to the county more than a decade ago.
The park site—located across N.C. 133 from Belville Elementary School—is needed to accomplish the town’s plans for a riverwalk that would feature shops and public amenities. According to a release, the terms of the deed transfer ownership of the park “for recreational purposes or enhancing recreational purposes for all residents of Brunswick County.”
If the terms require completion of the project within five years; otherwise the park would revert back to the county. The same would occur if the site is not used for recreational purposes benefiting all county residents.
The release quotes commissioners Chairman Phil Norris as saying: “We are pleased to be working with the Town of Belville for their proposed project and hope they are successful. We feel we have taken the necessary precautions in the transfer of the property to protect the county’s interests and the citizens of the county, to make sure that it will continue to be operated as a park that will be accessible free-of-charge to everyone.”
The town is proposing a public-private venture that would add a riverwalk and amenities to an area once planned for a major revitalization project. That project—an urban mixed-use village proposed for Belville’s downtown district—was never realized, and the town has since proposed this alternative to enhancing its riverfront.
Related story: Hearing tonight on Belville request for conveyance of Brunswick River Park