Morehead City's Next Waterfront Park Sits Inside a Housing Development, and That's Why It's Still an "If"

"What about when people come to walk on the trail, where are they going to park? Wherever they can."

City Manager Chris Turner said that at an April 2025 public meeting about the proposed Spooners Creek nature park, according to the Carteret County News-Times. He was explaining that the park would have no on-site parking, bathrooms or other amenities. The remark also shows how the park came about. The land is not a stand-alone city parcel. It is shoreline inside the Spooner's Cove property at 300 Bryan Street, a site the city has already approved for homes and a marina. The park depends on that development: if the city buys a slice of it, the park exists.

When Morehead City announced a $500,000 state grant on September 11, 2026, it sounded like a park was on the way. The grant moves things forward. Whether the park happens still depends on the development around it.

One Property, Two Plans for the Same Shoreline

The site covers about 48 acres off Bryan Street near Highway 24. In April 2024, the Morehead City Council rezoned it from R-20, a low-density single-family designation, to Commercial and Residential Development. The council also approved a sketch plan with 82 residential lots, one commercial lot, and 62 boat slips along Spooners Creek, the News-Times reported.

Under that first plan, boat slips would have lined the creek. The park idea grew out of trying to change that. In 2025, Morehead City Grants Manager Kelli Jones described the goal as buying about 23 acres of riparian shoreline within the 48-acre development site. The most recent appraisal at the time put the land at $6.9 million.

The Trade at the Center of the Deal

The park depends on an agreement with Spooner's Cove developer Zac Everhart. According to Jones, Everhart agreed to scale back his development plan if the city could raise the money for the shoreline. That meant a smaller marina, moved to an upland basin "to avoid the salt marshes associated with the shoreline we are trying to acquire."

In the city's version, the marsh edge becomes public land with conservation restrictions attached. "If we are able to make them happen it would make this space permanently undeveloped," Jones said, speaking of the grants. She also said no money from the city budget would go toward the purchase, and that the city would own and manage the park.

She also described a fallback. If the city could not secure the funding, the land would be developed under the original plan. She said that in 2025, before the council approved the current, smaller layout. It still shows that the park was always tied to whether the money came through.

The city names the NC Coastal Federation among its partners on the purchase. In 2025, WCTI quoted Braxton Davis, whom it identified as executive director of the Coastal Carolina Federation, describing the property as a rare area of maritime forest and wetlands. "We have an opportunity to protect all that and give folks a place for nature trails, fishing and observation," Davis said.

How the Plan Got Smaller, Step by Step

The development has kept moving through approvals while the park money was still being raised. In order:

1. April 2024. Council rezones 300 Bryan St. and approves the 82-lot, 62-slip sketch plan.
2. April 24, 2025. About 45 people attend a city public meeting on the proposed park. The city has $1 million from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, plus pending applications of $3.5 million to the NC Land and Water Fund and $1 million to PARTF. Jones names summer 2026 as the target for buying the land.
3. January 13, 2026. By a 4-1 vote, council approves a sketch-plan amendment that lowers the maximum from 82 homes to 71, the News-Times reported. Lee Stiles casts the dissenting vote.
4. June 9, 2026. Council votes 5-0 to approve the Site Development Master Plan for 71 residential lots and one commercial lot. Ron Cullipher of The Cullipher Group tells council the permits are in place to start Phase 1 construction on the north side of the site. When a council member asks about the park grant, Planning and Development Director Sandi Watkins says the city should know by the end of August.
5. September 11, 2026. The city announces the $500,000 PARTF award, which brings total state and federal commitments to $1.7 million.

The approved marina holds up to 68 slips, all reserved for lot owners, according to the News-Times. City plan materials from May 2026 describe the upland 68-slip marina as "Alternative A." The current plan has about the same number of slips as the first one. What changed is where the marina sits relative to the marsh.

Why the Acreage Changes Depending on Where You Read It

Four public statements since 2025 have given three different sizes for the park.

The city's own September notice says the park's size, boundaries, design and purchase cannot be settled yet. Once the city confirms the deal can go forward, an official survey will set the boundaries. Until that survey is done, no single acreage figure is final. The city itself has used both numbers within a month, giving 18 acres in the September 11 notice and 23 in the mayor's October newsletter message. The $6.9 million appraisal from 2025 was for the 23-acre version.

The Approvals Still Ahead

The News-Times called the PARTF award the last major funding hurdle for buying the land. Money is not the only open question, though. The city notice says Spooner's Cove is still going through federal permit reviews, and those reviews will help decide whether the purchase is feasible.

Planning Board records from May 19, 2026 explain that wording. Phase 1 already had a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit. Corps permits for Phases 2 and 3 were still outstanding, and the developer told the board he was waiting on Corps approval and final state 401 certification for the marina and the Spooners Creek dredging. At the same meeting, Cullipher said the CAMA permit for the marina had been issued.

The timing works like this. Phase 1 can be built on the north side of the property now. The shoreline the city wants is tied to the later phases and the marina, and those still need federal approval. So construction near Highway 24 could start while the park is still undecided.

A Park Built Like a Trail

If the deal closes, the park would be small and simple. In 2025, Jones described "passive recreation elements" such as a nature trail, a walking trail and picnic tables, with minimal effect on the surrounding environment. Turner compared it to the Neusiok Trail near Newport. Councilman William Taylor compared it to the wooded nature trail at Fort Macon State Park: "It's a natural path. That is the lightest use you can have for a piece of land." The September coverage repeated that the city plans a "light footprint" with no on-site parking or bathrooms.

At the April 2025 meeting, one audience member answered the Fort Macon comparison right away:

"But it's not in a neighborhood."

Another pointed out that Fort Macon has a large parking lot at each end of its trail. The News-Times described the room's mood as a mix of frustration over Spooner's Cove and hope that the park would soften its impact. Several Mitchell Village residents raised traffic and overdevelopment concerns. Others said the scaled-back plan beat the original, while still disliking the dredging needed for boat slips. A Council-level traffic question came up again in 2026. An intersection analysis of Highway 24 and Bryan Street by the engineering firm DRMP recommended no road improvements because of the development.

Mayor Lee Stiles framed the park as an addition for the surrounding area. "This project will be a great environmental addition to the Mitchell Village community," he wrote in the grant announcement. He said it would protect coastal wetlands and maritime forest habitat while "creating public access to an area along Spooners Creek." The city has not described a kayak launch or other boat access in any material reviewed here. The development itself plans a private marina, and the developer has asked to pay a fee in lieu of dedicating a public water access area, due before the final plat is recorded.

This is the second Morehead City park proposal in a year. The first was downtown. Project Grander, which included the possible purchase of the Red Fish Grill property on Evans Street, was halted in January 2026 after public criticism, WITN reported. Spooners Creek works differently. The city would buy from a developer who agreed to the deal, using grant money with conservation restrictions attached. The city says it will post official updates as the federal reviews and survey move forward.

If you own on or near Spooners Creek and want to talk through what the park and Spooner's Cove could mean for your street, New Bern Property Group follows Carteret County waterfront projects like this one through every permit and vote. Schedule a free consultation and we will go over the latest filings with you.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.