News Release »
| Michael F. Easley, Governor | William G. Ross, Jr., Secretary |
| N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources |  |
| Release: Immediate | Contact: Charlie Peek | |
| Date: 2008-04-21 | Phone: (919) 715-8709 |
Coastal Education Center to be built at Fort Macon State Park
RALEIGH -- The state parks system will begin construction in May on a 22,547-square-foot coastal education and visitor center at Fort Macon State Park in Carteret County, according to the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation. A groundbreaking ceremony will be held at the park April 27 at 1:30 p.m.
Similar in function to visitor centers built at 18 state parks and state recreation areas since 1994, the Fort Macon facility will be devoted to environmental education about North Carolina’s fragile coastal ecology, offering 4,000 square feet of exhibit space, a teaching auditorium and conference room, along with administrative offices.
“Fort Macon is our second oldest state park and among our busiest with more than 1.2 million visitors in 2007, and that presents a tremendous opportunity to teach the natural history of our coast alongside the military history of the fort itself,” said Lewis Ledford, director of the division. “This center has also been designed to showcase certified green building techniques and serve as a model of stewardship in the coastal environment.”
The coastal education and visitor center was designed to meet sustainability standards of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program of the United States Green Building Council. It will have features such as rainwater collection and low-flow water systems, recycled construction materials and preferred parking for alternative fuel vehicles.
The center’s brick-and-block design will reflect that of the182-year-old fort, which was fully restored in 1999-03. The building site is just southeast of the fort and near existing parking areas expanded during that restoration.
The project has had strong support from Friends of Fort Macon, a nonprofit group active in securing exhibits and supporting education at the park. The project represents an investment of $8.2 million from the Parks and Recreation Trust Fund, the principal funding source for state park capital projects and land acquisition.
The construction period is expected to be 18 months. The designer of record is Hobbs Architecture of Pittsboro. General contractor is Daniels & Daniels Construction Co. of Goldsboro.
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