Holden Beach pavilion to be demolished, residents respond

HOLDEN BEACH, NC (WWAY) — Since 2010, the Holden Beach Pavilion has hosted concerts and events on the island.  

After an engineer declared the structure unsafe, the town’s board of commissioners voted to demolish it at their March 19 meeting. Commissioners said the report revealed the cost of repairing the pavilion would be more than the cost to rebuild.  

“That’s been a very popular spot for many years now and hopefully they rebuild in this same area close to the restaurants cause it really helps us out quite a bit,” Co-Owner of neighboring Dock House Seafood Chris Politis said. 

Politis said he worries about losing the foot traffic the pavilion brings during the summer.  

“It really brings in entertainment for the tourists and it gives them something to do, and it’s a good thing,” he said. 

Resident Jonathan Hedgpeth helped build the pavilion and said he is disappointed to hear of its demolition.  

“Some friends of mine, we built that thing about 14 years ago and to hear the news that it’s going away is pretty sad,” he said. 

However, this is not the first time the safety of the structure has come under concern. In 2010, a structural engineer found the structure “woefully inadequate.” 

Then, in 2011, the pavilion was at the center of an investigation by state code enforcement according to reporting from the Star News. The investigation found that the structure had several code violations. Repairs were made, but the most recent report found it was not enough to save it. 

Still, Hedgpeth feels that many residents will be sad to see it go.  

“It brings a lot of people together, you know,” he said. “It’s a summertime fling for people. A lot of people get together and like to dance and listen to beach music.”  

 Though Politis added it’s better to rebuild than risk a potentially dangerous situation.  

“It’s a little upsetting, but you know, the rules are rules,” he said. 

At their March 19 meeting, commissioners expressed that the pavilion would be rebuilt, but no concrete plans have been announced. 

We reached out to several officials with the town, but none responded to our requests for comment as of Monday evening.