Neal also hopes to have a cell phone tower erected on the platform. "Top-end" users could fly in for a week or weekend and enjoy a private fishing vacation, Neal said. Neal said the light tower could offer overnight stays to charter fishing expeditions and divers who frequent Frying Pan Shoals, offer a safe haven for boaters and a helipad for use in medical emergencies. Neal said he's received support from "a lot of folks who want to help put it back into order." Those include electricians, plumbers and other skilled craftsmen willing to donate their time to refurbish the tower. Many people have an affinity for the rusting platform, which has two floors and 5,000 square feet of living space that includes five bedrooms, a kitchen, office, storage area, recreation area and toilet facilities. Imagination is what was fired within Neal when he became aware of the light tower's availability. "You can imagine an offshore light that resembles a drill rig is not a prime sale item," Mancuso said. "He would need to renovate that to the point where people could access it safely," said Louis Mancuso, GSA project manager for property disposal. Neal "can do what he wants to" with the tower, subject to state and federal regulations. The second-highest bidder also declined to purchase the tower, which reverted back to the GSA. Neal's successful bid of $85,000 was considerably less than the $515,000 offered for the light tower in 2008 by a South Carolina man who later declined to complete the purchase because he was not allowed to inspect the tower and was unsure of its condition. He hopes to take formal possession next week and plans to inspect the tower at that time with the aid of a local charter boat captain. Neal, 50, is a licensed pilot who has flown over the structure but has not yet set foot on it. "What we're really hoping to do is restore it so people can have access to it again," Neal said. An executive summary by structural engineers who made the inspection reaches the same general conclusions, finding that "primary structural elements" of the tower are in "satisfactory" condition. He said a recent Coast Guard-commissioned structural assessment supports the contention that it is basically sound. Neal sees a variety of uses for the tower, including as a unique type of bed-and-breakfast establishment supported by four massive steel legs. GPS and buoys rendered the tower obsolete, and the Coast Guard turned the nautical landmark over to the GSA to be sold. In fact, a federal General Services Administration spokesman said Neal was the only bidder for the modified 80-foot steel oil drilling platform, which was used by the Coast Guard as an aid to navigation from 1966 until about eight years ago.
The Charlotte man was the successful bidder in a sealed bid sale May 13 for the well-known nautical landmark about 25 miles southeast of Southport. Richard Neal speaks with unbridled enthusiasm when he talks about restoring the Frying Pan Shoals Light Tower. GPS and buoys rendered the tower obsolete, and the Coast Guard turned the nautical landmark over to the GSA to be sold The modified 80-foot steel oil drilling platform was used by the Coast Guard as an aid to navigation from 1966 until about eight years ago.
Buyer has ambitious plans for Frying Pan Shoals Tower
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