RODANTHE, N.C. — Three oceanfront houses in Rodanthe that are in danger of collapsing into the Atlantic, including the well-known Black Pearl, are lined up for a voluntary buyout and demolition backed by $1.05 million in public money.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is putting up $793,000 and North Carolina is adding $258,000, said Barton Grover, grants and waterways administrator for Dare County. The county does not have to contribute.
The federal share came in a FEMA news release on Oct. 22 that sent North Carolina upward of $101 million spread across 52 recovery projects. In that list, Dare County was slated for upward of $793,000 to purchase flood-damaged property, and Pamlico County drew upward of $284,000 for a mitigation rebuild. The money flows through the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program, which helps local governments buy hazard-prone homes before disaster strikes.
The Black Pearl sits at 22909 N.C. Highway 12 in the Mirlo Beach area at the north end of Rodanthe and has been threatened by erosion for more than a decade. Officials view all three houses as close to falling in, and the steady loss of beach around them has left them largely unlivable.
The deals are not done. Grover said the homes still need appraisals, the owners must accept purchase offers, and demolition costs must fit within the approved budget. North Carolina Emergency Management will run the project for the county. Other Rodanthe and Buxton owners applied but did not meet federal benefit-cost rules.
Since 2020, the ocean has claimed 32 private homes in Rodanthe and Buxton, 12 of them in Rodanthe.
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