Coast Guard tower-turned-bed-and-breakfast up for auction

ON THE ATLANTIC OCEAN, N.C. – A former Coast Guard light station that became a bed-and-breakfast in the Atlantic Ocean has been put up for auction.

Richard Neal tells The Charlotte Observer bids start at $10,000 for The Frying Pan Tower. The auction started Thursday for the platform that’s nearly 150 feet (50 metres) above the water and more than 30 miles (50 kilometres) off North Carolina’s coast.

Neal bought the tower in 2010 and negotiated an $85,000 price for it with the Coast Guard. The Charlotte man turned it into a B&B, where hundreds have stayed since he started renting rooms in 2012.

The tower was built in 1964 for $2 million to warn ships of the shallow Frying Pan Shoals.

Neal believes it’s time for a younger owner and that it’ll likely sell for six figures.

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Information from: The Charlotte Observer, http://www.charlotteobserver.com