The Perquimans River is a narrow, winding coastal river that never leaves Perquimans County.

It is seldom more than 50 to 60 feet wide until it suddenly opens up a little upstream of Hertford, the county seat. When it passes Durants Neck, a little more than a mile south of town, the river becomes a broad estuary, providing a direct route to Albemarle Sound.

Standing at the edge of a wide, bulkheaded boat basin recently, County Manager Frank Heath told Coastal Review about the Perquimans County Marine Industrial Park, where after more than a decade of false starts and missed steps, the first phase of the project was finally completed last year: The $7 million deepwater boat basin now provides direct water access to the Albemarle Sound.

“It’s 350 feet wide, which is more than a football field, and it extends 700 feet inland,” he said. “We have such spectacular water resources that it makes sense to me to start with that.”

There have been calls for improving the county’s access to water for some time. More than 65 years ago, in 1958, during the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of Hertford’s founding, WG Newby wrote a memo entitled “Town of Hertford Bi-Centennial,” which included historical facts: “One of the most important factors in the growth of a town is transportation. We have here… a large and beautiful river, the Perquimans.”

The author further noted that by 1958, the river was “used only by a fleet of oil tankers delivering oil for domestic use, the U.S. Navy, and other purposes. However, it could also be used industrially, and we hope that will happen someday.”

The basin, Heath explained, is phase one and it has taken some time to complete this first step in developing the county’s waterfront for commercial use.

“We put quite a bit of energy into getting the grants for phase one,” he said.

Completion of the first phase began “12 or 13 years ago,” according to Heath, when North Carolina recognized Hertford as a secondary marine resource because space was running out in the Wanchese Marine Industrial Park.

Heath explained that this was a much-needed economic lifeline for the district.

“The textile industry moved away in the 1980s and 1990s. We had several large factories that closed,” he said. “Our economy is based on agriculture, which is very important, and we want it to continue to thrive, but we also want other industries to come in.”

Originally it was a state project, but during the planning process it became clear that the state did not have the necessary subsidies to build the marina.

“They found that as a state facility, they were not eligible for state grants like the county would have. So they transferred the property back to the county, and over the last, say, four years, we’ve been raising funds to make that happen,” Heath said.

The county’s plans for the marina target businesses that need water access for large construction projects as potential marina tenants.

“There are construction companies from this area and from outside the region. We have spoken to companies that are looking to relocate their manufacturing back to the United States,” Heath said.

At least one business has relocated from Hampton Roads to Hertford. East Coast Steel Fabrication, a company that makes heavy steel for barges and ship structures, is located right next to the basin but is not part of the marina.

Heath mentioned that there have been contacts with potential customers for the marina, although any announcement is still months in the future.

“I think we’ll have news early next year, if not sooner,” he said. “I’d like to have something before the end of the year.”

There is still a lot to do.

There is no road to the basin yet. Heath mentions that the county is working with the North Carolina Department of Transportation to build a road.

“I worked with NCDOT. They helped me put together estimates and preliminary drawings, and I included that in the requests I sent to the General Assembly to try to get funding through a budget process,” Heath said, adding that the budget deadlock in the state legislature this session has stalled funding.

As a short-term solution, the county has the funds to build a gravel road. Heath said that will happen in the next three months.

The second phase of the project will see a significant expansion of the boat basin, but Heath is careful not to get too ahead of himself.

“We’ve spent quite a bit of energy getting the phase one grants. In order for the phase two grants to be released, it will be important to lease the current basin because that proves the case. My main goal now is to approach potential companies that need that access,” he said.

Perquimans County is not considered an economically distressed county in North Carolina. The state uses a three-tier rating system, with Tier 1 counties being the most economically distressed counties and Tier 3 counties having the healthiest economies.

Perquimans County clearly falls into the Tier 2 category, but at least some of its economic health is due to workers who do not work in the county.

“Our goal is to create jobs here in Perquimans County,” Heath said. “Many people go to Hampton Roads to work and we want to provide them with a job at home.”

While this is more convenient for employees, he noted, that is not all. Employees who work in the district also spend money there.

“You could buy gas here, you could buy your lunch here. You would stop by the grocery store and the hardware store or car dealership where you work,” Heath said. “We want to get that leak back in.”