$7.1 million Convention Center repair contract approved

Jul. 25--The Craven County Board of Commissioners has awarded a contract for Hurricane Florence flood remediation and renovation work at the Riverfront Convention Center. A contract "not to exceed" $7.1 million was awarded to Barnhill Contracting Company of Rocky Mount.

Oakley Collier architect firm, also out of Rocky Mount, was hired to gather bids from contractors for the various components of the repair work. Barnhill's base bid for restoration of the building and updates to the facility was $6,715,719. Of this amount, the estimate from Barnhill to restore the facility to pre-Florence conditions was $2,063,565. Pricing for other individual components of the repair work increased the bid by $477,296, bringing it to $7,193,015.

The Barnhill contract allows the county manager to negotiate terms and changes to the scope of the project. Assistant County Manager Gene Hodges said he expected cost savings to be negotiated as talks continue between the contractor and the county.

During Hurricane Florence, the Convention Center received significant water damage on its first floor from storm surge and rain that poured in through broken windows. Hodges said remediation began immediately after the storm, with the removal of the building's first floor carpets, furniture and wall coverings and the stripping of sheetrock up to four feet to avoid mold growth.

Hodges said the most important repair component will be the replacement of the building's HVAC system.

"There will be a bit of mitigation involved with that project. We're going to raise that (HVAC) above where the high water mark was, which was about 10.8 feet," he commented..

Hodges said most of the repairs will be covered through insurance money, although the county has also applied for FEMA disaster relief funds.

According to Hodges, the tentative plan is for the Convention Center to reopen in September.

"We've been told it's doable to open in September. The idea is to come back with more resilient finishes. Maybe instead of going back with carpet we put tile in place so all you have to do is come back, sterilize it and you're good to go," said Hodges.

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