Work continues on Riverfront Convention Center repairs

Jun. 15--Work continues to progress on repair efforts at New Bern's Riverfront Convention Center, which has been closed since last September due to flood damage the building sustained during Hurricane Florence.

According to Gene Hodges, assistant county manager for Craven County, the building 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 Convention Center's first floor carpets, furniture and wall coverings and the stripping of sheetrock up to four feet to avoid mold growth.

"As soon as it was safe for people to come in here I had maintenance guys come in and they saw alligator tracks in this building and snake tracks," said Hodges.

Hodges said the most important repair component will be the replacement of the building's HVAC system. He said a contract for replacement of the units would be presented to County Commissioners during their June 17 meeting.

"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," said Hodges.

According to Hodges, the tentative plan is for the Convention Center to reopen in September. He said the Oakley Collier architect firm out of Rocky Mount has been hired and is in the process of gathering bids from contractors for the various components of the repair work.

"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.

Hodges said he expected the total repair costs for the Convention Center to run roughly in the $4-$6 million range, with the HVAC repairs alone costing approximately $1 million. He said most of the repairs will be covered through insurance money, although the county has also applied for FEMA disaster relief funds.

"Since we're asking for FEMA money it's a little more complicated. The worst thing you could do would be to go through the motions of getting all the stuff done and then at the end having them say it wasn't FEMA compliant and having to start all over again," explained Hodges.

The unforeseen repair project has also allowed the county to address the Convention Center's long-standing floor settlement issues earlier than anticipated, said Hodges.

The land the Convention Center was built on was once part of the Trent River. The area was filled in by old docks and building debris in the 1970s. In 2011 Craven County settled a $1.2 million lawsuit with the original architects and engineers over design flaws, specifically an insufficient number of pillings put under the floor slab. The problem caused areas in the building to settle and several cracks appeared in the flooring.

Repairs to the floor slab in 2012 helped mitigate the problem, but did not offer a permanent solution, said Hodges.

Since September, a number of micropiles have been driven 42 feet into the building's subsurface to help stabilize the foundation, explained Hodges.

"We were seeing most of our settling in the north side of the ballroom so that's where we put 88 micropiles," he said.

Additionally, a set of helical piers were added where gaps had formed between the foundation slab and major supporting walls. A method known as urethane grouting was also used to fill in voids underneath the foundation to help level the floor.

Hodges said he was awaiting the results of a laser scan of the floor that will show how successful the steps to mitigate the floor settlement have been.

"The (county) commissioners had decided in the summer of 2020 they were going to do floor leveling. Well, Hurricane Florence came in and we had to tear the carpet up so the decision was made to go ahead and work on the floor," he explained.

Hodges said additional work to help control floor settlement at the Convention Center would probably be required every seven to 10 years.

"Hopefully what we're doing is we're retarding the settlement, we're keeping it at bay. It's going to happen but hopefully we've bought more time this time," he commented.

Hodges said repairs to minor damage on the Convention Center's exterior, such as damaged brickwork, would be among the last repairs undertaken.

"We know this is going to be a phased in thing. The idea is to get the inside ready and get as much done as you can and then you come in and work on the outside. Once I get it open I can rent space and get all the finishes and stuff up," he commented.

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