Government red tape, rising costs keep Hurricane Florence recovery ongoing 5 years later

The chain-link fence is gone, as are most of the other barriers and building materials that used to make walking around the outside of the iconic Wilmington structure a bit of an obstacle course.

New windows, dozens of them, look out on the pedestrians that walk by the riverfront structure, while inside renovations and mold-removal efforts are nearing completion.

But five years after Hurricane Florence hammered much of Eastern North Carolina, setting rainfall records that had previously been broken only two years prior by Hurricane Matthew, the Alton Lennon Federal Courthouse smack in the middle of the heart of the Port City's downtown remains closed and empty.

It is a lasting reminder that while Florence might seem a distant memory to many, and just a piece of local meteorological history to the thousands of new residents who have moved to the Cape Fear region since September 2018, recovery efforts aren't finished.

More: PHOTOS: Hurricane Florence recovery a year after landfall

In many communities scattered across North Carolina's coastal plain, residents forced out of homes damaged or destroyed by Florence's rampaging floodwaters and ferocious winds remain waiting for government help to set them right. The slow pace of recovery efforts, especially in utilizing federal recovery funds to rebuild and repair damaged buildings, has become a political hot potato in Raleigh, although efforts have picked up speed in recent months. That includes a slew of recent state government contracts to jumpstart residential repair efforts, including one to rehabilitate 41 public housing units operated by the Wilmington Housing Authority.

"The proposed project activities include repairing and/or replacing drywall, plumbing, appliances, water heaters. broken windows, and duct work; painting; patching; mold remediation of cleaning ducts and identified affected interior areas; and hazardous materials abatement, where applicable," states the description of the Wilmington project, which is currently under environmental review.

'Building stronger and smarter'

While Wilmington's empty federal courthouse remains one of the most visible reminders of Florence's wrath, it's by no means the only one in Southeastern North Carolina. Nearly 25 miles to the south in Brunswick County residents of Boiling Spring Lakes are still waiting for the community to live up to its moniker after Florence destroyed four of the city's dams, turning lakebeds into overgrown fields of weeds.

But a lot of progress has been made in making communities, infrastructure and people whole again, and lessons learned from the historic hurricane. That includes by the N.C. Department of Transportation (DOT), which is adding more wiggle room to its bridges and drainage areas in the wake of Florence to recognize that the historical levels of rain the storm dropped on the Wilmington area are likely a sign of things to come in a world increasingly changed by climate change.

THINKING AHEAD Years after Hurricanes Florence and Matthew, resiliency the focus of NC recovery efforts

That includes the new bridge on U.S. 421 north of Wilmington. The old section of highway had a culvert, but it proved to be no match when floodwaters breached the dam at Sutton Lake, washing away that stretch of U.S. 421. The new bridge, actually a pair of multi-lane structures, are more than 500 feet long and designed specifically to protect the vital highway link to Wilmington from extreme floodwaters.

"“We will be building stronger and smarter,” Gov. Roy Cooper said during a 2019 ceremony to mark the bridge's opening. “We will be building with a future storm in mind, with better resiliency.”

Fast Florence facts

• $17 billion: Estimated damages in North Carolina caused by Florence

• $615 million: National Flood Insurance Program claims paid

• $405.4 million: U.S. Small Business Association loans to homeowners, businesses

• 139,813: People registering for disaster assistance

• 110,000: New Hanover County customers that lost power

• 21,272: Peak shelter population during the storm

• 15,253: Flood insurance claims

• 5,214: People rescued

• 2,800: N.C. National Guard soldiers activated

• 1,067: Animals rescued

• 105 mph: Peak wind gust in Wilmington

• 45: Storm-related fatalities

• 35.93: Rainfall in Elizabethtown

• 26.93: Rainfall at Wilmington Int'l Airport

• Sources: N.C. Emergency Management; Nat'l Weather Service

Ongoing courthouse repairs

Damaged during the second year of the Trump administration, Wilmington's federal courthouse remains closed due to flooding and other damage tied to the loss of power caused by Florence after the large and strong Category 1 storm dropped anchor over the Wilmington area for 36 hours after blowing ashore at Wrightsville Beach.

While the damage from the storm was significant, existing issues with the 60,000-square-foot building that opened in 1919 have compounded the situation. The courthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1974.

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), the federal building's caretaker, is in charge of the historic building's renovations.

More: PHOTOS: Alton Lennon Federal Building through the years

After stabilizing and drying out the building after the storm damage compounded existing mold issues, contractors began repair work. That included roof replacement, window replacement, building façade repairs, mechanical system replacement, interior finish repairs and historic preservation, according to Wilmington officials. All of the building’s windows also were removed, the openings covered with plywood, and scaffolding extended onto the roof. Modifications to the design of the renovation work have included the addition of U.S. Marshals’ security designs, elevator modernization and mold consulting.

All in all, at least six companies have been involved in the repair work, with a $31 million contract awarded in 2021 to Alabama-based Brasfield & Gorrie for the bulk of the repair work.

As work drags on, the building's former tenants have relocated to other parts of Wilmington. That includes the bulk of them moving to 1003 S. 17th St., the former home of the StarNews.

Cathy Rineer-Garber, regional spokesperson for the GSA, has said officials anticipate the renovations will wrap up next summer.

Lakes in name only

It took only a few days for Florence's torrential rains, totaling 30 inches or more in parts of southern Brunswick County, to start overwashing the dams in Boiling Spring Lakes.

The work of putting them back together has taken a lot longer.

A large part of that is cost, and how a small community could cobble together the more than $50 million to rebuild the dams. Another part was modern building regulations. The new dams will have to be constructed to modern safety standards unlike the old earthen dams built in the early 1960s. Then the designs had to pass muster with federal and state regulators, which took more time and money.

But after years of stops and goes, reconstruction work has finally kicked off.

According to an Aug. 25 dam reconstruction post on the city's website, contractors are clearing trees and other impediments to prepare three of the dams for construction. Allen Creek is also being rerouted away from the breech at the Sanford Dam, the largest of the city's dams that forms the big lake, to allow excavation work to begin.

According to city officials, the dam reconstruction work is expected to take about 30 months.

Reporter Gareth McGrath can be reached at GMcGrath@Gannett.com or @GarethMcGrathSN on Twitter. This story was produced with financial support from 1Earth Fund and the Prentice Foundation. The USA TODAY Network maintains full  editorial control of the work.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Hurricane Florence recovery ongoing in Wilmington, NC