Demolition has begun on a North Carolina rec center damaged when Hurricane Florence passed through the state in September of 2018.
The Stanley White Recreation Center in New Bern is finally coming down two years after the storm, which flooded and destroyed parts of the building.
New Bern has spent the last year and a half going through the FEMA grant process. Officials are currently working on an environmental assessment to determine where the next facility will be located, according to the local CBS affiliate.
The New Bern Board of Alderman will make the final determination on a location and then the redevelopment process will get underway.
“The Stanley White Recreation Center was the, a lot of people told us, the heart of the community, and we look forward to being able to get this center back up and running, and being offered more programs, for the public,” said Foster Hughes, director for the city parks and recreation.
Demolition of the facility will take about two weeks, followed by about a month of clean-up.
Hughes said he wants the new facility to last for the next 40 to 50 years, and the goal is to break ground by the end of the year.
