Blockade Runner Beach Resort, a landmark oceanfront property in North Carolina, has reopened. Terry Allred was involved in the design.
According to Nicolas Montoya, GM of Blockade Runner, the reopening will actually be done in two stages. The first stage saw the reopening of the tower building containing the largest block of rooms at the resort. This will be followed by the reopening of the balcony building in March-April.
The property closed in September 2018 to repair damages sustained from Hurricane Florence. Hurricane losses at Blockade Runner were classified in three categories: the damage to the buildings and property, estimated to be worth $5 million dollars; content loss, worth $2 million; and loss of business during repairs, worth approximately $2 million.
The exterior and subflooring of Blockade Runner are concrete and steel. However, many interior walls were plaster and sheetrock. Seventy-five percent of these walls were replaced in the tower building, and all of these walls will be replaced in the balcony building. The property also lost the entire roof in the balcony building.
The majority of the damages were related to roofing, walls, utilities inside the walls, and insulation. The elevators will be the last to be refurbished.
Lawrence Lewis, Jr. opened Blockade Runner on the former site of Ocean Terrace Hotel in 1964. The Ocean Terrace was damaged by Hurricane Hazel and subsequently lost to fire. The property was then purchased from Lewis in 1971 by Dr. Joseph Baggett of Fayetteville.
Designated a historic landmark by the Historic Wilmington Foundation, Blockade Runner's mid-century design contains 120 waterfront rooms in the tower building and 30 oceanfront rooms in the balcony building.