Floodplain management regulations are most effective in reducing flood damage to new construction. Buildings built before adoption of the regulations are often subject to repeated flooding, repeated damage, and repeated flood insurance claims and federal disaster assistance payments.

The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) regulations address a portion of this problem by requiring that substantially damaged and substantially improved buildings be brought up to the same standards as new buildings. However, only a small percentage of the existing buildings are substantially damaged or improved and subject to these requirements.

Communities can reduce flood damage by counting improvement and repair projects cumulatively, so that buildings will be brought into compliance with flood protection standards earlier in their life cycle. Like other communities in the NFIP, Wrightsville Beach has adopted substantial improvement and substantial damage regulations. It also has a cumulative substantial improvement rule that tracks the improvements and repairs to a structure over a five-year period. The definition in the Wrightsville Beach ordinance reads:

                  "Substantial improvement."  Substantial improvement shall mean any
                   repair from damage or destruction, reconstruction, improvement, or 
                   addition to the structure, the cost of which exceeds 50% of the 
                   assessed tax value of the structure as listed by the New Hanover 
                   County Tax Office or as determined by a certified appraisal.  For 
                   purposes of the chapter, the term "value" shall mean the value of the 
                   structure before the improvement is started, or if the structure has been 
                   damaged and is being restored, the value of the structure before the 
                   damage or destruction occurred..... In determining the percentage of 
                   substantial improvement, all improvements, modifications, additions 
                   and reconstruction carried out in the five-year period immediately 
                   preceeding the proposed substantial improvement shall be counted.

This rule accelerated the time schedule for bringing the Holiday Inn at Wrightsville Beach up to current property protection standards. On September 5, 1996, Hurricane Fran hit the coast of North Carolina in the vicinity of Wrightsville Beach causing significant damage to the Holiday Inn SunSpree and other properties in the immediate vicinity. The Holiday Inn had been open only thirteen months after major remodeling and upgrading to a SunSpree facility. The improvements significantly increased the value and extended the economic life of the facilities.


Holiday Inn Sunspree at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina before Hurricane Fran

During Hurricane Fran's attack the hotel lost its membrane roof and the ground floor to the storm. The overwash of the island left the ground floor in ruins, but the major loss occurred because of the damage to the roof. This left the hotel open to 16 inches of rain and ruin. The losses to physical property alone were in the 7.5 million-dollar range. The revenues lost over the three years of down time were three times the physical property loss.

The amount of damage to the old structure was significantly more than 50% of the value of the facility. This substantial damage determination resulted in the facility having to meet the setback regulations of the State's Coastal Area Management Act. It also resulted in the facility being required to meet the lowest floor elevation requirements of the North Carolina Building Code and the Town's flood damage prevention regulations.

The hotel has been rebuilt at a total project cost of over $26,000,000 on an elevated site with open and break away structuring in its lower levels. The piling and slab construction along with its tension structure gives it the strength to withstand high velocity winds, take the over wash, and other ground movement with little damage. The site was elevated so as to sit above the usual level during a Category 3 Hurricane.

Hurricane Fran allowed the owners to design and build a site that is more in tune with beach and berm preservation by allowing such things as walkover access ways and regular vegetation maintenance on the berm. The beach and berm mitigation has been extensive. The owners have included funds in their financial plan to keep the berm planted with natural vegetation and the walkover access from the hotel to the beach in good condition, thereby protecting the vegetation on the dunes.

Since the start of its reconstruction, the Holiday Inn has experienced four storms. Each time the damage has been minor, especially when compared to that suffered during Hurricane Fran. The benefits of the flood mitigation measures designed for the site are a structure that is stronger, looks better, and is more environmentally friendly. It is a structure that is more resistant to the waves and winds that come with hurricanes. Moreover, the economic loss to the owners, employees, businesses that provide services to the Holiday Inn, and the community at large have been reduced substantially.



New Holiday Inn Sunspree at Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina