Southport Planning Board discusses future of Historic Courthouse
SOUTHPORT, NC (WWAY) –The City of Southport’s Planning Board met today for a special meeting to discuss the future of the historic 1864 courthouse. The building was once Southport’s City Hall but has been vacant since 2016 due to significant disrepair.
City Engineer Tom Zilinek explained that an environmental company has recently worked to make the building safe again. “They sealed the building, removed the mold, removed the lead, and removed the asbestos.”
The goal now is to preserve the building’s historical integrity. Zilinek emphasized that it’s important to maintain the building’s classic feel, which is important to the character of Southport.
“I mean, obviously you have to do some modernizations, but we are going to try to keep as much of the old feel to it because that is one of the things that Southport is about.”
The planning board’s meeting today focused on potential uses for the building. One option is moving the Southport Police Department to the first floor and using the second floor for Board of Aldermen meetings.
However, several planning board members raised concerns about the available space. Board member Fred Fiss suggested that building a new police department might be more practical.
“I don’t know an exact number, but let’s just say it costs thirty percent more to renovate that structure to bring it to your needs versus starting from a clean slate somewhere on a vacant piece of land.”
Southport’s Police Chief Todd Coring disagrees, arguing that repurposing the city-owned building is a better use of taxpayer money. He pointed out that building a new facility would be much more expensive.
“It’s the best use of taxpayer dollars, especially when you compare it to the $12-14 million cost of building a new facility versus potentially repurposing this one for around $5 million.”
While there’s agreement that the police department needs to relocate, Chief Coring believes downtown Southport is the ideal location.
“In 2016 when they vacated this building, there was a public outcry for the police department to remain in the building. They had several meetings at the time, and it was determined then that the police department would come back to this site.”
As of now, no final decision has been made. The planning board will continue discussing the future of the courthouse, and floor plans cannot be drawn up until a clear plan is decided.
The Planning Board has 30 days to make recommendations. After that, the Board of Aldermen can move forward with their own decisions.
