After a building facade collapsed in Wilmington, local businesses pick up the pieces

Madison Lipe, Wilmington StarNews
On March 7, a facade wall collapsed in front of three businesses on Grace Street. Those businesses included Kat 5 Kava, Tacobaby and RUMCOW.
On March 7, a facade wall collapsed in front of three businesses on Grace Street. Those businesses included Kat 5 Kava, Tacobaby and RUMCOW.

Editor’s note: This is a corrected version. In the original, information about the requirements for building facades was incorrect.

Weeks after a building facade collapsed on Grace Street, the local businesses impacted have all reopened and are getting support from the local community.

The businesses -- Rumcow, Tacobaby and Kat 5 Kava – had to close after an exterior brick facade over the storefronts collapsed on the evening of March 7. The Wilmington Fire Department reported that one person suffered minor injuries.

In a post on their Facebook page about the reopening, Tacobaby said, “It took a log of blood, sweat and tears to make it happen.” They also thanked customers for their support. “We are so fortunate to have all of you and to be able to pull this off,” the post read.

For Rumcow, another local business, UnderFront held a benefit concert on March 22 and the owner started a GoFundMe to support RUMCOW. “This money will go to the aide (sic) of Rumcow in their unsought tragedy and together we can help support our local community business!” UnderFront owner Joseph Sena said in the GoFundMe post.

Crews look over damage caused Thursday night after the collapse of an exterior façade that damaged some of the buildings and cars off of Grace Street in downtown Wilmington. One person had minor injuries according to a Facebook post from the Wilmington Fire Department.
Crews look over damage caused Thursday night after the collapse of an exterior façade that damaged some of the buildings and cars off of Grace Street in downtown Wilmington. One person had minor injuries according to a Facebook post from the Wilmington Fire Department.

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The day after the incident, Rumcow owners posted on Facebook: “Thank you so much to all of Wilmington for your help and support during this time!! We are so grateful there were no serious injuries and everyone made it out safe. We are family here at Rumcow and it truly shows.”

The businesses affected on Grace Street are part of the National Register District, but they are outside of the city’s Central Business District-Historic District Overlay.

The facade was created after Tacobaby received a $2,500 grant from Wilmington Downtown Inc. as a part of its Facade Improvement Grant Program to install a mural in front of the building. The facade storefront is what ended up collapsing, affecting the surrounding businesses, road and walkway on Grace Street.

To receive the grant, the Tacobaby mural had to meet the requirements set forth in the Land Development Code, according to city officials. This mural did not need approval from the Historic Preservation Commission because it is not in the CBD-Historic District Overlay, the city said.

Meanwhile, inspection of buildings for structural integrity falls to New Hanover County, not the city of Wilmington.

Crews look over damage caused Thursday night after the collapse of an exterior façade that damaged some of the buildings and cars off of Grace Street in downtown Wilmington. One person had minor injuries according to a Facebook post from the Wilmington Fire Department.
Crews look over damage caused Thursday night after the collapse of an exterior façade that damaged some of the buildings and cars off of Grace Street in downtown Wilmington. One person had minor injuries according to a Facebook post from the Wilmington Fire Department.

In this case, the facade was not required to be inspected.

New Hanover County requires building inspection when there is a new construction permit or changes in a building's structure. The county does not require inspection when there is light renovation, said Alex Riley, communications and outreach coordinator for the county.

Riley said county staff looked back to 2016, and there were no building permits requiring inspection of the sites from the building code officials.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Building facade collapse in Wilmington, NC, affects businesses

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