Work proceeds on CSS Neuse museum

With about $3.2 million in state funds in hand, the leaders of a massive undertaking to build a museum to house the CSS Neuse gunboat are proceeding with their designs.

“We are in that phase of design, and are very actively working on that,” Keith Hardison, director of the state’s Division of Historic Sites and Properties, said.

The division, part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, is coordinating the multi-party effort. Dunn & Dalton Architects of Kinston is creating the designs.

Hardison said about $3.2 million is available for the project from state appropriations and bonds — Rep. Van Braxton and his fellow local state legislators helped secure much of that funding during the last fiscal year.

It will fund the first phase of the project, which includes designing and building the 19,000-square-foot, climate-controlled facility downtown, then moving the remains of the ironclad from the state historic site on Vernon Avenue.

“This is really going to be a phenomenal project for eastern North Carolina; don’t just call it a Kinston project,” John Marston of Kinston said. “It’s the state’s largest artifact and we’ve got it here in Kinston, North Carolina.”

Marston, president of the Neuse Gunboat Association — a fundraising group formed to bring the Neuse downtown — worked with Pride of Kinston to acquire the museum properties and donate them to the state.

Hardison said it would be several more months before the designs are ready for bids. He estimated it could take up to two years before the facility is complete and open to the public.

The second and third phases call for renovating the current building at 100 N. Queen St. that houses many Neuse artifacts. The 13,000-square-foot building will have a theater, museum shop, staff offices and other amenities. It will also be connected to the boat facility next door.

Artifacts related to the Neuse will be placed in the two facilities in specialized settings once renovations are complete.  Hardison estimated the entire project will cost $9.3 million.

“We want folks to have the total experience of the Civil War in Kinston, Lenoir County, as well as the story of the boat,” he said.

Some work has commenced on the existing building. The roof was recently replaced, and workers are scheduled to replace parts of the air conditioning system and the fire protection system in a matter of weeks, Hardison said.

David Anderson can be reached at (252) 559-1077 or danderson@freedomenc.com.