SOUTHPORT — The City of Southport has closed its senior building due to safety risks. It’s the second time this year the facility has been closed off from public use. While the city intends to reopen, some current and former city officials point to consistent structural problems that may make the senior center obsolete.
The building closed Nov. 5 because of a rotting backdoor exit deck and staircase, according to Southport Fire Marshal Madison Drew. Though, the city said it planned to reopen the building eventually.
“Due to the condition of these structures and the type of occupancy permitted within the building, the rear exit is deemed unsafe for continued use,” Drew wrote in an email to Port City Daily. “For the safety of all occupants, the rear exit deck and stairway must be taken out of service until the necessary repairs or replacements have been done.”
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Before closing, the senior facility offered seniors classes, exercise, art and other activities. Alderman Marc Spencer told Port City Daily it was usually occupied a few times per week, with about 10 seniors at a time on average. The building also served as a meeting space for local civic groups.
The senior building closed first in March 2026 after the parks and recreation department became the target of a criminal investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation. The senior facility is among three buildings the parks and rec department oversees. All three closed due to the investigation, but the city gym and the Jaycee building have both since reopened.
The senior building was approved by the parks and rec committee in July to host occasional classes. However, it stopped as of Nov. 5 after a routine inspection determined the building was unsafe for the public to use, thus temporarily closing its doors.
The senior building is funded by the parks and recreation department, though the public works department is in charge of maintenance. Port City Daily repeatedly asked the city for the maintenance schedule, how the building reached a state of disrepair and if the SBI investigation waylaid any upkeep, but the city chose not to respond.
The city also did not provide a timeline for when the building is expected to reopen, nor did it answer how much repairs would cost, or provide the senior building’s budget. But many have wondered if the building has outlived its use.
Former mayor Rich Alt also told Port City Daily the building has needed repairs for a few years now.
“The city paid a consultant to come in and look at every single building the city owns,” Alt explained. “That building was identified as needing a number of things done.”
In 2023, Southport hired HICAPS, a Greensboro building management and consulting firm, for $50,000 to survey all the city’s buildings. On Jan. 5, 2024, the company presented its findings to the aldermen, noting the ADA ramp and steps of the senior center and exterior portions of the building were in need of repair. The firm recommended the roof, windows, door and water heater should be replaced. It also suggested an engineer evaluate foundation cracks. A cost estimate for the senior building was not provided at the time.
Port City Daily reached out to the city to ask if the repairs required for the senior building bore any relation to the earlier assessment by HICAPS but did not receive a response by press. Both Gross and Mayor Pro Tem Karen Mosteller deferred to the city manager for a response, Alderman Robert Carroll cited his busy schedule and the other city officials did not respond to a request for an interview.
While unclear on the maintenance schedule, Spencer corroborated Alt’s concerns, noting the building has been dilapidated for a few years now.
“I went and visited the property, and the floors were uneven,” the alderman explained. “It had a lot of issues — some rot. It’s an old property.”
Located behind the Jaycee Building on North Fodale Avenue, the senior building opened more than 20 years ago, Spencer said. He told Port City Daily the structure used to be a residential home; now that the neighborhood is growing, he called the senior center “out of its element.” Spencer said the building had the most use from civic meetings.
Spencer added the building wasn’t bringing in much revenue. Southport’s budget doesn’t have a separate line item for the senior building but facility rentals in general — meaning for the community, Jaycee and senior buildings — yielded a little more than $24,000 for the 2024-2025 fiscal year, according to city budget documents.
“The churches will rent it on Sundays. We’re renting it out, but it’s low money and no real return,” he said.
Spencer said the culmination of issues — the building’s disrepair, the lack of use and its scarce return on investment — has sparked conversation among city aldermen, committees and residents.
Whether the senior building should remain open became a topic of debate during the 2026-2027 budget sessions, in particular. Alderman Gross pointed out there was already a senior center operated by the county on the outskirts of the city on North Howe Street; the county’s senior resource center opened in 2009.
“We have got so many opportunities right here in Southport at the Brunswick Senior Center and at our community college,” Gross said in June. “How much more additional adult programming do we need to offer in parks and recreation given the opportunities that are already in our city?”
According to Spencer, the cemetery committee is interested in the senior building property as well. The building is juxtaposed to Northwood Cemetery, established in 1936, and owned and maintained by the city. Spencer, a liaison to the cemetery committee, said Northwood has no more room for additional burials, so the committee is looking to expand.
“They’ve been pushing to put a columbarium there,” he said, referring to above-ground structures that hold urns. “There are people that want to take that location, put a columbarium on it and try to make money selling plots.”
A columbarium can cost anywhere from $500 to $3,000 on average, and Spencer believes the city would make more money selling the property, theorizing the market price for the land was half-a-million dollars.
“It’s a nice little building to have, but I don’t necessarily know if it’s practical for seniors,” Spencer said. “Especially when we have that resource center at the end of town.”
Tips or comments? Email Emily Sawaked at [email protected]
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