Two Years After Helene: Help Us Open the Door

The Celo Inn has been a gateway to this community for as long as most of us can remember. Hurricane Helene damaged the building, but it also opened a door: a chance to ask what this place should become next.

The answer we keep coming back to is a commons, in the oldest sense of the word. A place that belongs to the community, that supports people's livelihoods, and that holds space for the kind of cooperation and creativity this valley has always run on.

What happened

On September 27, 2024, the South Toe River rose nearly 30 feet. Floodwater reached almost seven feet inside the inn, close to the first-floor ceiling, and the inn's cottage was swept away entirely. The food cooperative and crafts gallery that shared this stretch of Hwy 80 were gone.

Against the odds, the inn held. Rather than demolish what remained, a group of residents chose something more hopeful. Volunteers, including students and staff from Arthur Morgan School and the Beacon Network, spent months gutting and cleaning. Neighbors came to listening sessions and told us what they needed. Out of that work, Celo Commons was born.

What we're building

The renovated building will offer studio and office space for artists, small businesses, and health and wellness practitioners, alongside flexible rooms for classes, workshops, and community gatherings. Ground-floor space is designed to welcome a community storefront dedicated to food access, and the outdoor areas are shaped for a weekly market. Programming will be shaped by what residents ask for, offered free or at low cost.

Take a look at the plans (PDF).

Construction update

The rebuild is designed around one question: what happens the next time the river comes up? So far, the crawlspace has been encapsulated and flood vents added, funded by Preservation NC. The rebuild uses materials chosen to be cleaned and reused after a flood rather than torn out: wipeable rigid foam insulation in the crawlspace and exterior walls, mineral wool insulation, and fiber cement. The grounds stay unpaved, and the vegetation between the building and the river has been left in place as a natural buffer.

We're aiming to finish the renovation and open for programming in early 2027.

Who's already with us

This work has been made possible by early support from Dogwood Health Trust, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, Preservation NC, Celo Community, Inc., the South Toe River Recovery Fund, and more than 100 volunteers.