Asheville, NC -- The Asheville commercial and warehouse district along Thompson Street and Glendale Avenue was decimated by Helene floodwaters.
Now nearly three months out, the area is still filled with debris with road closures only allowing local traffic.
On Monday, Dec. 23 Dick Hoffman met Asheville inspectors at his 10,000 square-foot warehouse that was filled with water, debris and mud.
His tenant had more than a $100,000 of back-stock in the building that was a total loss. Hoffman had his own office in the building is now cleaned and stripped of wiring and insulation down to the studs.
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"It's just overwhelming to see your property, number one, submerged, and number two not knowing what damage is on the inside," said Hoffman.
He was at the building Monday for a permit inspection with city of Asheville inspectors so he can continue the rebuild process.
He's owned the stone building for more than 20 years. He took News 13 inside the building for a tour.
"You can see the ceiling, about five inches down is the water line. There was about eighteen feet of water." Hoffman said. "We would check on it would run like $6 or $7 thousand a year. It's expensive."
Hoffman estimates his cost to restore the building will be upwards of $100,000 but the investment in the building he said makes sense due to its value.
He said the process of reinstalling electricity and insulation is a slow process and that one permitting approval has to come before others making the progress tedious at times.
Hoffman didn't have flood insurance.
"Honestly, I cry every morning when I come through here because it's heart wrenching," said Brian Angel, a driver for Snyder Paper.
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Angel has been working in the company's warehouse that had industrial supplies such as hospital cleaning supplies and liquid degreasers as well as cardboard boxes in large volumes.
The inventory also was destroyed except for a very top shelf in the huge warehouse owned by Snyder.
Angel was working Monday pulling the inventory off the top shelf and lining it up on the floor of the warehouse to get trucked to another company warehouse.
The area has clean-up crews which are subcontracted companies hired by the federal Corp of Engineers.
The corridor includes the Tobacco Barn which was taken down to the frame.
Other large warehouses were destroyed by the floodwaters and abandoned cars line Thompson Street along the Swannanoa River that's filled with debris hanging off dead trees.