Riverside Church Case Study

In 2011, the land and previous structure the church is now constructed on, suffered a 1 in 500-year flood event due to a rain being dumped on the area from a severe weather system coupled with a local dam release, leaving it filled with roughly 8 feet of water inside. When the property was placed up for sale by the local government, no one wanted to buy it due to prior history and possibility of future flood damage. The church was able to obtain the 2.5-acre property valued at approximately $10m, for $1.2 m.

In 2015, Dave Harney, the project developer reached out to Smart Vent for flood protection. The Flood Plans Division provided a review of the project, verified the code compliance for the town, accuracy of the wet flood protection system layout being requested by the developer, and provided any additional recommendations and support to ensure that although unlikely, the newly constructed building in this location will be designed to protect against future flooding.