West Raleigh site on 'for sale' list

The state is declaring locations it wants to sell to help balance the state budget

The state will seek private developers willing to buy about 30 acres of highly visible property near the RBC Center in West Raleigh.

The land, on a bluff at the northeast corner of Wade Avenue and Edwards Mill Road, would likely make a good hotel or office site, said Joe Henderson, director of the State Property Office. State officials have not appraised the land, but the state sold 159 acres to developers at the same interchange last year for $14.5 million.

"As the economy comes back, we think that property has a lot of potential," Henderson said.

The West Raleigh tract is one of 10 properties in the Triangle and elsewhere that the state has declared surplus and intends to sell. On Thursday, Henderson presented the list to a new commission created by the legislature to help the state identify land and buildings it can turn into cash.

Legislators and Gov. Mike Easley are looking to unload surplus property to help balance the state budget. This year's budget anticipates $30 million from the sale of property the state no longer needs.

The state is not ready to sell all the property on the current surplus list right away. In some cases, it must first move a state building. In others, it wants to wait for new roads to provide access.

The list includes:

* About 100 acres near Cary Towne Center mall off Interstate 40. The wooded land straddles Walnut Creek and won't be sold until the town of Cary provides access from Cary Towne Boulevard, perhaps next year, Henderson said.

* About 125 acres west of the State Fairgrounds in West Raleigh. A new stretch of Edwards Mill Road will cut through the property, and the city of Raleigh wants some of the land for a park.

* About 1,000 acres in and around the town of Butner in southern Granville County. The state still needs to determine how much of the property has development potential, Henderson said.

The list does not include the Dorothea Dix Hospital campus near downtown Raleigh. The state has begun crafting a plan for redeveloping the 315-acre campus after the psychiatric hospital closes in 2007, but it has not declared the property surplus. The Department of Health and Humans Services, which now houses 1,200 non-hospital workers at Dix, says it wants to remain on the campus after the hospital closes.

The state has considered selling the West Raleigh property for years, but held back because of questions about road access, Henderson said. But after the N.C. National Guard recently completed plans for its headquarters campus nearby, the state thinks the land will have access from both Blue Ridge Road and Reedy Creek Road.

The State Property Office will accept offers anytime, but will start actively marketing the property within a year, Henderson said.

"It's hard to anticipate how quickly the hotel market and office market is going to come back," he said.

The sale would be the latest move by the state to help transform West Raleigh from an agricultural area to a commercial and cultural center.

With easy access to Interstate 40 and the Beltline, the area is already home to the N.C. Museum of Art, the State Fairgrounds, Carter-Finley Stadium and the N.C. State University vet school