Now that DMV has left Southeast Raleigh, what becomes of its former headquarters?
For more than 60 years, the central office of the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles has been a source of jobs and stability at the corner of Tarboro Street and New Bern Avenue east of downtown Raleigh.
Now that the last DMV employees have moved out, attention has turned to what will become of nearly six acres of state property in the heart of Raleigh’s largest African-American community.
Private developers and city leaders have already reached out to the N.C. Department of Transportation to express interest in the property, said NCDOT Secretary Eric Boyette. The department hasn’t decided what it wants to do with the site, Boyette said.
“We’re just going to weigh our options and see what’s best,” he said.
It’s unlikely that another state agency will move in. DMV was forced to leave its longtime home because the state determined that asbestos and fire safety problems in the older and larger of the two buildings on the site were too expensive to fix. The agency’s headquarters moved to Rocky Mount last fall, and the local license plate office shifted 4 miles east to a new location on New Bern Avenue last month.
That likely leaves a sale or long-term lease to a developer willing and able to invest in rehabbing the buildings or raze them and start fresh. State Rep. Abe Jones, whose district includes the DMV property, says the options seem plentiful.
“It’s a prime location in the Black community here. Prime location,” Jones said. “A great spot, right in the center of Southeast Raleigh. So you could do almost anything with it.”
Raleigh Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin would like the city to buy the property and team up with a developer to remake the site into a mix of homes and businesses. Baldwin said aside from its size and location, the property is important because it will be served by a station stop on the city’s first planned bus rapid transit or BRT line, which is expected to open by early 2024.
“We would be interested in redeveloping that property for affordable housing, for workforce development and for amenities for a neighborhood that has long been forgotten,” Baldwin said. “We can dream big. Retail, day care, things that the neighborhood would need, that would put them within walking distance instead of having to get in their car and drive everywhere to receive different services.”
Nicole Burpo, who lives about three blocks from the DMV off Poole Road, says she’d love to see a grocery store there.
“It doesn’t have to be Whole Foods,” Burpo said. “Something where we can get regular staples, and not have to go to the convenience store.”
Change coming to Southeast Raleigh
The inside-the-Beltline stretch of New Bern Avenue that includes the former DMV headquarters hasn’t changed much in recent decades. As the city’s population has grown and other parts of town have been transformed with new apartment, retail and office buildings, New Bern Avenue is still lined with homes, gas stations, fast food restaurants and other small businesses.
But change is coming. Between the DMV site and downtown, developers are putting up modern apartments and townhouses, catering to those who want to live near the heart of the city. A 1,315-square-foot townhome at Oak City Overlook, two blocks from the DMV, lists for more than $500,000.
The BRT line is expected to spur redevelopment as well. Bus rapid transit aims to attract riders with elevated, covered stations where passengers buy their tickets in advance, to speed boarding, and buses that travel in their own lanes and get priority at intersections, helping them move better in traffic.
As the city prepares to build the system it is also planning for development along the corridor, to make sure it serves the BRT line and people in the community who already ride the bus. Jason Hardin, the city planner overseeing the effort, says people have been asking about the DMV property.
“It’s a very prominent site on the corridor. It’s been a significant source of employment and, I think, part of the identity of that part of New Bern Avenue,” Hardin said. “And so people have a really strong interest in understanding what’s going to happen to that and what kind of say they might have.”
If the city buys the property, it would take into account the public’s ideas for it before seeking a developer to carry them out, Baldwin said. If a developer acquires the property outright, the city could still influence what goes there through the zoning and permitting process.
City Council member Corey Branch, whose district includes the DMV, says he’d like to see a mix of housing and jobs but especially jobs for people who live in the community “so that we can keep that corridor vibrant.”
“Because we lost 300 jobs plus in that area” when the DMV moved out, Branch said. “And if we become a bedroom community, that means there’s no one there during the day, if it’s 100% housing.”
Rev. Shawn Jerome Singleton of neighboring Martin Street Baptist Church said he hopes whatever takes the place of DMV becomes a resource for people who live in surrounding neighborhoods, and not just an island where people from outside the community come and go. Singleton, too, sees a mix of homes and businesses, including retailers that cater to nearby residents.
“Something that’s going to be nice,” he added. “There’s not a lot of nice stuff in that area. I mean nice. Make the neighborhood attractive.”
What’s the property worth?
Singleton and others at Martin Street Baptist Church were especially sorry to see the DMV leave. The church leased its parking lot to the state for DMV workers, so the relationship was financial as well as neighborly.
The church owns most of the block just south of the DMV, while the state has about a half acre of parking lots in one corner. Singleton said the state offered to sell those lots to the church for $1.4 million, a price that reflects the commercial zoning.
The church declined. “If the church owns it, it’s not going to stay as a commercial property,” he said.
It’s not clear what the DMV property is worth. For tax purposes, Wake County values the 5.4 acres at the corner of New Bern and Tarboro at a little more than $17 million, though nearly $15 million of that value is in the buildings.
A year after the General Assembly required NCDOT to find a new home for the DMV headquarters, it passed a bill that authorized the department to sell the property, along with another building on Fayetteville Street, just south of the State Capitol. Boyette, the transportation secretary, said the department is still trying to determine if the bill allows it to keep all the proceeds.
This story was originally published June 11, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
