NC Health and Human Services headquarters construction begins in West Raleigh
Workers have begun demolishing a former book and mail warehouse in West Raleigh to make way for a new headquarters for the state Department of Health and Human Services.
The 11-story tower and 900-space parking deck will rise on the corner of Blue Ridge and Reedy Creek roads, across from the N.C. Museum of Art. The state hopes to move 2,500 DHHS employees from the Dorothea Dix campus into the new building by the summer of 2025.
The General Assembly set aside $253.7 million for the project.
The agency has been working to find a new home since 2015 when the City of Raleigh bought the 308-acre Dix campus for $52 million to turn into a park. The deal allowed DHHS to remain in several buildings on the campus for up to 25 years while it made other arrangements.
In 2019, lawmakers included a provision in the state budget that would have moved the agency north to Granville County, an idea that proved unpopular with employees, among others. That version of the budget failed, and DHHS continued seeking a site in the Raleigh area.
The new DHHS office tower is the first step in the state’s plans to redevelop 34 acres along Blue Ridge Road, between Reedy Creek Road and District Drive. The plans show a second tower and parking deck next to the first that would house 2,650 DHHS workers who are now in various leased and state-owned offices in the Raleigh area.
The second tower and parking deck will be built by a private developer and leased back to the state, according to William Johnson, assistant director of capital project management for the State Construction Office. The state plans to craft the lease so that it will own the tower and deck after 30 years, Johnson said.
The state’s plans also call for partnering with one or more private developers to build a mixed-use center of housing, retail and offices on the corner of Blue Ridge Road and District Drive. That development would displace a state vehicle repair garage and the Troop C headquarters of the State Highway Patrol.
The state Department of Administration sought proposals from developers for the mixed-use project this summer but has not announced any agreements. The timing of that development and the second DHHS tower are unclear, Johnson said.
Last fall, the city agreed to rezone the 34 acres to allow buildings up to 12 stories tall. This summer, the state mail-sorting center moved out of the single-story textbook warehouse to Chapanoke Road on the south side of Raleigh.
This story was originally published August 30, 2022 at 2:06 PM.
