Demolition set for old Raleigh police headquarters to make way for downtown tower
The former Raleigh Police Department headquarters will be torn down Tuesday to make way for a new 17-story tower downtown.
The East Civic Tower will serve as a new city hall that will house all of the city’s staff all in one location. The city will demolish the former police headquarters, at 110 S. McDowell St., for the new tower.
Why is the city building a tower?
The city has 4,000 full-time employees spread out in buildings across the city and in offices throughout downtown. Bringing the staff together will improve “communication, service and efficiency,” Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said.
“We need more more modern space to attract and recruit new workers,” she said. “They serve our residents, and they deserve quality work space.”
In 2018, the city estimated it would require over $80 million to do required maintenance over the next 20 years for the police headquarters, the adjacent parking garage and Raleigh Municipal Building.
And, according to the city, it would cost $120 million to $160 million to lease space for the city’s growing staff through 2040. The current buildings staffers work in need Americans with Disabilities Act renovations and more public meeting spaces and have security challenges.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses and employees have moved to remote work and many office spaces have been left vacant. The city did look at available office space but “space that serves the public is different, and we could not find an alternative that met our needs,” Baldwin said. For example, the city needs an auditorium or meeting room for hundreds of people to gather during Raleigh City Council meetings.
What will the demolition look like?
There will be a private ceremony at 1 p.m. Tuesday at the top of the city’s municipal parking deck for city officials, city staff members and construction crew members.
Don’t expect an explosion like you might see with some high rises. Construction equipment will chip away at the building, which was constructed in 1962.
No streets will be closed as part of the demolition, but you can expect the area to be dusty during the demolition.
What work has already been done?
The windows and asbestos haves been removed from the four-story building, which has been vacant since the Police Department left it in 2010. The department is now headquartered at 6716 Six Forks Road.
“I have total confidence that the challenges we may face we’ll be able to navigate with success and get on the other side,” said Priscilla Williams, the city construction projects administrator. “We have a really, really good team, probably one of the best teams I’ve had in my entire career. So we’re all super excited to work together to get to reach this spot in the project’s development and really see this project come to fruition.”
What’s the construction timeline?
Construction on the $206 million project will begin this year after the demolition, which will include removing the basement level, and will likely continue through 2026.
City staff will likely be able to move in during 2027. Staff will still work in the adjacent Raleigh Municipal Building and be able to use the municipal parking deck.
What happened to the civic campus?
Originally, the city wanted two, 20-story towers to replace both the police headquarters and the Raleigh Municipal Building. Phase three would include demolishing the parking garage in the back and partnering with a developer for a mixed-use project.
The City Council approved a master plan study for a civic campus for the entire block in 2016. That plan was approved in 2018, with a conceptual plan approved for the East Civic Tower in 2020. But the project came in over budget due to rising costs, the building went from 20 stories to 17 stories, and the City Council approved a budget increase for the project last year.
“COVID has changed so much,” Williams said. “And I think when the master plan was completed, it really looked at the opportunities for the redevelopment of that from a pre-COVID standpoint.”
The other parts of the master plan will likely be revisited in the future.
This story was originally published January 18, 2024 at 2:39 PM.
CORRECTION: This story was updated Thursday to clarify the demolition ceremony is not open to the public.
