NC DHHS wants to build new 10-story headquarters in West Raleigh
The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services plans to relocate its headquarters to a 10-story, 480,000-square-foot office building at the corner of Blue Ridge Road and Reedy Creek Road in West Raleigh, according to construction plans recently filed with the City of Raleigh.
The building would have an adjacent 1,000-space parking deck, and would stand on the site currently occupied by the one-story building that houses the state’s textbook warehouse and Mail Services Center.
The plans were first reported by Triangle Business Journal. The long-planned project to move DHHS from the Dorothea Dix property to make way for a city park still faces multiple hurdles before construction can begin.
The legislature needs to pass its budget to fund the construction, with the Senate’s budget bill calling for $110.5 million over the next two fiscal years. Lawmakers have abandoned a controversial plan to put the headquarters in Granville County instead of in Raleigh.
The project also needs rezoning approval from city officials to allow for a much taller building than zoning restrictions currently allow for the property.
The Raleigh Planning Commission is currently reviewing the state’s rezoning request with a September deadline to take action. City planning documents note that the proposed zoning isn’t consistent with Raleigh’s future land use map and comprehensive plan, but only one person showed up to a neighborhood meeting about the project back in March.
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