State Government

Nah. why tear down this building instead of building somewhere else?

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I think you can say with a high degree of certainty based on all the background that it will be within a 2-block radius of Halifax Mall. I think the smart money is either:

  1. on the mall, whether in one of the existing buildings upfitted to a new use (remember, state office work is impacted by covid/wfh as much or more than private), in the place of a demolished building, or on the open space across Salisbury from the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
  2. the corner of E North St and N Wilmington
  3. the parking sea south of W Lane between McDowell and Salisbury
  4. the block between Lane/Dawson/McDowell/Jones
  5. one of the blocks between Jones and Edenton on will either side of Blount

The fact that they’ve only allocated $100mm here tells me this is not going to be a behemoth. Remember, the cost of 400H was reported as in the neighborhood of $125mm.

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I meant convert the existing grand building. (Not replace😬). It has an inner courtyard and could become a stately rehabbed hotel. Similar to Heights House, but much, much larger.

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oooooooo ok. yea that makes sense and would be a nice idea.

We really should consider building a permanent government structure that is basically designed to last forever of tasteful design and may even be considered historic in 150 years. Also made of good materials the current NCGA building is mid-20th century rebar concrete structure with underground parking looks bad from 3 sides except the front. The front looks like the front of a really nice indoor flea market.

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Aw I like the NCGA building! Edward Durrell Stone had a distinctive style, the big red staircase is such a grand gesture from the Bicentennial Mall, and those glassy double height corner offices are amazing spaces you can see from outside.

Tearing down a cool, unique 70s building that’s built of high quality materials feels like 70s architects tearing down 1920s landmarks.

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Always felt like the labor building on the opposite corner could be an interesting hotel as well…but like this idea here with the interior courtyard.

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NC Dept of Admin is advertising for designers/planners for a “Archdale Building Renovation – Feasibility/Planning Study”

also… that last sentence :eyes:

As of 2022 the windows, plumbing, HVAC, electrical, sprinkler, communication and interior systems of the Archdale building are 45 years old and the building is in need of a major scheduled renovation. At 242,647 sq ft, the building houses multiple government agencies and will require the relocation of all staff to leased space while the building is brought off-line for renovation. Renovation cost of similar space indicates expense can approach $100 million.

The complexities of renovating this building include, a very tight triangular site bounded by major roads and an underground parking deck. The 16 story building lacks windows on the major sides of the building which has been a source of complaint by all occupants and by many government officials. A study is needed to evaluate the major implications of replacing/modifying/renovating the building envelope including roofing, cladding and interiors or demolition of the building.

A reasonable planning effort to fully evaluate the options will require the involvement of a designer experienced in High-rise renovations, Structural engineer for system analysis, HVAC, Plumbing and Electrical engineers to evaluate options, civil engineer to evaluate site for crane work and utility work, Demolition specialist to evaluate cost of deconstruction as implosion appears to be impractical.

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They need a new master plan for the state government complex. Something that is permanent for the next 500 years like many government buildings in Europe. Minor renovations every 20 to 30 years

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I had an internship with the NCGS in 2001/2002 and the Archdale building was in really bad shape back then. I can’t imagine how it looks now 20 years later.

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It doesnt look terrible from the outside but damn if it isnt an uninviting building. If reno is going to be that costly, tear it down and build up something with more “for the people” vibes.

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i thougth archdale and dobbs were meant to look like albany jr.

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Maybe if you squint hard enough

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UNC Board of Governors voted to approve an action to begin moving the UNC offices to Raleigh, but a few former GOP lawmakers who are on the board voted against it citing cost concerns and the fact that the original clause in the legislation compelling them to move was added at the last minute without their knowledge.

https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article261834425.html#storylink=hpdigest_politics

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I have an idea. Move it to Rocky Mount. :smirk:

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Power Grab. Plain and simple. Not a surprise.

The ECU & NC State crowd to an extent have long felt there was some sort of conspiracy (liberal conspiracy of course) behind the fact that the UNC System HQ was in Chapel Hill. I am a Carolina grad & I always wondered ‘why’ the system was there, not Raleigh.

This said, the ‘reasoning’ behind this move is solely based on conspiracy theory ‘logic’. There’s no real economic decision where this makes any sense to taxpayers…

The UNC system office is in Chapel Hill because UNC-CH was the first university in the state and the only one for a while, so it made sense for the office to be located there. I work at NCSU, and I haven’t heard of any liberal conspiracy theories about this.

As far as the move, I think it’s fair to ask if the current location is optimal for how the current university system operates. Just from a knee jerk reaction, I would tend to say no because it’s removed from the entity that funds it. Now whether or not the cost of moving warrants the potential benefits of moving… I honestly can’t say.

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Ah yes, the ol double-reverse conspiracy theory. :rofl:

Count on UNC to blame that daggum State crowd.

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Right - aren’t most university systems in the state capital? Looking at some other systems with several schools that are relatively similar in size and prestige (not including ones where the flagship is in the capital (Texas, Wisconsin, Ohio), or ones with a clear primary + satellite campus model (Pennsylvania)):

Florida: Tallahassee - capital
Georgia: Atlanta - capital
Arizona: Phoenix - capital
New York: Albany - capital
Montana: Helena - capital

California: Oakland - close to the flagship at Berkeley
Tennessee: Knoxville - flagship, but it’s a stretch to say any of the other campuses even comes close to an ECU, much less an NC State

There were fewer obvious comparisons than you’d think - a lot of states have two or more competing higher ed systems if they have multiple large, wealthy institutions, like Alabama, Michigan, and Oregon.

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