Raleigh offers to buy former DMV headquarters on New Bern Ave. Here’s what’s planned.
The City of Raleigh wants to buy the former headquarters of the state Division of Motor Vehicles on New Bern Avenue for $20 million.
The Council of State will be asked to approve the sale at its meeting Tuesday. The council, made up of Gov. Roy Cooper and nine other statewide elected officials, approves all state property sales and leases.
City officials have been interested in the property since the state signed a lease to move the DMV headquarters to Rocky Mount in early 2019 after 60 years on New Bern Avenue. The move meant the loss of hundreds of jobs and caused uncertainty over a prime piece of real estate in the heart of Raleigh’s historically African-American community.
If Raleigh’s purchase is approved, the city would consult the community on what it would like to see on the property and eventually team up with a developer to make it happen, Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin said in an interview.
The property includes nearly 5.4 acres and two large office buildings plagued by asbestos and fire safety problems that prompted the state to seek a new home for the DMV. Baldwin said city officials would like to see the site remade with a mix of affordable and market-rate housing with services such as a day-care center and worker training.
“We would obviously work with the community to see what they want to see there — see what’s important to them,” Baldwin said. “But we’ve kind of outlined what’s important to us.”
The DMV headquarters sits atop a rise at the corner of New Bern Avenue and Tarboro Street in a gradually gentrifying part of the city. Aside from its size and location, the property is also 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 the summer of 2025.
Baldwin said the property was recently appraised at between $12 million and $13 million. She said the city is offering well above that to ensure that it isn’t outbid by a private developer who might not provide the kind of housing and services the community needs.
“We also wanted to make a statement that tells the state what this means to us,” Baldwin said. “This is an important acquisition that can change lives. Aside from trying to ensure that we were able to purchase it, I think it sends a message of just how important this is to our future.”
City and state officials have been talking about a possible sale of the DMV site on and off for about three years, Baldwin said. Talks got serious in the last three months, after the state’s appraisal of the property. She said the City Council has not taken a formal vote on the sale, “but there is consensus that this will be a positive thing for the community.”
