Tall & Urban News

Raleigh to Receive New City Hall in High-Rise Form

East Civic Tower is expected to deliver in 2023 and is expected to hit capacity in the 2030s.
East Civic Tower is expected to deliver in 2023 and is expected to hit capacity in the 2030s.
27 January 2020 | Raleigh, United States

A new municipal tower will be designed to reflect Raleigh’s stature as a city of innovation, support high-quality public services, and an efficient healthy workplace, in a modern civic space.

RATIO Architects has won the opportunity to deliver Phase One of the Civic Campus in North Carolina’s capital. As part of the city’s Strategic Plan, Phase One consists of the East Civic Tower, a city hall that will consolidate city functions and feature public service as well as amenities. The project will be delivered through a collaborative process with Henning Larsen serving as the architectural designer. Programming and Schematic Design began in January 2020.

“We’re honored to work in the thriving city of Raleigh to create a modern workplace, and at the same time, a building that invites great public service,” said Michael Sørensen, partner and director at Henning Larsen Architects’ New York office.

The site for the project is the former police headquarters at 110 South McDowell Street, which currently sits vacant. The City Council approved the initial proposal for a new civic campus in 2018. At the time, the estimated cost of the first 20-story tower was about US$190 million, a price tag that would be funded by debt and the city selling off existing properties.

The project is expected to deliver in 2023, according to the Raleigh Civic Master Plan. The new building is expected to hit capacity in the 2030s, assuming a two percent annual growth rate in the number of city workers. Plans for the tower also include an underground parking garage.

For more on this story, go to RATIO Architects and Triangle Business Journal.