Raleigh outlines community-driven plan and RFP timeline for former DMV site on New Bern Avenue

Raleigh city staff on Monday gave the City Council an update on plans for the former Department of Motor Vehicles site east of downtown along New Bern Avenue, saying 20 months of community engagement will guide a forthcoming two-step procurement process to select a development partner.

City Manager’s Office staffer Nikki Jones said the city acquired the property from the state and has divided the site into a large “big block” of about 5.37 acres and two smaller parcels on State Street totaling roughly a half-acre that currently serve as surface parking. “We have been engaging with the community for 20 months,” Jones said, describing outreach and the purpose of the planned request for proposals (RFP).

The community engagement effort produced more than 50 events, a nine-month survey and a project working group that met 13 times to vet priorities, project staff said. Tyesha Moseley, director of the Community Engagement Office, summarized the top community development priorities from that process as a food/market space, affordable housing targeted to households at or below 60% of area median income, and community spaces and recreation. Moseley said survey respondents also emphasized quality of life, community connection, universal site design beyond minimum ADA standards, and cultural recognition of the corridor’s history.

Planning and Development staffer Ken Bowers said staff completed an internal market scan and will commission a market and design study to test feasibility and refine assumptions before selecting a partner. Bowers said staff proposes a two-step process—first a request for qualifications (RFQ) to screen teams by track record, then detailed proposals from a short list—because the city is prioritizing partners who have experience delivering public–private projects on public land. “We can’t promise a 100% that everything that was part of this vision will come out exactly as we would like because there are physical market, other constraints that may stand in the way,” Bowers said.

Staff described several preliminary assumptions and findings from the market scan: an affordable housing component in the range of 100–120 units is a reasonable early target; a single, large mid-rise approach could yield roughly 325 market-rate units and finance about 110 affordable units and generate approximately $10 million in land value (a staff estimate that will be refined in the forthcoming study); and smaller-parcel approaches could attract local builders but likely lower total unit yield and funding for affordability. Bowers said parking, financing rules from housing agencies, and construction costs will affect whether a single parking structure can serve both market-rate and affordable buildings.

The presentation also covered process and timing. Staff said the RFP package is nearly ready and could be issued as soon as the week of the work session, with results of the market and design study reported back to council in the fall and a recommended development partner returned in the spring. The two small State Street parcels south of Hargett Street would likely be handled separately through the city’s small-scale solicitation process to attract local developers.

Council members asked about specific concerns raised during engagement. Councilor Silver pressed staff to ensure open space is integrated with street frontage and transit-oriented design along New Bern Avenue; Bowers replied that the site will need rezoning (current OX zoning with a three-story limit would need to change to a CX district and at least five stories in places) and that frontage and a wider “shop front” sidewalk can be requested through the rezoning and site plan process. Councilor Branch asked whether staff had engaged Martin Street Baptist Church; Moseley said Pastor Singleton is a project working group member and that staff had discussed temporary activations and potential uses with the church.

Speakers and councilors also raised anti-displacement strategies and requested staff research best practices and vulnerability mapping that could be applied in Raleigh. Bowers and other staff said they would examine case studies (staff noted prior research on Boulder, Richmond and Cleveland) and ask the market-study consultants to identify successful disposition processes and models.

Staff reiterated that demolition of buildings on the big block was approved by council on May 20 and that demolition is expected to be complete around this time next year. The presentation closed with staff noting the city’s commitment to responsible stewardship of the site after the acquisition and the intention to use the city’s land contribution as a source of subsidy for an affordable component where feasible.

Council took no formal vote during the work session; staff indicated next steps and timing for the RFQ/RFP and the market study and will return to Council as described.

The council and staff highlighted the following immediate next steps: issue the market/design study RFP and return study results to council in the fall, issue RFQs and RFPs for the big block following the study, and present a recommended development partner in the spring.