NC Department of Insurance prepares to leave downtown Raleigh
The North Carolina Department of Insurance might move out of a state-owned building in downtown Raleigh and into leased space near the Beltline as part of an expected game of musical chairs among government agencies over the next few years.
The department got preliminary approval Tuesday to lease about 125,000 square feet in a building Truist Bank owns on Beechleaf Court in Raleigh. That deal would start at about $3.6 million a year for the first five years, with two five-year renewal options at increased rates, according to a proposal approved Tuesday by the North Carolina Council of State, which signs off on state property deals.
The department would vacate the Albemarle Building, which is part of the state government campus in downtown Raleigh. The governor’s office would move into the Albemarle Building. The Office of the State Auditor is also in the building, having moved in earlier this year.
Insurance Commissioner Mike Causey opposed the auditor’s move. He said he wants to bring the Office of State Fire Marshal, which is part of the Department of Insurance, under the same roof as the rest of his department. Leasing the building at 3200 Beechleaf Court would accomplish that, but the plan still needs funding from the General Assembly, which is working through state budget negotiations now.
“We’re early in this process,” Department of Insurance spokesman Jason Tyson said Tuesday. “We still need the blessing of the legislature for a lot of this.”
State lawmakers plan to rework much of the state government campus in downtown Raleigh over the next several years. The Department of Administration building at the corner of Jones and Salisbury streets will be demolished under the plan, as will the Bath Building on Wilmington Street.
Lawmakers plan to move the UNC System’s headquarters from Chapel Hill to downtown Raleigh, potentially as part of a campus that also includes the Community College System, the Department of Public Instruction and the state Department of Commerce.
Tyson said the timetable for the Department of Insurance’s move is up in the air, but the lease the Council of State approved Tuesday would begin as soon as Dec. 1.
Correction: This article and a subheading have been edited to correct the proposed leased building's square footage. It is approximately 125,000 square feet, not 25,000 square feet.
