N.C. SBI breaks ground on new Raleigh headquarters campus

The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation broke ground Tuesday on a new Raleigh campus that officials say is meant to solve a working problem, not just mark a construction milestone: investigators, IT staff and special sections are spread across offices, and the bureau wants them under one roof.

The ceremony took place at 10 a.m. at 3320 Garner Road, the SBI’s longtime headquarters site in Raleigh. The redevelopment plan calls for a new headquarters building, a separate logistics building, major renovations to the existing headquarters, and expanded parking and support space. Project materials put the full campus master plan at about $164.8 million and more than 252,000 square feet.

A separate phase-one estimate places the first stage at about $81.6 million and nearly 100,000 square feet of new and improved space. That first phase is designed to consolidate special sections, information technology and other functions now scattered around Raleigh, a change officials say should make it easier to coordinate with prosecutors and other law-enforcement partners when cases move fast.

The SBI’s Raleigh footprint already plays a central role in Wake County. The bureau keeps its headquarters on Garner Road and operates eight district offices statewide, including the Capital District office in Raleigh, which serves Wake County and surrounding counties. For local residents, that means the state’s lead investigative agency will remain rooted in Raleigh even as its main campus is rebuilt around a more centralized operation.

The timing also reflects how old the campus has become. The SBI moved to Garner Road in 1976, and the state crime lab followed in 1977. Fifty years later, state leaders are treating the rebuild as an overdue modernization of the infrastructure that supports major criminal investigations, from violent crime to cyber and child-exploitation cases.

Roger “Chip” Hawley, sworn in as SBI director on Nov. 20, 2024, has become the public face of the overhaul. He has described the campus work as “a significant investment in the future of the SBI and public safety of North Carolina.” Construction is expected to finish in late 2027, with employees moving into the new facilities in early 2028, turning Tuesday’s groundbreaking into the start of a multi-year shift in how the bureau works in Raleigh and across the state.