Raleigh weighs affordable housing options for former DMV site on New Bern Avenue

The former DMV site on New Bern Avenue could become one of Raleigh’s clearest tests of what affordable housing means in a corridor under pressure: one option would bring 111 affordable apartments, 22 townhouses and 257 market-rate apartments, while another would scale that back to 60 apartments, 36 townhouses and 209 market-rate apartments.

A third scenario falls between those two approaches, but each plan still points to the same question for nearby families and businesses: who can actually live there, and what kind of neighborhood will this stretch of Raleigh become? Deputy Director Ken Bowers told council members the city wants to see significant affordable housing on the property, and the concepts also include parking plus some mix of retail or community space.

The city still is tearing down the old DMV buildings, and demolition is about halfway complete. Crews are expected to finish by November on the 5.88-acre parcel at 1100 New Bern Avenue, which Raleigh bought for $20 million on June 24, 2024. City records list the overall redevelopment budget at $23.34 million.

The project sits inside the New Bern Station Area Plan, which is tied to Raleigh’s planned bus rapid transit system and meant to support healthy, affordable neighborhoods around transit. That makes the site more than a vacant government complex. It is a visible piece of the city’s broader housing strategy along a corridor that runs past WakeMed, a long stretch of businesses, downtown Raleigh, and out toward New Hope Road and beyond.

Raleigh says New Bern Avenue has had a strong sense of community since at least the 1940s, and the corridor was historically home to many African Americans during segregation. That history has shaped the city’s engagement efforts. A 12-member Project Working Group was formed in March 2024 to help guide redevelopment, and more than 300 residents attended the city’s kickoff event at the site on Aug. 24, 2024. City materials say that working group is charged with preserving community and cultural history and making sure legacy voices are heard.

Business owners and neighbors have already signaled what they want to see. Allison Vick of Little Blue Bakehouse said affordable retail space could help small businesses that are getting priced out of brick-and-mortar locations. A longtime resident has argued the city should use properties like this for people in need rather than “corporate greed.” The message from the corridor has been consistent: if Raleigh is going to build here, the project has to add homes, support local commerce and fit a neighborhood that has already carried a lot of growth pressure.