Wake County Approves $3.7 Million WakeBrook Behavioral Health Renovation

The Wake County Board of Commissioners approved a $3.7 million construction contract to renovate Building 107 at the WakeBrook campus on Sunnybrook Road in Raleigh, funding a phased overhaul that will permanently house RI International's behavioral health urgent care and add dedicated crisis and detox beds by late 2026.

RI International, also known as Recovery Innovations, was selected to operate three programs inside Building 107: a 28-seat Behavioral Urgent Care Tier IV, a 16-bed Facility Based Crisis unit, and a 16-bed Non-Hospital Medicine Detoxification unit. The renovation is designed with room to grow, with county procurement documents specifying that capacity for the urgent care be expandable, measured in the number of "chairs."

The project proceeds in three phases. Phase 1, already completed on the second floor of Building 107, created a temporary home for the Behavioral Health Urgent Care. Phase 2, now underway on the first floor, will establish that urgent care in its permanent configuration. Phase 3 returns to the second floor to build out space for the crisis and detox programs.

Recovery Innovations had already opened a 24-hour behavioral health urgent care at the Wake Recovery Response Center at WakeBrook on June 13, joining WakeMed's 28-bed inpatient psychiatric facility next door, which began serving patients on May 13. WakeBrook currently cannot accept involuntary drop-offs.

The renovation fills a gap left when UNC Health Care System, which had provided behavioral health services at the WakeBrook campus since 2013, notified Wake County in March 2023 that it would discontinue those services as of September 30, 2024. The facility, which had served 8,000 inpatients in 2022, temporarily closed when it reached October without a new provider contract in place. Wake County and Alliance Health subsequently worked to identify replacement providers.

Wake County Chief Medical Officer Dr. Jose Cabanas said Recovery Innovations was chosen in part because its model aligned with recommendations from a May report by the Human Services Research Institute, which assessed the county's behavioral health crisis system. He said RI's approach "more closely matches what the county needs and will allow the facility to treat more people."

County procurement documents include a notable caveat: the services housed at WakeBrook "are critical to the crisis continuum available for Wake County residents and are not financially sustainable based on reimbursement rates available to the provider," signaling that county subsidies underpin the operation.

"We are dedicated to expanding access to behavioral healthcare and treatment to anyone who needs it in our community," said Commissioner Cheryl Stallings. "With these new providers and partnerships, we can ensure that Wake County is a place where everyone can find solace, support and the resources they need to thrive."

Rob Robinson, CEO of Alliance Health, the managed care organization for publicly funded behavioral health services across Wake and several surrounding counties, framed the Sunnybrook Road campus as one of two regional anchors for crisis response. "Along with The Hope Center for Youth and Family Crisis in Fuquay-Varina, our area boasts two state-of-the-art crisis facilities ready to provide rapid, accessible care when people need it most," Robinson said.

The broader regional demand for psychiatric services is acute. WakeMed sees an average of 1,200 mental health patients monthly across its emergency departments; roughly 400 of those require inpatient care, but beds are available for only half, typically after a two-day wait. WakeMed CEO Donald Gintzig has said the shortage "puts stress on the whole system." WakeMed separately broke ground on a 150-bed mental health hospital near White Oak Crossing in Garner, with construction anticipated to be completed in summer 2028.

Updated information on WakeBrook services is available at wake.gov/WakeBrook.