The former state headquarters for the Department of Motor Vehicles on the corner of New Bern Avenue and Tarboro Street has sat vacant since January 2024. In 2019, an announcement was made that the NCDMV headquarters would be moved to Rocky Mount. That move has since been completed.
In recent years, the City of Raleigh acquired the site from the state and has engaged with residents on what they want to see in the space.
"I'm just old school. I like the way it was," said Wilma Jones, who has lived in the neighborhood for nearly 40 years. "But you know, I know that we have to have a change. I know a lot say it's an eyesore. But you know, it's right here at my door. And it is kind of an eyesore. But I just want to get something there to help the community."
The 12-person project working group, as it is called, is comprised of residents who have long ties to the neighborhood and know about the Black experience in Raleigh. They have met a number of times since May 2024. The group has received feedback from residents on what they want and has netted roughly 65 different ideas.
"We didn't want to put too lofty goals or a developer looking at us like, 'Hey, I can't do this,' said group member Desmond Dunn. "I wanted to make it actually realistic, but it also needed to be restorative in nature for our community."
Of the ideas, the group narrowed it down to ones it considered to be low, medium, and high priority. Among the top priorities: Affordable housing, food/market options, community spaces, and room for events.
"Those are what we consider non-negotiables that should be in everybody's (Request For Proposal) RFP," said Dunn following the presentation to the council. "We all are from this community. We live here, people know us. And so we're putting our name and our reputation on the line for this development. So we have to make sure that we see it to fruition."
Councilman Corey Branch, who represents the district where the former DMV site sits, said the goal is to include as many of the top priorities in the final plan before the RFP is sent out.
"We're going to put as much as we can from the community group as far as what's going on at that site," Branch said.