North Carolina's first standalone children's hospital set to bring 8,000 jobs to a Raleigh suburb

APEX, N.C. — North Carolina's first standalone children's hospital will be built in a bedroom community near the state capital, the project's health systems announced Thursday, creating a campus estimated to bring 8,000 jobs to the area.

UNC Health and Duke Health announced in January an agreement to jointly build the proposed 500-bed pediatric hospital and linked facilities in the state's Research Triangle region, which includes Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.

At that time, the specific location wasn't finalized. But leaders of the health systems said hwThursday that the ''North Carolina Children's'' project will be constructed about 20 miles (32.19 kilometers) southwest of downtown Raleigh in the Wake County town of Apex. Apex has a population of 77,000, which is already surging in population thanks to the region's strong technology economy.

More than 15 potential sites in several counties were considered, Duke Health CEO Dr. Craig Albanese said at an Apex news conference.

The 230-acre (93.1-hectare) campus, located near a regional transportation interchange, will also include a children's outpatient care center, over 100 behavioral health beds and a research and education center operated by Duke University and University of North Carolina medical schools.

The campus is poised to be integrated into a long-discussed mixed-use development location called Veridea that will include thousands of new homes, retail, dining, office and research space, as well as a new Wake Technical Community College campus.

''This campus will create a brighter, healthier future for generations of children and adolescents across North Carolina and the Southeast, and we're thrilled to have Apex as our home and partner," UNC Heatlh CEO Dr. Wesley Burks said in a news release.

A groundbreaking for the hospital campus is now expected in 2027, with construction anticipated to take six years. North Carolina Children's Health also issued on Thursday a request for information from potential design and construction contractors for the project.

There are children's hospitals already in North Carolina, including those operated by the University of North Carolina and Duke University health systems that are attached to their main campuses in the Triangle.

The Apex location ''will ensure that the Triangle remains a hub and a destination for the best pediatric scientists, teachers and clinicians — convenient to both medical school campuses,'' said Dr. Mary Klotman, dean of the Duke University medical school and a Duke Health executive.

The new children's hospital agreed to acquire a portion of the Veridea land, which is owned by a business partnership between the North Carolina state retirement system and the land developers, according to the State Treasurer's Office, which administers the system.

State Treasurer Brad Briner said at the news conference that the land sale is a win for everyone involved, including government retirees and the pension system, "making a modest profit and unlocking more value in the land that is adjacent.''

''Above all, it's a win for the 11 million North Carolinians who deserve world-class pediatric care right here at home,'' he added.

The health systems have said the hospital campus project could cost from $2 billion to $3 billion, with a massive private fundraising effort ahead.

The project has already received $320 million from state legislators. The next state budget, still being negotiated by House and Senate Republicans that ultimately would head to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein's desk, also could contain more project funds.

Stein said in an interview Thursday that beyond the economic opportunity the project will spark, ''I'm really excited about what the children's hospital means for children of North Carolina who are sick and in need of the best, most sophisticated, advanced medical interventions to live long, healthy lives.''